Meanwhile, across the river, SCULLERS (DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel, 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston; 617.52.4111 or www.scullersjazz.com) brings in the James Carter Organ Trio (January 9-10); guitar god Pat Martino (January 23-24); esteemed Boston jazz singer Maggie Scott in a special show with sisters in crime Rebecca Parris, Donna Byrne, and Wannetta Jackson (January 28); Jamaican-jazz fusionist pianist Monty Alexander (January 30-31); Brazilian pianist Eliane Elias (February 6-7); pianist Mike Melvoin and his trio (February 10); local cabaret avatars Bobbi Carry and Will McMillan (February 11); singer Robin McKelle (February 12); the Caribbean Jazz Project with vibist Dave Samuels (February 18); drummer Antonio Sanchez with saxophonists David Binney and Seamus Blake (February 19); the Heath Brothers (February 20-21); young hot trumpet Dominick Farinacci (February 25); fusion monsters the Yellowjackets (February 27-28); vocal dynamo Rachelle Ferrell (March 6-7); Boston soul-jazz singer-pianist Bill Champitto (March 10); young piano wizard Taylor Eigsti (March 11); smooth-jazz sax man Walter Beasley (March 13-14); Boston pop-jazz saxophonist Myanna with fellow reed-woman Cercie Miller (March 18); New Orleans trumpet king Christian Scott (March 26); and the James Cotton Blues Band (March 27-28).
The CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON (617.482.6661 or www.celebrityseries.org) brings back the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (March 15, Symphony Hall); the Blind Boys of Alabama with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (March 27, Symphony Hall); and a beyond-genre crossover concert where operatic mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter alternates sets with her longtime piano accompanist Bengt Forsberg and jazz keyboard star Brad Mehldau (February 13, Sanders Theatre).
At the ICA (100 Northern Ave, Boston; 617.478.3103 or www.icaboston.org) composers Ned Rothenberg and Marty Ehrlich continue their "New Music Now" series. On January 30, in a program of vocal music, singer Shelley Hirsch presents "a collage of song, spoken word, and vocal accompaniments to the soundtrack compositions of Bernard Hermann." She'll be accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismailly. Also on the bill is another exciting downtown New York vocal experimenter Theo Bleckman, accompanied by guitarist Ben Monder. On February 13 at the ICA, it's "Brave New Piano Worlds," with the Australian piano trio the Necks and keyboard man Craig Taborn with his Ancients and Moderns ensemble — drummer Dan Weiss, bassist Thomas Morgan, trombonist Ben Gerstein, and reedman Chris Speed.
The ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM (280 the Fenway, Boston; 617.278.5156 or www.gardnermuscum.org) continues it jazz-related programming with Cirkestra — a fiddle, accordion-reed-percussion ensemble comprising "America's finest circus musicians" (February 19) playing a mix of klezmer, gypsy, jazz, tango, and "creepy circus waltz." On March 19, Berklee College Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana comes to the Gardner with a quartet.
One of the chief draws of the concerts at NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY (30 Gainsborough St, Boston; 617.585.1120 or www.newenglandconservatory.edu) is that they're free. Upcoming: faculty member Ken Schaphorst's big band (January 26, Jordan Hall); "Tango Argentino" with Los Cosos de al Lao and dancer Guillermina Quiroga (January 29, St. Botolph Hall, 241 St. Botolph St); jazz-bass great Dave Holland putting students through their paces (January 30, Brown Hall); keyboardist Anthony Coleman (February 4, Brown Hall); Lee Konitz (February 5, Jordan Hall); and the NEC Jazz Orchestra performing the music of visionary Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal (February 13, Jordan Hall). Jordan and Brown Hall are both accessible through 30 Gainsborough St.
