MICHAEL BISIO TRIO
Bassist Michael Bisio plays standards with guitarist Paul Sawyer and flutist Bernie Jacobs in an elegant, drummerless trio. Such aggregations are rare, but can be a revelation to both listeners and players. Freed of the steady broadband percussive pulse of the cymbals and bass drum, the ears can focus on the rhythmic interplay of the other instruments and really get inside the tunes. Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, 443-3241, 8 pm, free.
FRIDAY AUGUST 8
PARSIFAL
I've been gearing up all week to hear Richard Wagner's last, longest, and perhaps greatest opera (about the Knights of the Holy Grail). I'll let you know how it turns out. Also Wed Aug 13, Sat Aug 16, Tues Aug 19, and Thurs Aug 21. Matinees are Sun Aug 10 and Sun Aug 24 at 2 pm. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, 389-7676, 6:30 pm, $47-$125.
MATTHEW McCOLL
I've been away from the Catholic Church for too long: I had no idea that St. James had an official cathedral guitarist. That's an improvement over those "heepies," as my mother describes them, strumming guitars to Our Father and committing other musical sins in the shadow of Vatican II. Matthew McColl performs works by Mudarra, Scarlatti, Sor, and Breville in the Cathedral Chapel. St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave, 382-4874, 7:45 pm, $15, students and seniors pay as able. MONDAY AUGUST 11
MUTANT DATA ORCHESTRA
Unlike local noise mavens Monster Defiance Headquarters, who push ordinary rock and pop instruments to blistering extremes, the Mutant Data Orchestra rewires consumer electronic devices (digital phone answering machines, cheapo Casio keyboards) to unearth the crashing datascapes that lurk within. For a noise lover's dream double bill, someone should pair MDH and the MDO. CoCA, 1420 11th Ave, 728-1980, 8 pm, donation requested.
TUESDAY AUGUST 12
JOEL HARRISON
I spent too much time listening to country, bluegrass, and Cajun music while growing up to care much for the current country revival; much of it either reeks of stale cornpone or, worse, evokes the worst of 1980s pop. Guitarist Joel Harrison has found an intriguing path by blending country and jazz. His recent CD Free Country has a little bit of singin' (some of which proves that Norah Jones needs to pay some dues), but the music is mostly instrumental, bringing jazz-caliber improvisation and adroit arrangements to old country and Appalachian tunes. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave NW, 789-3599, 9 pm, $10.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 13
CUMMINGS AND BURMANN
Countertenor Brian Cummings and theorbist Petra Burmann present a concert of music from 16th- and 17th-century Italy along with the spoken poetry of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. On the program is vocal music by Claudio Monteverdi, Barbara Strozzi, and Jacopo Peri, and solo theorbo works by Alessandro Piccinini and Giovanni Kapsberger. And what's a theorbo? Imagine a really long lute with two necks, just like Jimmy Page's guitar. St. Stephen's Church, 4805 NE 45th St, 325-7066, 7:30 pm, $10/$12
