YONI WOLF - A difficult-to-define mix of hip-hop, jangle and pop.

Despite a career of more than 30 years, glowing notices, working with such jazz luminaries as Marian McPartland, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove and Mulgrew Miller, and 10 albums under her belt including her new disc, Come Home, Carmen Lundy's name isn't well known to those who aren't serious jazz vocal aficionados. Others can be pleasantly surprised by this "new discovery" with her ripe voice, intelligent phrasing, natural-as-breathing delivery and elegant, experienced compositions - in addition to being a vocalist, she's a gifted composer (and teacher, actress and painter). Come Home features a languid cover of "Nature Boy," alongside Lundy's own tunes, such as the glowingly soulful title track and "Afrasia," flavored with the uncalculated enthusiasm of a children's chorus. And she's pretty hip for a 53-year-old jazz singer; she's got screensavers and wallpapers available at myspace.com/carmenlundy and downloadable tracks for sale at iTunes.com. It's worth wandering down to the mostly deserted expanses of the East Bank of the Flats to Scripts Nightclub (1204 Old River Rd., 440.521.2119) where she'll be performing two shows at 8 and 10 p.m. with a four-piece ensemble that includes bassist Kenny Davis, drummer Teri Lynn Carrington, guitarist Lage Lund and keyboardist Anthony Wonsey. Tickets: $18 and $25. Tickets available at CD Game Exchange locations. - Anastasia Pantsios

Wednesday, March 26

The Watts Prophets Hip-Hop Choir

For a week, the Watts Prophets, the LA-based trio whose combination of street-cadenced spoken-word poetry with jazz and soul music was a precursor of hip-hop, have been working on the three Tri-C campuses with interested members of the community to create hip-hop "choirs." The results of their workshops will be showcased in performances at each campus: Tri-C East tonight, the Tri-C West tomorrow and the Metro campus on Friday. All performances are at 7 p.m. Tickets: $5-$10. Call 216.241.6000 or go to tricpresents.com. - AP

Friday, March 28

Haale

A New York-based singer of Iranian descent, Haale draws from her cultural background on her debut, No Ceiling. The album commences with the droning "Middle of Fire" and then references the mystical poet Rumi and delves into Sufi dance traditions. But in reality, Haale, who (mostly) sings in English, is indebted to the psychedelic rock tradition of Hendrix and the Beatles, something that should give her Middle Eastern-tinged music wide appeal. Trouble Books open at 9 p.m. at the Beachland Tavern (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216.383.1124). Tickets: $10. - Jeff Niesel

Saturday, March 29

Aloha

Though it'd be disingenuous to keep calling it a Cleveland band, given its years-ago diaspora, Aloha still ranks among our underground's finest ambassadors to the outside world. The band's been making challenging and cerebral yet haunting and emotionally rewarding music since the release of The Great Communicators, The Interpreters, The Nonbelievers in 1999. Since then, Aloha has gradually been shedding its obeisance to the post-rock tropes that served as a clear early inspiration, becoming a much freer unit, and its latest, Light Works, sees the group shedding a lot of its music's internal tensions, magnificently opening up its sound while emphasizing its more ethereal qualities and its always-strong songwriting. Catch it tonight at 7 at the top of a five-band bill at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., 216.321.5588, grogshop.gs) that includes Owen, Unwed Sailor, Anathallo and Paper Rival. $10 advance, $12 day of show. - Ron Kretsch

Sunday, March 30

Why?

With 2005's Elephant Eyelash, Why? went from being Yoni Wolf's nom de MC to band name, as Wolf added some full-time members to his crew. Eyelash also found Wolf moving even further from the acoustic hip-hop of his earlier releases to something resembling pop. The recently issued Alopecia continues in the full-band vein (with Wolf's brother Josiah and Doug McDiarmid adding piano, vibes and even harpsichord) while Wolf's vocals edge back closer to the sing-song cadence he evinced on oaklandazulasylum. Tracks like "Good Friday" and "Song of the Sad Assassin" are indicative of the intersection of old and new, as each is musically adventurous beneath Wolf's nasally raps. Alopecia moves Wolf and his Why? crew to even more inscrutable territory, a difficult-to-define mix of hip-hop, jangle and pop. The Muttering Retreats and Lazy Susan open at 9 p.m. at the Beachland Tavern (15711 Waterloo Rd., 216.383.1124). Tickets: $8. - Chris Drabick

Today Is the Day

Steve Austin has been shepherding one version or another of his experimental metal band Today Is the Day since 1992, through lineup and base-city changes too numerous to recount. From the early promise of Willpower, an album that foreshadowed screamo by several years, through the more unabashedly metallic In the Eyes of God (recorded with members of Mastodon), to the massively ambitious 2.5-hour opus Sadness Will Prevail, TItD's sonic experimentation has never taken it far from punishing music and themes of unbearable bleakness. The highly satisfying 2007 release, Axis of Eden, sees Austin pairing up with drummer Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Aurora Borealis), and the new lineup will boot-print your fucking face at Peabody's (2083 W. 21st St., 216.776.9999, peabodys.com) tonight with Mouth of the Architect, Lair of the Minotaur and Complete Failure. Tickets: $10. - RK

Tab Benoit

On 2006's Brother to the Blues, guitarist Tab Benoit played with the most tenured of Cajun musicians and songwriters. That includes roots-rock guys like Jim Lauderdale, Billy Joe Shaver and fiddler Waylon Thibodeaux. Benoit felt that after "some 11 records," the album was a way for him to explore his early music history. Due out next month, his follow-up, the live Night Train to Nashville, represents Benoit's diverse approach. Numerous guests appear on Night Train, too, but the real star is Benoit, whose solos are downright wicked on songs such as "Darkness" and "Fever for the Bayou." He plays at 8 p.m. at Wilbert's (812 Huron Rd. E., 216.902.4663). Tickets: $15. - JN

Tuesday, April 1

Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet

Hey, do you know who Gerhard Richter is? I bet you're more familiar with his paintings than you think. Remember the cover of that Sonic Youth record with the candle? That was his painting "Kerze." While that image apparently struck Thurston Moore and company enough to use it, Richter's series of paintings called "858" was the impetus for Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet. Using an interesting mix of stringed instruments to accompany his guitar work, Eyvind Kang, Hank Roberts and Jenny Scheinman make up this ensemble, begun in 2003. Since then, Frisell has continued composing for this setting while also working with Ron Carter and Paul Motion. Even with this busy schedule, Frisell comes to the Kent Stage (175 E. Main St., 330.677.5005) at 8 tonight. Tickets: $20 advance, $25 day of show. - Dave Cantor