Step forward Emma Smith. Photo: Torr Hills

LOOKING through her CV you could get the impression that north Londoner Emma Smith is one of the 20 Feet from Stardom girls – ridiculously talented singers who get to back-up (and bolster) bigger stars. In the past she’s belted out tunes and harmonies several metres from the likes of Robbie Williams, Michael Bublé, Goldie, Basement Jaxx and many more.

But anyone who frequents the jazz clubs of London (and she has played them) will know she is also a formidable performer in her own right, usually backed by a tight, top-flight trio, featuring fellow N postcode pianist Jamie Safir, bassist Conor Chaplin and drummer Luke Tomlinson.

She began her career at just 14, but then she came from a highly musical family with impeccable credentials: her grandad played with Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Judy Garland. It can’t have been easy starting out in jazz venue at that age, but then Smith has been very vocal over the years about the struggle for female jazz singers of any vintage to be taken seriously on the UK – certainly, she has hair-raising stories about casual sexism and outright misogyny in the business, as well as the singer in a band being treated as an afterthought. But she is highly rated by fellow singer Ian Shaw and the man who programmes “Jazz Voice” for the London Jazz Festival, Guy Barker. They put her front and centre whenever they can. And she is an integral part of the Ronnie Scott’s Allstars, as well as one third of the Puppini sisters.

In November she’ll be at the Cadogan Hall, as part of the London Jazz festival, with The Big Swing, a female-fronted big band with Georgina Jackson and Vula Malinga and a cracking saxophone section who just happen to all be women (efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/the-big-swing).

And she’s rapidly moving from being 20 feet from stardom to enjoying the main spotlight, with a new album of sparky originals and stylish covers – only her second in 10 years – called Meshuga Baby (a play on the Yiddish word for “crazy”: the record is inspired by her newly discovered Jewish roots), a hefty profile in Jazzwise magazine and a headline show at Ronnie Scott’s on September 23 (www.ronniescotts.co.uk). The album, by the way, is splendid. Crazy baby? Maybe. But classy, too.

• Albums are also few and far between for Japan’s Kyoto Jazz Massive, who have gone two decades between discs (the latest is Message from a New Dawn). If you don’t know them, as the clubby name suggest, the music is groove- and beat-heavy electronica but with enough texture, nuance and offbeat riffs to earn a place in a jazz column. Originally formed by brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino, it is Shuya who is bringing the latest incarnation of the group over to the Jazz Café on September 20 (www.thejazzcafelondon.com).

• There were many jazz critics who were sniffy when a young New Orleans trumpeter called Christian Scott burst onto the scene with an album – actually his second – called Rewind That in 2006, rich as it was with R&B and hip-hop elements. Listening back to it now, the record simply seems like a harbinger of what was to come from the likes of Robert Glasper and Makaya McCraven, while fully respecting the jazz tradition (it has a smart, unthreatening version of Miles’ So What on it). His style has since evolved into what he calls “stretch” music – jazz with very elastic boundaries that isn’t afraid to tackle big political issues. Now known as Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah – a reference to his black/New Orleans heritage, although he is now resident in Harlem – he is a compelling, funky and thoughtful player live and you can catch him at Koko on September 13 (www.ticketweb.uk/event/chief-xian-atunde-adjuah-formerly-koko-tickets/12089535. ).

• Let me quickly point you in the direction of the Oxford Tavern once again and yet another ludicrously talented young pianist on the scene. Noah Stoneman has more chops than Meat NW5, a quirky way with a melody and assured improvisational instincts. He is at the pub on August 29 along with in-demand bassist Will Sacha and master drummer Jason Brown (Carmen Lundy, Lizz Wright, Cedar Walton, Wayne Escoffery and Kurt Rosenwinkel etc). See jazzattheoxfordtavern.com/ for tickets.

• Back when I was a jazz agnostic, I was lucky enough to see Chris McGregor’s sprawling, joyous Brotherhood of Breath, mostly made up of exiled South African musicians such as Dudu Pukwana and Mongezi Feza, which did a good job of converting me to the syncopated faith. All three are no longer with us but the South African jazz scene they were forced to leave behind in the 60s is in very rude health. On August 28, BBC Prom 56 celebrates the history of the music in the country, with pieces by Pukwana, Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, among others, played by the Metropole Orkest and featuring Shabaka & The Ancestors’ lead singer Siyabonga Mthembu (who also performs with The Brother Moves On sextet, of whom more later) alongside vocal powerhouse ESKA, saxophonist Soweto Kinch and tuba-wielding Theon Cross. Should be a good one. www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2022/prom-56-the-south-african-jazz-songbook/