CLASSICAL & JAZZ EARSHOT JAZZ FESTIVAL PART 2Jazz fans are by nature a contentious lot. When we wrestle with fiery, fundamental questions like What is jazz? (or, for maximum combustion, What is creative music?) or Does it swing? we're really debating how we hear, consume, and love jazz. As a nonprofit organization, Earshot Jazz treads a tricky path between those who prefer traditional, straight-ahead fare and others who favor the radical flux of freely improvised bleeding-edge music. Some may grumble that the Earshot festival presents only glimmers of the latest avant-jazz (bring back Konk Pack!), but there are several acts that will please those with ears oriented toward the future.

Born of the radical late-1960s collective AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians), the legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago (Wednesday, November 6, 8:00 p.m., On the Boards) remains the fountainhead of blues-based, freely improvised music. Joining them is tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson, whose appearance at last year's festival radiated passion and verve. Also of note is Queen Mab (Tuesday, November 5, 8:00 p.m., On the Boards), a trio that draws from contemporary classical music, klezmer, and jazz. Opening for Queen Mab is Amy Denio, whose solo shows are all too infrequent. Don't miss her delicious array of hair-raising vocal and electronic pieces. Violinist Eyvind Kang, cellist Brent Arnold, and bassist Michael Bisio perform with another exploratory vocalist, Saadet Türköz (Friday and Saturday, November 1 and 2, 8:00 p.m., Polestar Music Gallery), who fuses her native Turkish-Kazakh folk songs with extended vocal techniques. CHRISTOPHER DeLAURENTI

The Earshot Jazz Festival runs through Nov 10 at various venues in Seattle, Kirkland, and Bellevue. For specific performance and venue information, check www.earshot.org or call 547-9787. Ticket prices range from $10 to $39.50.

chris@delaurenti.net