CARLOS DEL JUNCO QUARTET
Carlos del Junco plays the harmonica and spins out rather tasty--and at times, pleasingly boppish--solos throughout his repertoire of tunes. Ranging all over the map from the blues to jazz to Latin, del Junco and his quartet serve up good fun. About the Music, 6010 Airport Way S, 762-5518, two sets from 8 to 11 pm, $15.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14
SEATTLE FESTIVAL OF FREELY IMPROVISED MUSIC
North America's longest-running festival devoted to free improvisation kicks off with the duo of Jesse Canterbury and Tari Nelson-Zagar, along with an aggregation led by Seattle instrument inventor Troy Swanson. Expect combustion from Canterbury, a clarinetist fluent in extended techniques, and violinist Nelson-Zagar, one of our burg's best free improvisers. Brent Arnold, Dave Brogan, and Zeke Keeble team up with Swanson to play an array of his corpus callosums, homemade string instruments that sound like a cross between a prepared piano and a steel violin. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 329-4224, 8 pm, $0-$15 sliding scale donation.
ROMANTIC VIBES
Here's a romantic alternative for those of us not getting wasted (do people still say "wasted"?) at Valentine's Day singles parties. Vibraphonist and jazzman Tom Collier has concocted a concert of romantic jazz standards: "My Funny Valentine," "Lover Man," "Moon Glow," "My Romance," "Body and Soul," etc. Brechemin Auditorium, UW campus, 685-8384, 8 pm, $5/$8.
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15
SEATTLE FESTIVAL OF FREELY IMPROVISED MUSIC
Three German free improvisers--bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall, percussionist Paul Lovens, and bassist Torsten Müller--join Chicago trombonist Jeb Bishop for an evening of free-improvised fury. Sharing the bill are Travis Baker (bass), Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon--yes, bassoon!), and Emily Hay (vocals, flute, alto flute, piccolo, and ethnic reeds, whatever the heck those might be). Want to know what straight-ahead jazz will sound like 50 years from now? Go to this gig. Polestar Music Gallery, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 329-4224, 8 pm, $5-$15 sliding scale donation.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 18
MUSICAL RESPONSES TO WAR
When the shit is about to hit the fan, ya gotta bring out the big hits. The Odeon String Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Players, and pianist Roger Nelson tackle a piece that has received squillions of performances recently, Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, and one of the great string quartets of the 1970s, George Crumb's Black Angels, written for electric string quartet. Pre-concert lecture is at 7 pm and led by Laura Kaminsky, whose Vukovar Trio honors the war-tattered Croatian city. Kerry Hall, 710 E Roy St, 325-6500, 8 pm, $6/$12.
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19
JIM CUTLER QUARTET
Saxophonist Jim Cutler leads this amiable straight-ahead jazz group in toe-tapping originals and deftly done standards. The quartet features Brian Olendorf (piano), Chris Monroe (drums), and bassist Philip Demaree. Tula's, 2214 Second Ave, 443-4221, 8 pm, $7.
