March

The Igor Butman Quartet
2 MAR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Saxophonist Butman hung out in the Boston area (where he performed frequently in the R) in the late 80s and returned to his native Russia in 1996. He has appeared with some of the leading lights of jazz, including Dave Brubeck, Pat Metheny and Grover Washington, Jr. Now the owner of Moscow's Le Club, the largest jazz room in Russia (which has presented the above luminaries as well as Wynton Marsalis, Elvin Jones and Joe Lovano), he returns to the R to continue his acquaintance with us.

Guy Davis
3 MAR WED 8:30pm: $14
Guitarist/composer/actor/director/writer Davis (the son of actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis) is, most importantly, a bluesman. Performing on both six and twelve-string guitars, banjo, blues harp and washboard, he has recorded four CDs and makes his Regattabar debut to celebrate the release of his new Red House Records CD, Chocolate To The Bone.

The Dave Holland Quintet with Robin Eubanks, Antonio Hart Steve Nelson and Nate Smith
4 MAR THU 8:30pm: $18
5 MAR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $18; 6 MAR SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $20
7 MAR SUN 5 & 7:30pm: $18* (*Children under 12: $12)
In the two decades since he began to focus on a career as leader, bassist Holland has garnered four Grammys and consistent ranking on annual "best" lists around the world. Now he returns to the R with bandmates Eubanks (tb), Hart (sax), Nelson (vibes) and Smith (dm) to celebrate his new ECM CD, Extended Play-Live At Birdland, which is nominated for a Grammy this year. As Howard Mable in DownBeat opined "The Dave Holland Quintet stands as one of the tightest, most progressive and risk-taking working jazz ensembles today."

Fred Hersch
9 MAR TUE 8:30pm: $16
Grammy-nominated pianist/composer Hersch, known for his solo CDs dedicated to the music of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, Cole Porter and others, was called "one of the small handful of brilliant musicians of his generation" by DownBeat magazine and "a poet of a pianist" by The New Yorker. He returns to celebrate his new Palmetto CD, Trio + 2.

Yoron Israel and Organic
10 MAR WED 8:30pm: $12
Seen here frequently as sideman with prestigious groups, drummer (and Berklee prof) Israel returns to the R with Bill Pierce (sax), Jay Hoggard (vb), Ed Cherry (g) and Kyle Koehler (organ) to celebrate his new CD.

The Aaron Goldberg Trio
11 MAR THU 8:30pm: $16
Innovative pianist/composer Goldberg is a former member of the Joshua Redman quartet and has performed with Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker and Nicholas Payton, in addition to leading his own trio. He returns with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland.

The Ron Carter Trio with Mulgrew Miller & Russell Malone
12 MAR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $18
13 MAR SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $20
14 MAR SUN 3 & 7pm: $18* (*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. Grammy award winner Ron Carter is among the most original, prolific and influential bassists in jazz. As a leader Carter has recorded over 50 albums and as a sideman he has appeared on an estimated 3000 recordings. He returns to the R with guitarist Malone and pianist Miller to celebrate the release of his new Blue Note CD, The Golden Striker.

The Fernando Huergo Quintet: Jazz Argentino with Chris Cheek, Mika Pohjola Franco Pinna and special guest Katie Viqueira
16 MAR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Bassist Huergo and the Jazz Argentino band returns with saxophonist Cheek, pianist Pohjola, drummer Pinna plus special guest vocalist Viqueira to celebrate the release of his new Fresh Sound/World Jazz CD, Live at the Regattabar, recorded by WGBH here last year.

The Vardan Ovsepian Quartetwith special guest Agnieszka Dziubak
17 MAR WED 8:30pm: $12
Pianist Ovsepian's influences, Chopin, Liszt, Jarrett, Glass and Mehldau, have served to help create a unique and haunting style, and he returns to the R with Joshua Davis (b), Take Toriyama (dm), Monica Yngvess (vocals) and special guest cellist Dziubak to explore new sounds.

The McCoy Tyner Trio with special guest Michael Brecker
18 MAR THU 7:30 & 10 pm: $30
19 MAR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $32
20 MAR SAT 7:30 & 10pm: $36
21 MAR SUN 3 & 7pm: $32* (*Children under 12: $16)
Patrons of the 3pm show seated in Henrietta's Table after 1:30pm receive a $10 per person discount on brunch. McCoy Tyner, renowned contemporary acoustic pianist, composer and perennial R'bar favorite returns to the R with saxophonist Brecker, whom Jazziz called "inarguably the most influential tenor stylist of the last 25 years. Accompanying them are Charnett Moffett (b) and Eric Harland (dm) for what promises to be a memorable encounter.

Dave Zoffer & Adam Larrabee
23 MAR TUE 8:30pm: $12
Pianist Zoffer and guitarist Larrabee-both NEC jazz profs-have performed with Eddie Gomez, Don Byron, Harry Connick, Jr. and Bela Fleck. The duo returns to the R with its lush, lyrical grooves.

The Juanito Pascual Flamenco Quartet
24 MAR WED 8:30pm: $14
Called "one of the hottest flamenco guitarists to emerge in recent years" by NPR, Minneapolis-born Jonathan "Juanito" Pascual began playing guitar when he was eleven, but was smitten by the passion of flamenco, went to Spain fresh out of high school and found himself supporting himself (while honing his art) in the subways of Madrid when the money ran out. Later, he came here to study at the New England Conservatory, and since then has performed with most of the country's major flamenco dance companies, including Omayra Amaya, Ramon de los Reyes and Jose Greco II. Last year he released his first CD, Cosas en Comun, and opened for Michel Camilo at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival.

Hector Cuevas & The Boston Latin Band
25 MAR THU 8:30pm: $16
Led by music director Cuevas, the 12-piece BLB plays sinuous salsas, merengues, and boleros, delighting listeners and dancers alike. Ana Morales, reviewing its CD, Cubarengue, in The Boston Globe, wrote that the band "has the Bronx naughtiness I like in salsa." The R will again provide a dance floor for patrons who wish to move to the music.

The Nicole Nelson Band
26 MAR FRI 7:30 & 10pm: $12
Vocalist Nelson, Boston's newest rising star in blues and r & b, has been performing to packed houses in area clubs and appeared last summer at the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. Called a "riveting rhythm & blues star" by Boston Blue Magazine, she makes her R debut with her quintet.

Regattabar closed MARCH 27

WATER MUSIC/MAINSTAGE CONCERTS AT SANDERS THEATRE AND THE BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER: The Dave Brubeck Quartet o All seats reserved
27 MAR SAT 8pm: $35.50/$29.50 (Berklee)
28 MAR SUN 7pm: $35.50/$29.50 (Sanders)
The legendary pianist, who came to national attention in the 1950s with his adventurous use of uncommon time signatures and his incorporation of classical approaches in jazz again returns to Boston for back to back concerts. His latest Telarc CD is Park Avenue South.

The Bad Plus
30 MAR TUE 7:30 & 10pm: $20
Arguably the biggest jazz breakout story of 2003, The Bad Plus-comprised of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson and drummer David King-connected with the jazz world and beyond with These Are The Vistas, the renegade jazz trio's debut album on Columbia Records. The CD was recently hailed by Rolling Stone as one of the Top 50 Albums of 2003. The Washington Post called it "not just a breath of fresh air-it's a tornado. If you want to know where jazz is headed, look here." JazzTimes termed it "one of the most important jazz albums in more than a decade . . . The Bad Plus arrives like a bolt from the blue-galvanic, improbable, discrete, unforeseen." The group returns to the R to celebrate its new Columbia CD, Give.