Test cases

Peter Evans @ Elastic, Thursday 1
Young, fearless and blessed with herculean lungs, trumpeter Evans puts on a startling live show. Based in New York, Evans usually performs solo, and can imbue a single piccolo trumpet (no bigger than a human fist) with cascading—even contradictory—voices. And the fact that he was recently signed to Psi—the label owned by free-jazz godfather Evan Parker—shows that it’s not just his peers who think Evans is the next big trumpet hero. 2830 N Milwaukee Ave, second floor (773-772-3616). 9pm, $10 suggested donation.

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Frequency @ Elastic, Thursday 1
Free-jazz org the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, and the formation of the brilliant all-AACM quartet Frequency couldn’t be a better way to mark it. In typically democratic AACM fashion, flutist Nicole Mitchell fluidly trades off turns in the spotlight with three other veterans—saxophonist Ed Wilkerson Jr., percussionist Avreeayl Ra and bassist Harrison Bankhead. Because each member of the quartet is a multi-instrumentalist (and all play the flute), and Mitchell is, for once, just another gifted musician in the bunch. 11pm, $10 suggested donation.

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Ingebrigt Håker Flaten Quintet @ Hideout, Saturday 3
Since his move here last year, this phenomenal Norwegian bassist has injected his energetic style into several new groups, including Ken Vandermark’s Powerhouse Sound and this one. His revamped quintet makes its second Chicago appearance tonight and includes saxophonist Dave Rempis, drummer Frank Rosaly, up-and-coming guitar slasher Dave Miller and the extraordinarily talented Norwegian violinist Ola Kvernberg. Although Håker Flaten has already received the coveted Vitalprisen, the highest award for a jazz musician in Norway, we’re grateful he continues to act like he’s got something to prove. 1354 W Wabansia Ave (773-227-4433). 11pm, $15.

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Dörner/Drumm/Lonberg-Holm @ the Hungry Brain, Sunday 4
If Evans is the evangelical preacher of new trumpet music, then Axel Dörner is its soft-spoken mystic. More subtle but no less powerful, this German trumpeter can play entire shows without using his valves, instead relying solely on the bizarre sounds his own breath creates. Joining him are cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (see main story 10) and fellow Chicagoan and laptop-guitar-synthesizer guru Kevin Drumm. Best known for tweaking the insides of electric guitars to coax out strange and wonderful sounds, Drumm walks the tight rope between computerized chaos and human-controlled improvisation. 2319 W Belmont Ave (773-935-2118). 10pm, $10 suggested donation.

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Gianluca Petrella’s Indigo 4 @ Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater, Monday 5
In one of the best examples of the colliding jazz traditions taking place in Europe, this Italian trombonist blends bold sampling techniques with a reverence for bebop tradition. His acclaimed American debut on the hallowed Blue Note label—2005’s Indigo4—features a skin-and-bones undressing of Monk and Ellington alongside nods to Chicago’s own free-jazz tradition. Petrella rarely visits the States, and this will be his Chicago debut. 78 E Washington St (312-744-6630). 8pm, free.

For a complete listing of shows, see Music or umbrellamusic.org.