CORNISH AT SAM
Whoever writes a history of Seattle jazz should devote a chapter to Cornish College of the Arts' prodigious output of Grade-A musicians. This quartet of grads team up for some straight-ahead jazz at the Seattle Art Museum: bassist Laura Welland, drummer Byron Vannoy, saxophonist Galen Green, and pianist Dawn Clement, whose new CD, Hush (Conduit Records), is a promising debut. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St, 344-5275, 5:30 pm, free with $7 museum admission.
VOICE & VISION
Earshot Jazz's Voice & Vision series showcases local up-and-coming performers inhabiting the various genres of jazz. The first installment in July was so poorly publicized that it came and went without a trace, so I'm glad for the chance to check out the promising Ahamefule J. Oluo Quintet. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E Prospect St, Volunteer Park, 547-6763, 7 pm, free with $3 museum admission.
TRIPOD MOVIE NIGHT
Dubbed "The Anatomy of a Spontaneous Event," this gig is a screening of 16mm film and video footage from the multitalented act Tripod on their various European tours from August 2000 to 2003. Some members of Tripod, our burg's boldest (and only) out-jazz performance art troupe, are moving out of town, so this looks like a last chance to witness (albeit on film) their absurdist whimsy. Knowing their zany, mercurial nature, count on some surprises. Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater, 2318 Second Ave, 441-5823, 7:30 pm, $5 suggested donation. FRIDAY AUGUST 15
¡CUBANISMO!
Led by trumpeter Jesús Alemañy, this all-star aggregation of ex-pat Cuban jazzmen concoct effervescent Latin jazz. Indeed, the flute solo on "Tumbao de Coqueta" from their eponymous U.S. debut rains an angelic torrent of notes from a very funky Heaven. Purists may fret that improvisation and interesting charts will be sacrificed to get the crowd dancing, but I doubt that will happen. This should be a smokin' gig. Local charanga orchestra Yerba Buena opens. Showbox, 1426 First Ave, 800-325-7328, 8 pm, $20-$23.50.
SATURDAY AUGUST 16
SOIR:E OPOPONAX
Here's my nominee for sleeper gig of the week. Opoponax magazine, a journal of contemporary poetics and criticism, has assembled an afternoon of experimental film, theater, music, and performance. Opoponax director Michael Sanchez plays a passel of pieces for solo piano including Henri Pousseur's homage to John Cage, Coups de dés en échos pour ponctuer (au piano) le silence de John Cage, and Mauricio Kagel's A deux mains. Also on the program are songs for soprano and voice by André Jolivet as well as Kagel's Con Voce for solo violin. The Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave E, 675-2055, 2 pm, donations welcome.
SUNDAY AUGUST 17
MARROWSTONE MUSIC FESTIVAL
Student orchestras tackle the music of Berlioz, Debussy, Hanson (the homo-purging Howard of the Eastman School of Music, not the has-been teen heartthrobs), and Haydn. Western Washington University PAC Concert Hall, Bellingham, 360-650-6146, 3 pm, $18/$14.
