THE twin wheels which constituted the giant jazz tandem being pedaled this week were the Harrogate International Festival and the Hull International Jazz Festival.

Highlights at Harrogate were the multiple prizewinner Wynton Marsalis and last Tuesday's Bembeya Jazz, while at Hull I was thrilled by the vocal duo of Claire Martin and Ian Shaw. Coincidentally, last Thursday Ian was named Jazz Vocalist of the Year 2004 in the BBC Jazz Awards, following Claire's winning of the same Award in 2003.

The Bembeya Jazz concert was the final jazz event at Harrogate, but the Hull festival has four more events before a triumphant close on Sunday night. Denys Baptiste's International supergroup was the hit of the London Jazz Festival and tonight the 12-piece line-up will perform the Let Freedom Ring Suite at the Hull Truck Theatre. The suite features a text by Booker Prize winner Ben Okri and is based on Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream speech.

Tomorrow night's (7th) barnstormer is also at Hull Truck, a session by the Godfathers of Acid Jazz, the James Taylor Quartet.

Our favourite local guitarist Pat McCarthy deserves wider recognition and perhaps his two appearances at the Hull Jazz Festival will hasten it. On Sunday afternoon(8th), Pat will appear in duet with pianist Jamil Sheriff at the Pave Club, while in the evening he will round off the Festival at the Good Fellowship Inn, with his festival six-piece band.

However, there will be a difficult choice to make, because just as Pat and his band are striking up at the Good Fellowship, the good-time two-beat jazz of Ray Gelato will also be swinging into the Hull Truck Theatre.

Make your own decisions and call the box office on 01482 323638 for more details.

Jazz At The Spa continues its regular weekly programme with a rare treat tomorrow night: no Trad, and a musician who is not only under 60 but is also one of Europe's leading musicians and composers. Multiple reeds player Alan Barnes will be at the Trustees Hall, High Street, Boston Spa, with a top local piano player, the Brian Layton Trio.

Also tomorrow night, the Dave Challis Trio will make a welcome return to the famous local eaterie, the Rose & Crown, Main Street, Sutton on the Forest. Their Summer Garden Party will kick off at 7.00pm, call 01347 811333.

The Musicians' Union and Amnesty International have enjoyed a close relationship for many years. Recently, Amnesty was designated Charity of the Year by the MU. York branch of the MU will be promoting a series of jazz events this month in aid of Amnesty, the first of which will be on Sunday afternoon at City Screen, York, in Coney Street. The Kid Boyd Jazz Band will play from 3-5pm and entry is free.

Scarborough Jazz operates throughout the year at Scholars Bar in the Bedford Hotel. On Tuesday, the club will welcome young star trumpeter, ex-National Youth Jazz Orchestra, Bryan Davis, with the Mike Gordon Trio. For details, call 01723 379818.

My CD Of The Week is Duke Ellington's Blues In Orbit (Columbia/Legacy), to be released on Monday. Whether you are a long-time Ellington follower or a first-timer, this has to be a five-star re-issue, with bonus tracks from the original 2CD re-issue, plus alternate takes of the title track and Track 360 previously unissued.

In the massive discography of Ellington recordings, the Duke was often at the mercy of the producer in the control box. Apart from four of the 19 tracks, all were produced, in a first for Duke, by the legendary Teo Macero.

These newly remastered recordings are top quality Duke, the after-midnight recording times adding lustre to a predominantly blues programme. The album (recorded in 1958/59) title has been seen as a reference to the age of the Russian Sputnik, although the then-new space-age reference is performed alongside the Duke's classics, such as C Jam Blues, In A Mellow Tone and Billy strayhorn's Smada.

The dominant solo voice is Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone, but Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet and tenor), Paul Gonsalves (tenor), Booty Wood (trombone) and others take a share of the spotlight. This is an album which deserves a place in the collection of anyone interested in owning the best of 20th century music.

Updated: 16:12 Thursday, August 05, 2004