THURSDAY APRIL 20

ODEONQUARTET
Persian folk music, tango, prison blues, pop, and "neoromanticism" by a good string quartet whose only major flaw is to insist on a single-word, lowercase moniker. Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave, 684-7171, noon–1 pm, free.

PONCHO SANCHEZ LATIN JAZZ BAND
For top-notch Latin jazz, look no further than Poncho Sanchez. His group has it all: tight charts, fine soloists, precise ensemble work, and a few laughs, too. Also Fri April 21 and Sat April 22 at 7:30 and 9:30 pm, and Sun Apr 23 at 6:30 and 8:30 pm. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave, 441-9729, sets at 7:30 and 9:30 pm, $26.50.

FRIDAY APRIL 21

CORNISH COMPOSERS CONTINUUM
While almost every college and university in the area has at least one worthwhile faculty composer, Cornish boasts a cross-genre depth that not even the UW can rival. For this concert benefiting student scholarships, various musicians and ensembles perform music by Janice Giteck, jazz pianist and flutist Jovino Santos Neto, James Knapp, John Burrow (a work for voice and electronics with Dawn Clement), Roger Nelson, Jarrad Powell (with Gamelan Pacifica), and the ubiquitous Bern Herbolsheimer. Kerry Hall at Cornish College, 710 E Roy, 325-6500, 8 pm, $7.50/$15.

SATURDAY APRIL 22

NEW MUSIC FOR ASIAN INSTRUMENTS
Chinese virtuosa Mei Han and Canadian multi-instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch perform on a veritable orchestra of exotic instruments, including the zheng (a kind of primeval zither), sho (a mouth organ made of bamboo that resembles a choir of well-tuned yet slightly hoarse kazoos), and the ichigenkin (a single-string zither). I haven't peeked at the program, but their respective solo discs, Mei Han's Outside the Wall (Asza) and Raine-Reusch's Bamboo, Silk and Stone (Asza), feature meaty, often meditative music with nary a whiff of New Age cheese. Reservations recommended. Taoist Studies Institute, 225 N 70th St, 784-5632, 8 pm, $10.

MONDAY APRIL 24

ST. PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Yet more Mozart. Roberto Abbado, nephew of the great conductor Claudio Abbado, leads this visiting ensemble in a slate of symphonies, nos. 39, 40, and just about the only Mozart symphony I can love, the superb "Jupiter" symphony no. 41. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave and Union St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $26–$80.

AB BAARS QUARTET
This avant Dutch reedman was in fine form at last month's ICP Orchestra gig. Baars returns with his quartet to survey, slice up, and splatter the compositions of Duke Ellington. ConWorks, 500 Boren Ave N, 547-6763, 8 pm, $10/$12.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26

LE VIDE
A rare appearance by Dual, the duo of Doug Theriault and Ed Chang, whose berserking drum machines and other assorted electronics envelop Theriault's bursts of scabrous guitar. Also on the bill: Eric Ostrowski screens handmade "noise films," the solo incarnation of Plastic Crimewave (Steve Krakow), guitar saboteur Bill Horist, and yours truly. Emcee DJ William F. Buckley, Jr. and DJ Tawney spin early electronic, avant-classical, and "generally fucked up noise" for the first hour or so. Re-bar, 1114 E Howell, 233-9873,9 pm, $3, 21+.