MUSIC Martin Taylor. The Jazz Club, 2/F 34-35 D'Aguilar Street, Central, from Tuesday, 9.30pm, $250, $125 members. A welcome return from Scots virtuoso Taylor. One of the finest solo jazz guitarists in the world with a repertoire that stretches from Robert Palmer's Johnny And Mary to standards that he played for years as Stephane Grapelli's accompanist. Few other players could have filled Django Reinhardt's shoes so impressively. If you missed him last time, don't miss him again. Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra. Forum 11, Macau, 8pm, $70, tickets from Tom Lee branches. Schneider is a fine conductor and composer of accessible big band music. Her debut album, Evanescence, from which much of the material for this evening's programme will be drawn, has been nominated for two Grammys, but she has already paid her dues working with the master of jazz orchestration, the late Gil Evans. Well worth the cost of a couple of jetfoil tickets to see, this show is part of the ninth Annual Macau Music Festival. THEATRE The Weekend. Hong Kong Arts Centre Shouson Theatre, from Monday 8pm, $175, $125 Tel: 27349009 for details. An American Community Theatre production of a very British comedy of manners by Michael Palin, which could prove to be an interesting combination. One man's nightmare of a weekend family reunion comes all too horribly true. Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre. Club Bacchus, Hop Hing Centre, 8-12 Hennessy road, Wan Chai, Tuesday 7.30pm, $480 including dinner and drinks. Dinner theatre with a difference in that the audience interacts with the cast and gets to play detective in a mystery based round the idea of a murder taking place within a dinner theatre group. An increasingly popular type of entertainment in the region. CLASSICAL MUSIC New Sounds from Beijing. City Hall Concert Hall, Wednesday, 8pm, $60, Urbtix. The Eclipse Ensemble from Beijing's Central Conservatory presents works by young Chinese composers now producing new music in the Chinese capital. The ensemble is led by Ye Xiaogang. EXHIBITIONS Naked Eyes Construction. Fringe Club Galleries, from Monday, noon to midnight. The second mixed media and electronic imaging show in a row at the Fringe, this exhibition by David Lui looks at modern treatments of the nude and considers the degeneration of its representation since the art of Ancient Greece. DANCE The Possessed. Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 7.30pm, Thursday and Friday, HK$150, $120, $80, $60. A new production from the Hong Kong Dance Company which 'looks at the sensitive issue of female sexual identity set against the background of a patriarchal society'. As if to underline this the director, choreographer and music director are all male and clearly braver men than I am. One can only wish them luck. Robin Lynam CHRISTMAS APPEAL This week, and in succeeding weeks we are giving details of how, if they wish, readers can channel their Christmas spending to various charities. Amnesty International: independent human rights movement working for the release of prisoners of conscience, prompt and fair trial and an end to tortures and executions. For information on their greeting cards and calendar (below), call 2300-1250 or write to Amnesty, Hong Kong section, Unit 3, 3/F Best-O-Best Commercial Centre, 32-36 Ferry St, Kowloon.
