SRJO TENTET
The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra slims down to 10 for Earshot Jazz's Art of Jazz series at SAM. Dedicated to preserving big-band jazz, the SRJO excels at ballads and swinging midtempo numbers, so this should be a treat. Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St, 547-6763, 5:30 pm, free with $7 museum admission.
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10
ANN CUMMINGS
A solo piano recital of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schönberg, Cage, and UW composer (as well as one of my faves) Richard Karpen. COCA, 410 Dexter Ave N, 728-1980, 8 pm, $5-$9.
LIONEL HAMPTON ORCHESTRA & CHAKA KHAN
Hampton passed away in 2002, but his big band soldiers on, this time with the sassy, serpentine-voiced Chaka ("I Feel for You") Khan in tow. Paramount Theatre, Ninth Ave and Pine St, 292-2787, 8 pm, $30-$50.
DIAMANDA GALçS
She's more goth than you or anyone else on the planet and definitely deserves, nay, compels, a road trip to Portland. Revered for her Masque of the Red Death and the harrowing Schrei 27, Galas' multi-octave voice ranges from a blowtorch banshee wail to frigid, spine-tingling moans that shudder and shake the Earth's core. She's performing the evening-length Defixiones: Will and Testament, an angry meditation for solo voice, piano, and tape memorializing the genocide of Armenians and other ethnic minorities in Turkey from 1914 to 1923. On Sunday, September 12, Galás gives a recital of old blues, soul, and country songs called La Serpenta Canta. Advance tickets highly recommended. Newmark Theater, 1111 SW Broadway Ave at Main St, Portland, (503) 242-1419, 9 pm, $15/$20.
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 11
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Schwarz & Co. kick off the season with a small army of soloists: soprano Jane Eaglen, tenor Vinson Cole, violinist Elmar Oliveira, and three top-shelf guest pianists, Garrick Ohlsson, Lorin Hollander, and Gary Graffmann. On the program: Ravel's Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra, three movements excerpted from piano concertos by Mozart, Brahms, and Prokofiev, Wagner's prelude to Die Meistersinger, songs by Verdi ("Tu che vanità") and Halévy ("Rachel, Quand du Seigneur") and the evening's lone obscurity, Goossens' Jubilee Variations. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave and Union St, 215-4747, 7 pm, $26-$85.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 12
PONY BOY RECORDS JAZZ PICNIC
I'm old and sleazy enough to remember the pervy cachet of "pony boy" but any label specializing in jazz and swing that manages to survive for 10 years merits congratulations, not mockery. They've lined up a promising roster of performers including the Larry Fuller Trio, Carolyn Graye, Buddy Catlett, the Jim Cutler Quartet, Craig Hoyer, Greg Sinibaldi, Byron Vannoy, and many other fine area jazz musicians. Sand Point Magnuson Park Garden Amphitheatre, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, noon-5 pm, free.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 15
CLIMAX GOLDEN TWINS
Seattle's venerable experimental electronicians supply a soundtrack from scratchy old 78-rpm records for Grass, a 1925 documentary depicting an epic migration of people and animals across the sands of Iran. The Rendezvous, 2320 Second Ave, 441-5823, 7:30 pm, $5.
