Christmas crooning coming up with a string of dates in the pipeline from singer AJ Brown who is touring with the Linley Hamilton band.

Playing dates including the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn on 18 December, the Strand Belfast next day, and Berts, Belfast on the 20th – the latter the Merchant Hotel jazz club recently featured in a scene from The Fall – Brown, who hails from Halifax in Yorkshire, is a Mel Tormé-ite deep down so comes into his own at this time of year, the Velvet Fog responsible for the most loved jazz-friendly Christmas song ever, performed most famously by Nat King Cole.

‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...’