Jazz giant Tony Bennett plays the Jubilee Auditorium October 10.

Strap yourself in for a wild jazz month. It's all happening, from big bands and legendary big sounds to fiery quintets set to burn things up. It starts on Saturday, October 10 when jazz giant Tony Bennett plays the Jubilee Auditorium. Bennett, now 83 years old, is one of the legends of the jazz world, a vocalist once described by Frank Sinatra as "simply the best singer in the business." He has won Grammys, he has performed with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, k.d. lang and Elvis Costello, and he has sold over 50 million records worldwide. Not bad at all for a guy who started his career as a singing waiter in Italian restaurants.

Now, scale down the venue, shrink the band down to a quintet and you're ready for Tyler Hornby's hot gigs at Beat Niq on October 16 and 17. Hornby, a jazz drummer who has toured North and South America as well as Europe, is an accomplished player, composer and educator who has played with Brad Turner, Wycliffe Gordon, Sillan & Young and many others. He’ll be joined by pianist Chris Andrew, trumpeter Bob Tildsley, guitarist Aaron Young and bass player Buster Willits.

By month's end, you'll be hard-pressed to choose between an incredible big band dinner-dance gig and an amazing quintet led by Edmonton-based Jim and Craig Brenan. Yes, they're brothers and we can rightfully place them alongside other jazz brothers like Heath, Marsalis and Brecker. The Brenan brothers are playing two gigs at Beat Niq (Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31) and the sound they deliver is the culmination of years of performance and experimentation. True to their new CD title The Throw Down, expect a high-energy progressive jazz ride that references everything from fusion to Afro-Cuban sounds. Jim (saxophone) and Craig (trombone) will be joined by Rubim deToledo on bass, Jon McCaslin on drums and Steven Fletcher on piano.

Maybe you want something bigger on October 31: You won't do better than the 19-piece Prime Time Big Band gig at Beth Tzedec Synagogue Ballroom. Dubbed Fall into Swing, this dinner-dance event features cocktails at 6:30 p.m. in the Skylight Room, followed by a gourmet banquet. A live jazz trio will entertain guests during the banquet and Prime Time will take the stage from 9 p.m. until midnight. There will be swing and salsa dance demonstrations throughout the night. Prime Time features many of the best in Calgary's jazz scene, like Eric Friedenberg, Al Muirhead, Pat Belliveau, John deWaal and Shari Chaskin on vocals.