Scottish pianist David Newton comes north with the London-based trio Big Screen for a series of concerts next week to promote their new album for Linn Records, Take One.

The brain child of drummer Matt Skelton, the trio specialises in music associated with film soundtracks and features bassist Tom Farmer alongside Skelton and Newton, who was voted Best Jazz Pianist for the thirteenth time in the British Jazz Awards last year. They play Jazz Bar, Edinburgh on Wednesday (22nd), Blue Lamp, Aberdeen (23rd) and Hospitalfield House, Arbroath (25th).

davidnewton.biz

The Scottish Reed Trio plays a concert at Pollok House, Glasgow on Sunday, May 3 at 5pm. The trio, which features Royal Conservative of Scotland graduates Catherine Earnshaw (pictured) and Frances Pybus on oboes and Heather Kent on bassoon, formed in 2008 and as well as working together on innovative programming and education projects its musicians have appeared in concert halls across the UK, Europe and North America, including the Royal Albert Hall, Barbican and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw.

scottishreedtrio.co.uk

Illinois singer-songwriter Ben Bedford returns to these parts for a short tour at the beginning of May. Bedford specialises in capturing events from American history in his songs and has covered topics including the plight of a Confederate soldier's wife during the American Civil War, the aerial triumphs of Amelia Earhart, the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, and the 1973 standoff between members of The American Indian Movement and federal agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He appears at Old St Paul's Hall, Rothesay on Friday, May 1; Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh on Sunday May 3; and Barrel's Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed on Friday May 8.

benbedford.com

Christiaan De Beukelaer, a lecturer in Cultural Management at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, has published a new book, Developing Cultural Industries: Learning from the Palimpsest of Practice. Its research focuses on cultural and creative industries in 'developing countries'. De Beukelaer explores how the concepts of cultural and creative industries are constructed and implemented across African countries and evaluates various policy implications of his findings.

The lecturer was awarded the 2012 Cultural Policy Research Award (CPRA), which led to the publication of his book. The CPRA honours young and talented researchers addressing topics of European relevance in the field of applied and comparative cultural policy.

culturalfoundation.eu/library/cpra-2012