It’s saxophones to the fore this week, with four players young and not quite so young, modern and mainstream, in the driving seat in four very different bands.

Tomorrow (Friday), start the evening at Symphony Hall in Birmingham where the ever-popular Chris Bowden leads his quartet in the foyer bar for a Birmingham Jazz Rush Hour Blues session.

Alto saxophonists have always been the most exciting and the most mercurial, and Birmingham’s Bowden has never disappointed.

He has a rich, modern soulful tone not far from David Sanborn’s and can raise the temperature considerably in the course of one solo.

He leads a fine band, the music starts at 5.30pm, and entry is free.

From there, it’s a quick drive to Coventry and the Warwick Arts Centre where Jazz Coventry is presenting tenor player Sam Crockatt at the Studio Theatre.

Sam is a strong composer, player and bandleader who is a member of London’s Loop collective.

His band is an all-star affair with the much in demand Kit Downes on piano, Oli Hayhurst on bass and Ben Reynolds on drums, and they play clever but playful modern British jazz of a highly accessible nature.

The concert starts at 7.45pm, tickets are £12 and are available at www.warwickartscentre.co.uk or on 024 7652 4524.

On Sunday down at Stratford-upon- Avon, the saxophone wind has a bop edge, as altoist Jake Fryer lands with his quartet for the regular Sunday night Stratford Jazz session.

Jake’s main claim to fame is that he co-led a quintet with the legendary US West Coast flautist and saxophonist Bud Shank.

Called In Good Company, the 2009 recording was to be Shank’s last – he died a day later, at the age of 82.