Picks of the week

March 24, 2006

Rock picks

On the heels of his Rilo Kiley cohort Jenny Lewis's performance last week, Blake Sennet brings his band the Elected to the Paradise tonight. They're joined by current ''it" band the Magic Numbers. Also tonight, Russian artists Auktyon bring their art-rock without borders to the Somerville Theatre, and actor-singer Kris Kristofferson comes to the Berklee Performance Center to showcase what made Johnny Cash notice him more than 30 years ago. Tomorrow: Purveyors of melodic whimsy Mittens are at T.T. the Bear's Place, Irish alt-rockers Snow Patrol preview tracks from their forthcoming album ''Eyes Open" at the Paradise, and Brit boys Part Chimp rock Great Scott.

Jazz picks

McCoy Tyner goes it alone this weekend, playing solo piano tomorrow and Sunday at the Regattabar, where the David Murray Quartet performs on Thursday. Scullers has Abbey Lincoln singing tonight and tomorrow, then celebrates the release of Taylor Eigsti's ''Lucky to Be Me" on Wednesday with a quartet including the young pianist's fellow phenom Julian Lage on guitar. Ryles hosts the John Payne Music Center Battle of the Bands tomorrow afternoon, its namesake Ryles Jazz Orchestra later that night, and the Sofia Koutsovitis Group on Thursday. Charles Neville joins Harvey Diamond and the Workingman's Jazz Band for a night of straight-ahead jazz at Concord's Colonial Inn tomorrow night. The Lily Pad hosts a triple bill of Vibrating Membranes and Ivory Keys, Raqib Hassan and the Interdimensional Science Research Orchestra, and the Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble tomorrow. The Marc Rossi Group plays a free concert at Berklee's David Friend Recital Hall on Tuesday.