RASHIED ALI QUINTET (Sunday)
Rashied Ali has had a substantial career in the jazz avant-garde, beginning with his role in the late-period bands of John Coltrane. But hard bop is the foundation for this quintet, with a front line of the trumpeter Josh Evans and the tenor saxophonist Lawrence Clark. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net; cover, $25.
AVANTANGO (Sunday)
The Argentine bassist Pablo Aslan, a prominent figure in the thriving jazz-tango subculture, leads a group that rigorously explores that rich terrain. At 7:30 p.m., Joes Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8778, joespub.com; cover, $15, with a two-drink minimum.
OMER AVITAL ENSEMBLE (Thursday)
Omer Avital, a rugged bassist and an insistently creative composer, leads a chamber group inspired by his Israeli heritage, with partners including the trumpeter Itamar Borochov, the saxophonist Matan Chapnizka and the pianist Omer Klein. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village, (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org; cover, $15; $10 for members.
CINDY BLACKMAN QUARTET (Friday and Saturday)
Cindy Blackman may be more than a little late with the premise of Music for the New Millennium (Synth Street). But her version of jazz-funk feels immediate enough, and it should sound more so in person, with her strenuous drumming at the heart of a band with Antoine Roney on saxophones, Zaccai Curtis on keyboards, and Rashaan Carter on bass. At 7:30, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net; cover, $30.
SEAMUS BLAKE QUINTET (Friday and Saturday)
Seamus Blake is a tenor and soprano saxophonist with a sleekly modern style, and his quintet features smart and sympathetic partners: the pianist David Kikoski, the guitarist Lage Lund, the bassist Matt Clohesy and the drummer Bill Stewart. At 10:30 p.m. and midnight, Smalls, 183 West 10th Street, West Village, (212) 252-5091, smallsjazzclub.com; cover, $20.
T. K. BLUE QUARTET (Saturday)
The multireedist T. K. Blue celebrates a few things here: his birthday, for one, as well as the music of Gigi Gryce (a faint influence) and Randy Weston (a regular employer). His quartet features the pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Sistas Place, 456 Nostrand Avenue, at Jefferson Avenue, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, (718) 398-1766, sistasplace.org; cover, $20.
CINEMA PARADISO (Tuesday through Thursday)
The subtitle for this Valentines week engagement, Modern Romantic Film Music of Ennio Morricone, Johnny Mandel & Henry Mancini, may tell you all you need to know. Its worth noting, though, that the cast of interpreters includes two brilliant rhapsodists Geoffrey Keezer on piano and Joe Locke on vibraphone and a soulful vocalist, Kenny Washington (not to be confused with the drummer). (Through Feb. 15.) At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Dizzys Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 258-9595, jalc.org; cover, $30, with a minimum of $10 at tables, $5 at the bar.
IMAGES OF MONK (Friday)
Ted Rosenthal, a past winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, features his arrangements of Monks music for a crisp quintet that includes Mike Rodriguez on trumpet, Joel Frahm on saxophones, Martin Wind on bass, and Quincy Davis on drums. At 8 p.m., Dicapo Opera Theater, St. Jean Baptiste Church, 184 East 76th Street, Manhattan, (212) 288-9438, dicapo.com; $25; $10 for students.
MILES AND COLTRANE (Thursday)
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of John Coltranes Giant Steps and Miles Daviss Kind of Blue, the pianist Mulgrew Miller augments his fine working trio with some outside flourishes. Among them are a sequence of Coltraneish arrangements by Ted Nash, for his fellow saxophonists in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; a Kind of Blue tribute by the soulful a cappella group Take 6; and the guest presence of Jimmy Cobb, the great hard-bop drummer who contributed to both classic albums. (Through Feb. 14.) At 8 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 721-6500, jalc.org; $82.50 to $127.50.
PAUL MOTIAN TRIO 3 IN 1 (Tuesday through Thursday)
Paul Motian is drawn to melody as a drummer, composer and bandleader, but he also harbors a fondness for indeterminacy. In this configuration he features an instinctive melodist, the saxophonist Chris Potter, and an incorrigible abstractionist, the pianist Jason Moran. Because he has recent history with each of them, and because everyone involved is an active listener, the results should suggest something other than an earnest collision. (Through Feb. 15.) At 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; cover, $20, with a $10 minimum.
WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS (Monday and Tuesday)
Two years ago this odd couple of American song performed a handful of Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts, generating enough good material for a successful album, Two Men With the Blues (Blue Note). Reprising the encounter, they welcome an artist whose style falls along the spectrum between them: Norah Jones. At 8 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 721-6500, jalc.org; sold out. (Chinen)
EDDIE PALMIERI AND THE LA PERFECTA ORCHESTRA II
(Friday and Saturday)
Mr. Palmieri, a tirelessly charismatic pianist, and one of the great bandleaders in Latin music, rose to prominence in the 1960s with Conjunta La Perfecta, which put the blare of trombones at the foreground, in place of trumpets. A handful of years ago he convened a new version of the group, recording a reassuringly vital album for Concord Picante. He undertakes much the same exercise here, but with the crucial addition of an audience. At 8 p.m., Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, 60th Street and Broadway, (212) 721-6500, jalc.org; $82.50 to $127.50. (Chinen)
NED ROTHENBERG AND INNER DIASPORA (Friday) Ned Rothenberg is a saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist and composer with a penchant for insistent frictions. He draws here from a recent texture-rich album called Inner Diaspora (Tzadik), with vital help from Mark Feldman on violin, Erik Friedlander on cello, Samir Chatterjee on tabla, and Jerome Harris on acoustic guitars. At 8:30 p.m., Union Temple, 17 Eastern Parkway, near Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, (718) 638-7600, uniontemple.org; free. (Chinen)
CASSANDRA WILSON (Tuesday through Thursday) Though a jazz singer by training and temperament, Cassandra Wilson takes obvious pleasure in a boundless repertory. On the exquisite recent album Loverly (Blue Note), she puts her stamp on a sheaf of standards, backed by musicians like the guitarist Marvin Sewell, the bassist Reginald Veal and the drummer Herlin Riley, who all rejoin her here. (Through Feb. 15.) At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212) 475-8592, bluenote.net; cover, $55 at tables; $40 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.
