Alabama Shakes, On tour

When the Shakes renamed themselves the Alabama Shakes, they aligned themselves with the thrilling nexus of southern soul and rock made in the late 1960s and early 1970s. From the passionate vocalising of singer-songwriter Brittany Howard to the warm, churchy tones of the Hammond B3 organ, the band's debut album, Boys & Girls, is what an Adele album might sound like if she was backed by the White Stripes; and therein lies much of their popular appeal.

Manchester Academy, Mon; Barrowlands, Glasgow, Tue; Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Wed; The Coronet, SE1, Fri

John Robinson

TNGHT, London

A partnership between two producers, one from Scotland and one from Canada, TNGHT are proof of just how widely the international language of hip-hop can be understood. Formed of Hudson Mohawke, (once a teenage turntable prodigy, now an in-demand producer for artists as big as Kanye West), and Lunice (a more engaging performer than you'll often find behind a laptop, and an associate of Diplo). So far the pair have made one five-track EP, a slightly frightening template of industrial hip-hop beats, sped-up vocal samples and industrial clanking. The pair's shows are a flashpoint for a crowd derangement that looks certain to continue at this one-off date.

Oval Space, E2, Thu

JR

Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate, On tour

Driscoll (a rapper in the Ed Sheeran sense of the word) and Kouyate, an accomplished kora player, met at a French festival, and "festival" is pretty much the aroma that their music continues to give off. The latest in a series of such cross-cultural hook-ups, Driscoll & Kouyate are at times in danger of so loving the image of themselves as collaborators and vaulters of cultural fences, they run the risk of forgetting the very thing they love – the music. A mix of beats and guitar loops, all laced with kora, it was possibly a mistake for the pair to try reggae, too. Still, since Kouyate is known as the "Jimi Hendrix of the kora", this may be good value live.

Bell Inn, Bath, Wed; The Croft, Bristol, Thu; Hootananny, SW2, Fri; touring to 8 Dec

JR

Esperanza Spalding, London

One of the newly risen mainstream stars of the 2012 London jazz festival, bassist and songwriter Esperanza Spalding shot out of the jazz cloisters to celebrity status when she pipped Justin Bieber to 2011's Best Newcomer Grammy. Since then, the serious-minded but charismatic artist with the quiet soul voice and the flying bass technique (she's played for no less a post-bop hero than saxophonist Joe Lovano) has introduced a growing flock of fans to her particular brand of jazz-meets-classical eclecticism, often driven by funk. This year's Radio Music Society album has more of a pop flavour than Spalding's earlier work but her stage show is full of variety, from the mimicry of a radio slewing between stations with which it often opens, through call-and-response between the agile Spalding and her horn players, and interpretations of Wayne Shorter's intricate melodies.

Royal Festival Hall, SE1, Thu

John Fordham

Jack DeJohnette Group, On tour

US percussion star Jack DeJohnette plays drum solos so melodically eventful they can sound like medleys of songs, but his illustrious employers – a list that has included Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Charles Lloyd, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett – have primarily hired him for the kind of power and dynamism that makes the classiest lineups sound even better. But if DeJohnette has been an inspired accompanist, he has led a vibrant parallel life as a composer-bandleader, and a gifted occasional pianist. He's led cross-genre bands with unusual instrumental lineups, developed his own angles on world jazz (drawing on Native American influences), and explored a quirky take on Latin jazz with clarinet virtuoso Don Byron, who joins him here.

Royal Northern College Of Music, Manchester, Tue; Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, Wed, Corn Exchange, Cambridge, Thu; Queen Elizabeth Hall, SE1; touring to 21 Nov

JF

Hudderfield Contemporary Music Festival

The blend of music – improvised and fully notated, instrumental and electronic, theatrical and meditative – that Graham McKenzie has cultivated as artistic director of Huddersfield Contemporary Music festival is well established. McKenzie has become an expert at finding new angles or new composers to place in the spotlight. So, though the opening weekend of the festival ranges from a recital by Nicolas Hodges devoted to the early piano music of Jean Barraqué (St Paul's Hall, 17 Nov) through the UK premiere of Wolfgang Rihm's large-scale choral work Vigilia (St Paul's Hall, 18 Nov), to a commission from composer-in-residence, the Norwegian Maja SK Ratjke (Bates Mill, 18 Nov), the first concert is Alan Pierson conducting a portrait of Donnacha Dennehy (St Paul's Hall, Fri).

Various venues, Fri to 25 Nov

Andrew Clements