The folks at the Thomas Eaton Recording studio, based in Newburyport, have tipped us off to a number of notable endeavors in the works at their facility. For starters, singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert is currently recording his fifth album. Also, Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winners Rob Laurens (out of Somerville, Mass.) and Erik Balkey (from Philadelphia) are in the middle of new projects. The fine cellist Kristin Miller is back to record the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed debut, “Later That Day.” Susan Levine, recent finalist in the Rose Garden Songwriting Competition and Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, working on her sophomore effort. Non-musical clients include author Peter Guralnick, who has been recording interviews for his recent biography of Sam Cooke, and celebrity life coach Cheryl Richardson, working on an upcoming multi-disc recording. Proprietor Tom Eaton has hired an in-house assistant, Conal Ryan. In addition, Eaton has brought on promoter Bob Franke to handle publicity and coordinate a new acoustic concert series in Newburyport.

There’s a new way for jazz aficionados in the Seacoast to get to know one another. Bassist Tim Webb has established a Web site at Yahoogroups whose purpose, according to the site, is to raise awareness about the regional jazz scene, and whose audience is both musicians and “ESPECIALLY jazz listeners.” Group members can post information about shows, link to band sites, post messages and otherwise network with like-minded people. Judging by the posts found on a recent visit to the site, the community is already quite active and enthusiastic. Northeast Jazz Scene hopes to have their own site up and running before too long, but they currently can be located at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/nejazz/.

Bustling singer-songwriter Laurel Brauns returned recently from a West Coast trip where she played a string of house shows with friends Unbunny and Testface. During her out-of-town stint, Brauns attended the National Association for Campus Activities conference in Portland, Ore., where she was selected to be a showcasing artist, and the Rockrgrl Conference in Seattle. Brauns also announced that she recently signed on to be represented by the Aspen Talent Agency, out of New York City.

Pick up a copy of the November/December issue of the authoritative alt-country magazine, No Depression, and you’ll find a feature on Say ZuZu’s Jon Nolan and his new solo album, “When the Summers Lasted Long.” Also, his song, “Mary (Won’t You Come Along?)” is included on the new “Greetings from Area Code 207” CD, the Maine-based compilation series championing regional roots-rock talent.