April

The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine
31 MAR WED 8:30pm: $22; 1 APR THU 8:30pm: $24
2 APR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $24; 3 APR SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $26
4 APR SUN 3 & 7pm: $22* (*Children under 12: $12 )
Patrons of the 3pm show seated in Henrietta's Table after 1:30pm receive a $10 per person discount on brunch. The legendary drummer has played with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane to name a few. Peter Watrous in The New York Times called his playing "as exciting as anything in American music." He returns to the R with his current quintet, which features Delfeayo Marsalis (tb), Robert Shin (sax), Anthony Wonsey (p) and Gerard Cannon (b).

The Cercie Miller Quartet with Tiger Okoshi
6 APR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Saxist Miller, who, in the opinion of The Kansas City Star "plays with a clear tone, steeped in the blues and reminiscent of the great Benny Carter," returns to the R with trumpeter Okoshi for an evening of spirited collaboration. Tim Ray (p), Dave Clark (b) and Bob Savine (dm) assist.

The Richie Hart Trio
7 APR WED 8:30pm: $12
Guitarist Hart, who has performed with Freddie Hubbard, Ron Carter, Dr. Lonnie Smith and his mentor, George Benson, divides his time between New York City and Boston, where he currently is on the faculty at Berklee. He returns to the R to with longtime compatriots Rick Petrone (b) and Joe Corsello (dm). His latest Hohenberger CD is Timeless.

The Pierre Hurel Trio
8 APR THU 8:30pm: $12
Mr. Hurel was described by The Boston Globe's David Wildman as "the extraordinary Paris-born pianist." Reviewing his concert last spring in the R, Steve Greenlee wrote in The Boston Globe "Hurel is one of Boston's real gems. His style is impressionistic and adventurous, coming off somewhere between Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett . . .The Pierre Hurel Trio is Boston's most sensitive working group." Mr. Greenlee, in his year-end piece, put that show on The Globe's ten best list. John Funkhouser (b) and Mike Connors (dm) will assist.

The Chiara Civello Quintet
9 APR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $12
Since she moved to New York, vocalist/songwriter Civello,has been busy developing her career. She currently performs weekly to a packed house at the Living Room and soon will move on to the legendary Fez, home of the Mingus Big Band. In June we can expect the release of her new Verve CD, Last Quarter Moon, which consists entirely of her own songs (one of which was jointly penned with Burt Bacharach). She returns to the R to preview that CD with Alain Maillet (p), Adam Rogers (g), James Genus (b) and Dan Reiser (dm).

The Marta Gómez Group
10 APR SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $14
Colombian singer/songwriter Gómez, now New York based, brings the music and culture of South America, including Colombian cumbias, and bambucos, Argentine zambas, Cuban sones and Peruvian landos. With Julio Santillán (g), Fernando Huergo (b), Franco Pinna (perc) and singer Alejandra Ortiz, the group offers a smooth and haunting combination of Latin American folklore and jazz elements, blended into a unique style that is deep, passionate and intimate.

WATER MUSIC/MAINSTAGE CONCERT AT THE BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER:
Sonny Rollins
10 APR SAT 8pm: $37.50/$30.00 o All seats reserved
Beginning with stints with J. J. Johnson and Bud Powell in 1947 and going on through following decades with associations with Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Jim Hall, McCoy Tyner and Ron Carter, Mr. Rollins has dominated the latter half of the 20th century like no other current figure in jazz. Of his most recent two and a half hour concert at Berklee last April, a Boston Herald critic wrote "[by the end] the saxophonist was blowing directly to his fans, who by then were on their feet in both appreciation and amazement."

Guaranteed Swahili
13 APR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Guaranteed Swahili, with Jason Hunter and Eric Rasmussen (saxes), Tim Luntzel (b), and Eric Thompson (dm), incorporates elements of jazz, 20th century classical music, world music, hip-hop, rock and funk, resulting in a unique yet accessible blend. The group returns to the R to celebrate its new Fresh Sound/New Talent CD, Three More Years.

Regattabar closed APRIL 14

La Timba Loca
15 APR THU 7:30 & 10pm: $12
La Timba Loca, an 11-piece band of international musicians, including Albert Leusink and Dan Brantigan (tp), Luis León (tb), Felipe Salles and Thomas Koenig (sax), Gonzalo Grau (piano & vocals), Manolo Mairena (guiro & vocals), Panagiotis Andreou (b), Robert Rosario (congas), Omar Ledezma (timbales) and Pablo Bencid (drums) performs a mix of Latin music classics rearranged in "Timba" style, as well as original pieces that retain an old flavor but have an added touch of today. Bob Young, reviewing a recent concert in The Boston Herald wrote "this was high-octane salsa with flash, urgency and lots of unexpected contours." The band's current CD is Mas Allá de la Habana.

Sergio Brandão and Manga Rosa Brazilian Jazz Octet with Fernando Brandão, Felipe Salles and Alida Rohr
16 APR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $14
Brazilian composer/guitarist Brandão performs the music of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil's Northeast. He returns to the R with his brother Fernando on flute, assisted by saxist Salles, flutist Hiro Honshuku pianist Doug Johnson, bassist Fernando Huergo, drummer Steve Langone, percussionist Pedro Ito and vocalist Rohr.

Regattabar closed APRIL 17

WATER MUSIC/MAINSTAGE CONCERT AT SYMPHONY HALL:
The Herbie Hancock, Jack DeJohnette & Dave Holland Trio
18 APR SUN 7pm: $37.50/$32.50/$27.50
All seats reserved
These three giants of jazz have worked with many of the last century's leading jazz practitioners, but it was with Miles Davis that they enjoyed a common and seminal association. Individually, they are among the most creative forces in jazz. Now they have set their schedules for a brief and perhaps history-making tour to perform together again.

Paul Im and Remember Rockefeller
20 APR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Saxophonist Im's Remember Rockefeller is an acoustic jazz octet (5 horns, 3 rhythm) whose approach blends the exuberant sound of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with the groove of a jam band. This cohesive group, whose latest Euphonious CD is Lightness of My Being, has been getting noticed around town, with appearances at The Berklee Performance Center and the ICA.

Natraj with special guest Chitravina N. Ravikiran
21 APR WED 8:30pm: $16
Selected as Boston's Best Jazz Band by The Improper Bostonian and nominated as Best World Music Act in the Boston Music Awards, Natraj returns to the R with virtuoso string performer and composer Ravikiran, who was called "perhaps the greatest slide instrumentalist in the world today" by Radio National Australia. He will collaborate with regulars Phil Scarff (sax), Michael Rivard (b), Jerry Leake (tabla) and Bertram Lehmann (dm) for another evening of vivid cross genre music. As stated in The Boston Globe, "Natraj blends complex tempos and traditions with graceful, hypnotic tapestry. Fusion is rarely this deep and exotic."

The Rusty Scott Quintet with special guest Bill Pierce
22 APR THU 8:30pm: $12
Pianist/composer Scott returns to the R with his band for a reprise of last year's memorable battle of the saxes, which featured renowned tenorman Pierce facing off with resident tenor saxist Tim Mayer, trading eights and fours over breakneck tempos in the manner of Johnny Griffin, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Sonny Stitt.

Donal Fox: Monk & Bach with John Patitucci & Al Foster
23 APR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $16
24 APR SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $18
Innovative pianist/composer (and Guggenheim Fellow) Fox continues his virtuosic explorations of jazz and classical masters, this time with two equally virtuosic musicians who share Mr. Fox's interest in classical and jazz forms. Jon Garelick of The Boston Phoenix, in reviewing his 2002 Blues on Bach show wrote that "the music rocked...he played variations on the simple melodic material, and it never stopped swinging." Last year he performed at both the R and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival with vibist Stefon Harris, and Steve Greenlee wrote in The Boston Globe that "the interplay between Fox and Harris was fascinating, and their quartet unearthed a funkiness that Bach surely never knew he had in him." This weekend Mr. Fox will further his project with two more kindred masters.

The Mark Kross Five-Piece Trio
27 APR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Pianist Kross, often seen around town in solo or duo formats, returns to the R tonight with his group, now expanded to a sextet featuring Herb Pomeroy (tp), John Pierce (tb), Billy Novick (reeds), Mark Pucci (b) and Gordon Grottenthaler (dm) to celebrate his new T-Bone CD, At Night.

Chucho Valdes & Irakere
28 APR WED 8:30pm: $20; 29 APR THU 8:30pm: $22
30 APR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $22
1 MAY SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $24
Time Magazine called Mr. Valdés "the greatest jazz pianist in Cuba, perhaps one of the greatest pianists in the world." Cuba's most-renowned jazz musician plays the complex rhythms of Cuba's African religious traditions and performs both the classics and jazz with astounding technique. Irakere, founded in 1973 by Mr. Valdés, is Cuba's premier Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble. Many top Cuban jazz musicians, including saxist Paquito D'Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval are Irakere alums, but the band itself has been rarely heard here. Its music features Afro-Cuban rhythms and electrifying interpretations of jazz classics. Mr. Valdés returns to the R to celebrate the release of his quartet's new Blue Note CD, New Conceptions, as well as to bring in Irakere for its R debut-four evenings of jazz without frontiers.