NEW STORIES TRIO
Led by Marc Seales, this trio is one of the toniest jazz groups in town. Some may scoff at a museum gig, but for once it will be nice to hear some straight-ahead jazz without the cretinous cackle of drunks and clinking glasses. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St, 547-6763, 5:30 pm, free with museum admission.
BRILLIG STRING QUARTET
The Brillig Quartet performs string quartets by Haydn (D Major, op. 50, no. 6), Mozart (no. 22, in B-flat major, K. 589), and Beethoven (no. 12 in E-flat major, op. 127). As for the naming of these works, many of Haydn's quartets and symphonies are cursed with silly nicknames, and this quartet was inexplicably tagged "The Frog." Fifty years after Mozart's death, Ludwig Alois Friedrich von Köchel decided to number all of Wolfgang's music, hence the K. numbering system; and Beethoven, whose works will live long after Haydn and Mozart are rightly relegated to the ranks of minor composers, got lucky and wound up with boring opus numbers. Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1215 Thomas St, 527-1836, 8 pm, $10.
MATT SHOEMAKER
A conjurer of cryptic electroacoustic soundscapes, Shoemaker plays but one or two gigs a year, so this is a welcome appearance. This in-store shindig celebrates the release of his CD Warung Elusion, a beautiful, burbling concoction of musique concrète, field recordings, and electronic tones recently released on the cult label trente oiseaux. Wall of Sound, 2237 Second Ave, 441-9880, 7 pm, donations accepted.
SEATTLE REPERTORY JAZZ ORCHESTRA
The SRJO made the call to the Big Apple and imported Frank Wess, a longtime soloist and arranger for the Count Basie Orchestra, to relive the golden age of good clean swing. Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 523-6159, 7:30 pm, $30-$24.
THE ESOTERICS
This a cappella outfit sings musical settings of poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, e. e. cummings, John Keats, Charlotte Smith, and Oscar Wilde. On the program: Linda Waterfall's Chinese madrigal Guang, Maurice Ravel's Trois chansons, and Malcolm Williamson's Sonnet on hearing the Dies Irae sung in the Sistine Chapel, along with Some thoughts on Keats and Coleridge by the underrated Earl Kim, and the premiere of Alchemy, Donald Skirvin's iridescent cycle of four poems by Sara Teasdale. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 652-4255, 8 pm, $17/$14.
7 BPM REDUX
Climax Golden Twins and "special guests" return to reprise the series of experimental and ambient music that graced the Re-bar a decade ago. Ex-ohm records proprietor Michael Ohlenroth DJs from a collection that only those who work in record stores can accrue. Re-bar, 1114 E Howell (at Boren), 233-9873, 9 pm, $5.
WALLY SHOUP & BOB REES
After decades of toiling in the trenches, saxophonist, painter, writer, and free improvisation rabble-rouser Shoup is starting to receive some well-deserved recognition. Joining Shoup is Beecraft drummer Bob Rees. Expect a paint-peeling, soul-cleansing din. Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 861-8233, 8 pm, free.
