MICHAEL BISIO TRIO
Bassist Michael Bisio plays standards with guitarist Paul Sawyer and flutist Bernie Jacobs in a drummerless trio. Such aggregations are rare, but can be a revelation to both listeners and players. Freed of the steady broadband percussive pulse of the cymbals and bass drum, the ears can focus on the rhythmic interplay of the other instruments and really get inside the tunes. Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, 443-3241, 8 pm, free.
DALE DUESING
Pianist and UW School of Music honcho Robin McCabe joins Duesing for an evening of music for baritone and piano. Not content with the usual dead guys (Beethoven, Strauss), Duesing also sings songs by Gershwin, Cole Porter, William Bolcom, Charles Ives, and American impressionist Charles T. Griffes. Meany Theater, UW Campus, 543-4880, 7:30 pm, $15/$10.
FRIDAY JANUARY 17
MONSTER DEFIANCE HEADQUARTERS
Here's my nominee for incongruous gig of the week: MDH, a noise trio, plays a benefit for the Seattle Cat Clinic. If you're like me and like cats and noise--not just loud sounds but LOUD, ugly but nonetheless possibly poetic sounds--then this is the show for you. Also on the bill are fellow experimentalists Sparkle Girl and Black Sun. 2nd Ave Pizza, 2015 Second Ave, 956-0489, 8 pm, $5.
SEATTLE BAROQUE
After covering various eras of classical music for The Stranger for much of this year and last, it's hard to believe that this is the first concert I've encountered with Pachelbel's Canon and Gigue in D. After cropping up in the movie Ordinary People, that ditty by this otherwise forgotten German composer has headlined countless classical greatest-hits compilations during the last two decades. Fear not, Purcell's Three Parts Upon a Ground, Biber's Die Paurnkirchfahrt, and a sinfonia or two by Alessandro Stradella comprise the bulk of this concert. Also Thurs Jan 16, Kirkland Performance Center, 7:30 pm, and Sat Jan 18, the Recital Hall at Benaroya, 8 pm. University Christian Church, 4731 15th NE, 322-3118, 8 pm, $18-$27.
SATURDAY JANUARY 18
ANDREW DRURY TRIO
NYC-based drummer and junk percussion guru Andrew Drury returns to Seattle. Drury has enlisted alto saxophonist Wally Shoup and bassist Michael Bisio, so expect plenty of fireworks. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union, 329-4224, 8 pm $8.
SUNDAY JANUARY 19
LADIES MUSICAL CLUB
Soprano Lorri Froggét and mezzo-soprano Kathryn Vinson sing songs and duets by Pergolesi, Henry Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Lockrem Johnson. A string quartet by Janet Anderson rounds out the program. Frye Art Museum, corner of Cherry St and Terry Ave, 622-6882, 2 pm, free.
COMPLINE CHOIR
As an antidote to excesses of monasticism such as self-flagellation, standing on a pillar year after year, and vermiform mortification, St. Benedict suggested music and manual labor. Compline, the last holy office of the day, is sung after dinner, hence the late Sunday start time. The cathedral is drafty this time of year, so dress warmly. St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave E, 323-0300, 9:30 pm, free.
