“In a sense, variety itself is the key characteristic of the Birmingham scene,” says leading Birmingham jazz impresario Tony Dudley-Evans in the liner notes to this fine selection of live performances from a regular musician-run Tuesday night session at the Spotted Dog pub. Listening through the CD, you wouldn’t argue with his conclusion. New and older generations combine in an open-minded scene, but one that seems to avoid some of the faddish, cliquey tendencies of London. For the three opening tracks, the veteran saxophonist Stan Sulzmann shares the stage with an exuberant Big Band formed from students from the Birmingham Conservatoire jazz course. There follows a pair of forceful Ornette-influenced tracks by the currently Birmingham-based New York saxophonist John O’Gallagher in trio with Andrew Bain and Michael Janisch. Former Young Scottish Jazz musician of the year Jonathan Silk has recently impressed with his large ensemble commissions and his Fragments ensemble’s ‘First Light’ evocatively combines strings and jazz rhythm section. It also features an effervescent solo from local trumpet hero Percy Pursglove. The quintets of feisty mod-jazz guitarist Ben Lee and delicately poised trumpeter Sean Gibbs make a nice contrast. Well presented with a good ‘live’ sound quality, this is an enjoyable mini-tour of the current Birmingham jazz scene.