SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5

KEITH EISENBREY
Exploring the inner sonorities of the piano with spiky notes, unusual chords, and confounding forms, Eisenbrey composes some of the most interesting piano music in town. For this benefit concert, he plays works from the mid 20th century by John Verrall, Benjamin Boretz, and Elaine Barkin as well as three of his own pieces, including Hockets (2005). University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St, 632-5163, 2 pm, $10 suggested donation.

THE RACHELS
If the Kronos Quartet were a rock band, they'd sound like the Rachels. I'm bewitched by this sextet's mixture of indie rock, found sounds (including some well-chosen field recordings), and mournful string quartet music. Neumo's, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467, 8 pm, $14.

CHARLOTTE HUG
I haven't heard anything by this Swiss improviser, but I'm intrigued by anyone willing to dip their viola bow in water. With pianist Gust Burns. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave at E Union St, 322-1533, 8 pm, $5-$15 sliding scale donation.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6

JOHN ALTON TRIO
Presumably named after the cinematographer famed for the great ballet sequence in An American in Paris and the sumptuous chiaroscuro that graces film noir classics like Raw Deal, this new outfit features two-thirds of the Wally Shoup Trio: Shoup (alto sax), Bob Rees (vibraphone and drums) and überbassist Geoff Harper. If you missed the torrid Shoup at Earshot, here's another chance. The Hideout, 1005 Boren Ave, 903-8480, 9 pm, free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 7

JAMES BLOOD ULMER
Renowned for his scabrous guitar work with Phalanx and other 1980s avant jazz explorers, Ulmer's new solo disc Birthright (Hyena Records) continues his concurrent exploration of the blues. Unlike slick blues groups who belong in front of a big banner emblazoned with a beer company logo, Ulmer deals out the true voodoo on this solo gig. His shuddering, sometimes shivering, leathery voice and often fragmentary strumming (especially on "White Man's Jail" and the instrumental "High Yellow") reaffirm the overlooked connection between early 20th century blues and avant-garde vocal technique. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 7:30 pm, $22/$25.

MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE
MoR sponsors concerts of music composed by Holocaust victims and survivors. Tenor Vinson Cole sings Halévy's song "Rachel, quand du Seigneur" and excerpts from Korngold's Die Tote Stadt. I'm also looking forward to Osvaldo Golijov's 1992 Yiddishbbuk: Inscriptions for String Quartet and the Divertissement by Ervin Schulhoff, who wrote three short, smart symphonies in the 1920s and '30s. Pre-concert talk at 6:45 pm. Recital Hall at Benaroya, Third Ave & Union St, 365-7770, 7:30 pm, $25.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 9

LADIES MUSICAL CLUB
Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Eklund delves into Ned Rorem's 1962 song cycle Poems of Love and the Rain with texts by W. H. Auden ("Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone"), Emily Dickinson ("Love's stricken 'why'"), Theodore Roethke ("The Apparition"), E.E. Cummings ("in the rain"), and others. In addition, pianist Dolores Borgir traverses Robert Schumann's Symphonic Etudes, op. 13. Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, 622-6882, 12:10 pm, free.