Jazz: Heather heads for De Montfort Hall Leicester
Best known as the voice of M People, she has also appeared at Ronnie Scott's with the Snake Davis band.
Her influences are Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone and Gladys Knight. Expect her own songs to feature. Tickets are £25 or £22.50.
Jazz-rock guitarist Carl Orr has worked with drum maestro Billy Cobham and trumpet great Randy Brecker.
He plays the Vale of Catmose Gallery, in Oakham, tomorrow night, with Patrick Bettison on bass.
I'm told Orr's compositions can range from "ferocious improvisational vehicles" to the song-writing styles of James Taylor and Burt Bacharach.
Advance tickets are £10, £7.50 concessions, £3.50 under-16s, from 01572 725904 or 722286. It will cost you more on the door.
The Bill Coleman Quartet with Brian Humpherson play Jazz in the Arts Bar at the University's of Leicester's Richard Attenborough Centre next Thursday.
Coleman is the region's top double bass player and is often asked to accompany visiting stars. Humpherson's piano style is very sophisticated.
This is the new venue for the much-loved Café Piazza Jazz sessions and if you don't turn up, they won't be continued. The cost is £6.
On Saturday, you can catch a Festival of Leicestershire Gospel Choir at The Y, East Street, Leicester. Entry is £7 or £5 for concessions.
Heather Small
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