JAMES DASHOW
It's been over a decade since I've listened to anything by this pioneer of computer music, so I'm anxious to find out if his work still zaps me as it once did. This concert combines computer-generated sound with live instrumental performers and video projection. Brechemin Auditorium in the Music Building, UW campus, 543-4218, 8 pm, free.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Fiery virtuoso violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg attacks Tchaikovsky's thrilling Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35. She also serves up two lollipops for violin and orchestra, Saint-Saëns's Havanaise and a re-scored Vocalise by Rachmaninoff. Also on the program: Saint-Saëns's bump-and-grind Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah, Mussorgsky's prelude to Khovanschina, and Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave and Union St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $15-$75.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 22
MARK SALMAN
An enterprising pianist, Mark Salman resumes his traversal of the solo piano music of Franz Liszt (1811-1886) including Hungarian Rhapsody No. 16, Mephisto Waltz No. 3, and Liebestr...ume No. 2. I caught Salman's second performance in this series last spring and it was one of the most powerful concerts I have ever attended. Sit close if you dare; I did, and it was loud, overwhelming, and entrancing. Not to be missed. University Christian Church, 4731 15th Ave NE, 522-0169, 7:30 pm, $10/$20.
KELLEY JOHNSON QUINTET
To celebrate the release of her new disc, Live at Birdland, as well as her garnering a spot in the Earshot Jazz Festival, this elfin-voiced singer adds trumpeter Ingrid Jensen to the lineup. Expect standards and forgotten chestnuts. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 8 pm, $24.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 23
OPUS 7 VOCAL ENSEMBLE
Choral music from Down Under, specifically New Zealand: an elegy for the victims of Hiroshima, Ghosts, Fire, Water by Douglas Mews, Beata Virgo by David Griffiths, David Hamilton's Veni Sancte Spiritus, and Salve Regina by David Childs. Also music by Henry Purcell, Jan Sandstrom, and Ivan Hrusovsky. St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 782-2899, 8 pm, $18/$20, students pay as able.
BRAD MEHLDAU
Kudos to Earshot Jazz for importing Mehldau, a pianist's pianist, for a solo set. Sure, he has excellent technique and swings his ass off, but Mehldau's dazzling gift is to turn a melody from an old standard inside out, extracting oblique variations that still swing and keep the tune in your head. The Robert Glasper Trio opens. Town Hall, Eighth Ave and Seneca St, 547-9787, 8 pm, $24/$26.
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27
ICP ORCHESTRA
Featuring 10 of the top improvisers from Amsterdam's celebrated jazz scene, the ICP Orchestra melds drama, wit, and virtuosity into music that slyly ranges from Dixieland to free jazz. Keep your eyes open for master percussionist Han Bennink, whose playful willingness to apply his drumsticks to any surface adds to the ICP's rambunctious fun. Earshot Jazz taps Greg Sinibaldi's smart chamber jazz sextet, Frieze of Life to open. Not to be missed. On the Boards, 100 W Roy St, 547-9787, 8 pm, $16/$18.
