I'm a block away when I hear Reptet rehearsing "Swanni" from their upcoming disc, Chicken or Beef? (Monktail). Even from the middle of the street, the sextet—just back from playing a dozen shows on the East Coast—sounds tight. Trumpeter Samantha Boshnack pipes high above a churning Balkan-influenced riff; depending on how you count the beat, you hear an accelerated waltz or a pulsing four-on-the-floor groove.
Inside, the tiny living room is packed with all six musicians. Drummer John Ewing sits to my left and I watch him place a pot lid on his floor tom during "Do This!"—the title track from the group's first album. Despite the standard jazz-band frontline of trumpet, trombone, and saxophones, every Reptet song has something unusual, from group chants and polyrhythmic hand-clap intros to unusual instruments including flute, tuba, and bass clarinet.
During a break, I peer around the room, spotting some decades-out-of-print Impulse! LPs on the shelf along with Paul de Barros's classic book on Seattle jazz, Jackson Street After Hours. The back of a vintage magazine touts the "Piano Publications" of one forgotten "Marvin Kahn." I also spy a torn poster of David Bowie in his mid-1970s quasi-fascist Station to Station phase, and a set of 10-inch trio sides by Nat King Cole, who, before he found fame as a crooner, was a leading pianist.
All that stuff seems to suit Reptet, who make new music by merrily hopping around the history of jazz. A stereotypical, finger-snapping walking bass lick can smartly mingle with a dissonant free-jazz freak-out, a moody, minor-key TV-cop-show melody, or an Anthony Braxton–inspired lamination of simultaneous layers. Best of all, Reptet make jazz fun. 
Catch Reptet Sun May 18, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park, 1400 E Prospect St, 654-3100, 2 pm, free.
Thurs 5/15
BOBBY HUTCHERSON
Beloved for his great Blue Note LP Dialogue as well as for his marvelous playing with greats like Eric Dolphy, Andrew Hill, and Hank Mobley, vibraphonist Hutcherson returns with the spectacular, soaring trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Through Sun May 18. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 7:30 and 9:30 pm (7:30 pm only on Sun), $27.50.
Fri 5/16
PSYCHE
Unlike composers such as John Adams who stake out grand operas about icons and contemporary events (Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer, Dr. Atomic), Garrett Fisher writes intimate, eclectically scored chamber operas that reimagine mythic, semiremembered figures such as Thomas Moore (The Passion of Saint Thomas Moore) and Galileo (Stargazer). Scored for harmonium, viola, taiko drums, bass, gongs, and singers, Fisher's latest opera, Psyche, recounts Aphrodite's envy of Psyche, the world's most beautiful woman. Also Sat May 17. Fourth-floor Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, 800-838-3006, 8 pm, $12/$15.
SEATTLE OCCULTURAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
A portmanteau of "occult" and "culture," this festival boasts an interesting lineup of "esoteric, mystical & psychoacoustic musics." Maverick composer Phillip Arnautoff, a friend of Harry Partch, performs his spacious and shimmering Soliloquy on his own Harmonic Canon; Robin Holcomb sings her ethereal songs; and more. Sat May 17 (at Dearborn on Woodland, not at Gallery 1412) features Paintings for Animals, Tyler Potts, and Voodoo Israel. Fri May 23 and Sat May 24 have a similarly attractive lineup that includes Tempered Steel, the seldom-seen electroacoustic sound artist Matt Shoemaker, Red Squirrels, and KRGA. See somf.info for venue and performer details. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5—$15 suggested donation.
SEATTLE PRO MUSICA
Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C sharp minor may be his biggest hit, but the choral Vespers remains the itinerant Russian composer's masterpiece. SPM should sound suitably transcendent in the reverberant space of St. James. Don't miss it. Also Sat May 17 at 8 pm. St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 781-2766, 8:15 pm, $10—$32.
Sat 5/17
INSIDE THE MUSIC
Pianist GeĂsa Dutra concludes this series of piano-recitals-with-commentary and proffers several suites of Spanish piano music: Manuel de Falla's Danza Ritual del Fuego, the Suite Española by AlbĂ©niz, Catalonian composer Frederic Mompou's Scenes d'Enfants, and more. I'm especially intrigued by the inclusion of two Scarlatti sonatas, K. 396 and K. 446. Sherman-Clay Piano & Organ, 1624 Fourth Ave, 800-838-3006, 6—8 pm, $9/$15.
Sun 5/18
JACK GOLD-MOLINA GROUP
Amid the dreamcatchers, overpriced food, and hodgepodge crafts, drummer Gold and company blast out Emasculata Symphonica, a symphony-sized, four-movement, free-jazz-inspired improvisation. Sureshot Espresso, 4505 University Way NE, 632-3100, 2—4 pm, free.
SEATTLE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
I worship Beethoven, but why can't I keep the various overtures to Beethoven's only opera, Leonore (later renamed Fidelio), straight? The SYSO performs the Leonore Overture No. 3 along with Strauss's Death and Transfiguration. Two elegant, glittering gems by Ravel, La Valse and Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, round out the program. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 362-2300, 3 pm, $8—$40.
Tues 5/20
HERB ALPERT AND LANI HALL
Two cocktail-culture icons make a rare stop in Seattle. Perhaps the most handsome man to grace album covers in the 1960s—Sam Cooke is another contender—Alpert had a knack for making his swanky, insouciant trumpet leads on tunes like "The Lonely Bull" and "Tijuana Taxi" sound totally improvised. Covocalist of Brasil '66, Lani Hall realized hits like "Fool on the Hill," though I still prefer gutsier album cuts like "Upa Neguinho." Also Wed May 21. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, 7:30 pm, $45.
Wed 5/21
UW CONTEMPORARY GROUP
Students and faculty present selections of the avant, notably Elliott Carter's 1948 Sonata for Cello and Piano, an impassioned—and relatively accessible—work that hints at the fierce rhythmic complexity heard in his landmark string quartets of the 1950s. In addition, Sean Osborn plays UW faculty composer Joël-François Durand's In the Mirror Land for clarinet; percussionist Chris Lennard tackles the funky Rebonds by Iannis Xenakis; and pianist Lee Hancock serves up Nine New Bagatelles from one of the most notable composers to emerge from UW, William Bolcom. Meany Hall, UW Campus, 543-4880, 7:30 pm, $10.
