While I adore choral music and opera, the song recital presents the essence of a singer. Without stage sets, supporting voices, costumes, and dramatic (and often improbable) plot twists, the singer must create the drama of each song anew. Experienced singers such as Deborah Voigt also employ the solo recital to make the case for obscure composers and overlooked music.

Rightly admired for her steely yet succulent voice in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss, Voigt has made bold choices for this recital. I had expected this globetrotting star soprano—a regular presence on opera stages and at symphony halls around the world—to serve up the usual clutch of careening, tour de force opera arias. Instead, Voigt proffers some early Verdi, notably "Non t'Accostare all'Urna" ("Do Not Approach the Urn"), and a passel of gently delirious songs by Ottorino Respighi. There's the now-obligatory Leonard Bernstein ("Somewhere" from West Side Story, and others); however, her single Mozart selection is an oddity: the suitably magisterial and Masonic-themed "Die Ihr des Unermesslichen Weltalls Schöpfer Ehrt" ("You Who Honor the Creator of the Infinite Universe").

Voigt also advocates for the little-known American composer Amy Beach (1867–1944). Known during most of her life as "Mrs. H. H. A. Beach," Beach was an anomaly at the turn of the 20th century—a female composer with an active, public career. Voigt sings three Beach songs, including "The Year's at the Spring" and the gorgeously sentimental "Ah, Love, but a Day!"

Although Voigt's 2004 gastric bypass surgery is old news, opera fans still debate the effect of Voigt's weight loss on her voice. To my ears, Voigt sounded superb in last month's Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Die Ägyptische Helena. A little bit of oomph in the voice has been supplanted by keener, knife-edged phrasing. Don't miss her.

See Deborah Voigt in recital on Wed May 2 at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St, 215-4747, 7:30 pm, $22–$73.

THURSDAY APRIL 26

BALLARD JAZZ FESTIVAL
The best jazz bargain in Seattle. Tonight, Brotherhood of the Drum arrays an army of drummers, among them Michael Shrieve (Santana), Mike Peterson (Ghidra, Suffering Fuckheads), and Jason McGerr (Death Cab for Cutie). Friday's Ballard Jazz Walk deploys Dawn Clement, Buddy Catlett, Greg Williamson, Gail Pettis, Bill Anschell, the Moutin Reunion Quartet, Matt Jorgensen+451, Jovino Santos Neto, and others in various venues along Ballard Ave Northwest. The Moutin Reunion Quartet, who remind me of late '70s Weather Report without the wall of synths, and the Carl Allen Trio crown the festival Sat Apr 28 at Mars Hill. Pick up tickets starting at 7 pm at the Tractor Tavern (5213 Ballard Ave NW); see www.ballardjazzfestival.com for details. Various venues along Ballard Ave NW, 781-2589, 8—11:30 pm, $13—$35.

FRIDAY APRIL 27

KONONO NO. 1
This Congolese ensemble mesmerized me at the Earshot Jazz Fest in 2005. Electrified thumb pianos, chants, and junk percussion swirl into a shamanic trance music. Not to be missed. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 8 pm, $27/$30.

SUNDAY APRIL 29

JOSHUA ROMAN
Imprinting his own sure sense of phrasing to Bach's sixth cello suite, Roman lived up to the hype at his packed Town Hall show recently. The cellist has devised an eclectic program, including transcriptions of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and one of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss as well as a cello quartet, Las Sombras de los Apus, by Gabriela Lena Frank. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, 7 pm, $15/$20.

Z'EV
Back in the early '90s, import CDs cost 25 bucks and took weeks to arrive. The first import CD I ordered remains my favorite; on his solo disc Opus 3 (Staalplaat) Z'ev transforms slabs and arcs of sheet metal into a ferocious orchestra that clatters, shrieks, and sings. Here, the legendary Z'ev duets with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum's junk percussionist-in-residence, the energetic Moe! Staino. Sikhara, "a nomadic industribal project" shares the bill. The duo of Noah Mickens and Vanessa Skantze open the show. Vera Project at Seattle Center, corner of Warren Ave N and Republican St, 956-8372, 7:30 pm, $6/$7.

TUESDAY MAY 1

TO LIVE AND SHAVE IN L.A.
It takes a scorecard to track all of the members of this Los Angeles—based experimental outfit: Thurston Moore, though not on this tour, is the group's "honorary chaplain." Yet I like their penchant for chittering backward sounds and blubbery feedback. With the Walrus Machine Big Band Orchestra, an expanded lineup of the sax 'n' drums skronkers. Rendezvous, 2320 Second Ave, 441-5823, 9 pm, $5.

WEDNESDAY MAY 2

JOEY DeFRANCESCO
Sometimes I'm deluded enough to think I'm a passable jazz organist. Then I hear the fleet-fingered Joey DeFrancesco, who courses along the keys like a sip of smooth Scotch. You can bet every jazz organist in town plans to check out this fun and funky Hierophant of the Hammond. The Triple Door, 216 Union St, 838-4333, sets at 7 and 9:30 pm, $18/$20.