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Thursday23

FenneszGrass WidowRudresh Mahanthappa Quartet

Friday24

FoalsRudresh Mahanthappa QuartetSonny & the Sunsets

Saturday25

Rudresh Mahanthappa Quartet

Sunday26

Lawrence EnglishRudresh Mahanthappa QuartetNymphVan Dyke Parks

Monday27

Women

Tuesday28

Bonnie “Prince” Billy & the Cairo GangStrange Boys

Wednesday29

Bonnie “Prince” Billy & the Cairo GangRoberto Plano!!!

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RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA QUARTET This year alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa has released two small-band records with fellow alto players, but despite their unusual instrumental format neither is merely a blowing session. On Dual Identity (Clean Feed), the recorded debut of his collaboration with saxist Steve Lehman, both men contribute brainy, mathematical compositions that allow Mahanthappa to showcase his mastery of metrically advanced postbop a la Steve Coleman. Over intricate grooves shaped by bassist Matt Brewer, guitarist Liberty Ellman, and drummer Damion Reid, the saxophonists manipulate time as though they’re solving equations in their heads, navigating shifting tempos on “Foster Brothers” and unfurling simultaneous skeins of stuttering, thrillingly bumpy sixteenth notes on “Rudreshm.” Better still, they complement the technical sophistication of their improvisations with raw emotion. Mahanthappa is joined by veteran saxist Bunky Green, one of his key influences, on the brand-new Apex (Pi)—a collaboration they debuted last summer in Millennium Park with a different backing band. It’s less frenzied and more supple than Dual Identity; some tracks borrow from Indian classical music, using briskly winding melodic shapes or 22-beat cyclical patterns, while others update fiercely swinging hard bop with a busy, aggressive rhythm section. Though Green has had an enduring influence on several generations of reedists, the album is no mere deferential salute but rather a rigorous, contemporary statement. The arrangements, filled out by pianist Jason Moran, bassist Francois Moutin, and on several tracks the great drummer Jack DeJohnette (Reid plays on the rest), not only highlight Green’s driving energy and curiosity but also illustrate Mahanthappa’s remarkable ability to locate common threads shared by disparate traditions and build entirely new musical systems from them. For this engagement he leads a variation on his long-running quartet: Moutin, drummer Dan Weiss, and pianist Craig Taborn filling in for Vijay Iyer. Taborn is an agile player, and because he and Mahanthappa aren’t steady collaborators, he’s perhaps more likely to provoke something surprising from the saxist. See also Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, 312-360-0234, $20. —Peter Margasak

friday24

RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA QUARTET See Thursday. 8 and 10 PM, Jazz Showcase, 806 S. Plymouth, 312-360-0234, $20.

VAN DYKE PARKS To paraphrase the lyrics of his frequent collaborator Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks wasn’t made for these times. One of American music’s most endearing oddballs, he’s been a creatively potent anachronism for most of his career. Parks has a thing for pre-rock pop—on the calypso-flavored 1972 album Discover America he saluted folks like Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers—but he combines its winsome melodies with elaborate, almost experimental instrumental accompaniment to make dense, brainy music that doesn’t sound remotely retro. He’s worked with Wilson off and on for decades, writing lyrics to Beach Boys classics like “Heroes and Villains” and “Surf’s Up” and contributing heavily to the aborted Smile; he’s also a gifted arranger, as he recently demonstrated with his rigorous orchestrations for Joanna Newsom’s 2006 album Ys. Parks rarely performs live, but he’s been touring lately with the much younger kindred spirits in Clare & the Reasons; the New York orchestral-pop outfit will open with its own set and then back Parks, who’ll play new songs and material from his classic 1968 debut album, Song Cycle. 8 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $25. —Peter Margasak

Guitarist and sometime Chicagoan Emmett Kelly has been collaborating steadily with Will Oldham, aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy, over the past few years, lending his masterful and deliciously tasteful playing to the singer’s three most recent albums. In March Oldham released The Wonder Show of the World

BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY & THE CAIRO GANG See Tuesday. Josh Abrams opens the early show; Scott Tuma opens the late show. 7 and 10 PM, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln, 773-525-2501, $20, early show 18+, late show 21+.