GIFTS: A Variety Available for Jazz Fans : Gifts for Jazz Fans? No Need to Improvise : Music: The offerings available in a variety of media mean that there will be a sure-fire hit for even the choosiest.

Worried that Santa might not know what to bring your favorite jazz fan? Worry no more. Here’s a selection of items in a variety of media and a range of prices to please even the choosiest grooving Grinch:

Art: Sculptures by Paul D. Wegner. His imaginative images of jazz players cost a bundle, but, as superbly crafted collectibles that reflect the real feeling of jazz, they’re worth it (if you can afford them, of course). Wegner, a lifelong lover of the music, has created a series of limited edition metal works 20 to 35 inches high that depict scenes (“Meeting at Preservation Hall” and “After Hours,” for example) as well as specific characters (“Dizzy, Louis, Handy” and “Mr. New Orleans: Pete Fountain”). The musicians and their instruments are meticulously rendered, and Wegner uses an innovative technique that makes his subjects seem suspended in air. Editions are generally restricted to between 100 and 300 pieces, and prices range from $1,950 to $13,500. 3rd Wish Studio, (805) 649-5562.

Books: “My Singing Teachers,” by Mel Torme. A relaxed and chatty look at the veteran performer’s musical life and times. His “teachers” are the singers--from Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong to Ella Fitzgerald and Nat (King) Cole--who influenced him. In barely more than 200 pages, Torme provides an engaging anecdotal overview of popular singing in the pre-rock era. Oxford University Press, $19.95.

“Sweet Swing Blues on the Road,” by Wynton Marsalis and Frank Stewart. The trumpeter-author captures the boredom and the exhilaration, the audience interaction and the not-infrequent loneliness of the life of a traveling jazz musician. Stewart’s atmospheric black-and-white photos make perfect companions to Marsalis’ 12 chapters (reflecting the 12-bar blues). In his narrative, Marsalis also raises some compelling questions about jazz and racial attitudes and interracial relations in American society. A fascinating book from a thought-provoking artist. W. W. Norton & Co., $29.95.

Video: “Bix: Ain’t None of Them Play Like Him Yet,” a documentary produced and directed by Brigitte Berman. The star-crossed Bix Beiderbecke--he died in 1931 at age 28--became a model for the image of the jazz musician as misunderstood outsider. Because the cornetist was virtually unknown before he died, Berman had little source material other than still photographs and film footage from the 1920s (although not of Beiderbecke). But by combining classic Beiderbecke recordings with interviews with Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, Artie Shaw and several of Beiderbecke’s contemporaries, she has put together an absorbing portrait of a legendary figure. Playboy Video, $29.95.

Spoken Word: “Buddy Collette, a Jazz Biography.” Buddy Collette has been one of L.A.’s woodwind players of choice since the 1940s. In addition to gigs with Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington and, most notably, the Chico Hamilton quintet, he has done hundreds of studio sessions with everyone from Groucho Marx to Frank Sinatra. This two-CD set is like a slowly unfolding interview with someone who knows chapter and verse on every aspect of the last four decades of the L.A. jazz scene. The format is simple enough: Collette plays a few passages, unaccompanied, on flute, clarinet or saxophone, then launches into a monologue revolving around a topic such as “Meeting Charles Mingus,” “Bird’s Nickname,” “Nat Cole” or “Eric Dolphy.” An innovative approach to aural biography, although one that may not appeal to the casual jazz listener. Issues Records, $24.98.

World Music: “AFRICA Never Stand Still.” No other continent can boast the variety of music Africa can. This three-CD collection, complete with a 48-page booklet, pays colorful tribute to that diversity. Many of the names that have gradually become familiar to Western audiences are present: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Papa Wemba, Youssou N’Dour, Thomas Mapfumo, etc. But there are dozens of others, equally appealing. More to the point, the anthology is a far-reaching survey of contemporary music stretching from Algeria to South Africa, from the Cape Verde islands to Madagascar. What emerges is an enormously eclectic picture, a multicolored tapestry that illustrates the connections as well as the differences among a vast and vital melange of musical expressions. Ellipsis Arts, $44.95.

CD-ROMs: “Jazz: A Multimedia History: Jazz Series: Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Billie Holiday.” The Multimedia History is the first attempt to bring jazz to CD-ROM. As an initial effort, it is moderately successful, blending video clips (including rare footage of Holiday and Charlie Parker, among others) with a useful if not especially extensive database of historical and biographical material. The three “Jazz Series” CDs were produced by historian Herb Wong with a similar combination of video and data, supplemented by a dozen or more full-length audio tracks. These are not CD-ROMs that makes full use of the medium’s dazzling potential, but there’s no denying their value as basic references for the jazz collector. Compton’s New Media, $29.95.