Occasionally, a small audience witnessing the local debut of a little-known artist realises it's been privileged. That's how it felt at the first London appearance of the astonishing Italian pianist Stefano Bollani. Since Bollani is a hilarious knockabout comedian as well as a consummately skilful pianist, perhaps the kind of awe inspired by more dignified virtuosi might elude him. But if he's too mischievous to be serious, it's clearly not because he doesn't know how to be.

Bollani wandered on to the Purcell Room's stage as if surprised to find an audience, and set off on a rocking riff with clipped, right-hand rejoinders that echoed both early Abdullah Ibrahim and Keith Jarrett. A stamping tango became more and more demented with under-the-lid strummings, drumrolls on the woodwork, and eventually a crazed ascending run that shot off the end of the keyboard and had Bollani elaborately pretending to have hurt himself in the effort. A beautiful Jobim love song and a classical tour de force preceded a deadpan account of Für Elise (the first piece he learned) as copied from a cracked 78rpm record, stuck phrases, jumped notes and all, which reduced the audience to hysterics.

The Dune Records showcase at the Soho Pizza Express the same night had less expertise but just as much heart. Saturday night revealed - among many - the powerful, soul-inflected sound of singer Zara McFarlane, a fiery and edgy alto saxist in Andre Brown, and an intriguing tenorist in Shabaka Hutchings. Joining the angular melodic shapes of Steve Coleman to the slow accumulation and quiet delivery of the 50s Cool school, Hutchings sounded like someone we'd be hearing more from.