Berklee Performance Center

A Belmont resident will direct the final concert of the 2012 Signature Music Series at Berklee with the jazz-inspired Rhapsody in Blue this Friday at the Berklee Performance Center. Phil Wilson is a Berklee professor, noted jazz educator and big band arranger who has performed and recorded with Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman and Frank Sinatra. The concert, An Evening with Kirill Gerstein: Rhapsody in Blue, will feature new works by Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau that Gerstein commissioned as part of his 2010 Gilmore Artist Award.

PICK OF THE DAY Jazzy Jane The program will be announced from the stage, and even if Jane Monheit sings the bar menu, you won't be disappointed. "Never Never Land" took up residence on the Billboard Jazz chart for more than a year, and if Monheit sings "Over the Rainbow" you'll never want to click your heels and go home. 8 p.m. $40 and up. Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-482-6661. www.celebrityseries.org FRIDAY Hay ride The latest album by the former frontman for Men at Work is titled "Gathering Mercury," and Colin Hay has said that while the subject matter is serious, the songs are...

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com) The Zumix firehouse on Sumner Street in East Boston. By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent An East Boston-based youth arts organization is working with a coalition of local non-profit youth groups and international partners to promote youth participation in the arts. Zumix, a 21-year-old music, radio, and theater program for children and adolescents, has partnered with the City of Boston, the United Nations, and an organization called the Sounding Board to present the Boston Rio+20 Project, held in conjunction with the Rio+20 Global Youth Music Contest.

A Belmont resident will direct the final concert of the 2012 Signature Music Series at Berklee with the jazz-inspired Rhapsody in Blue this Friday at the Berklee Performance Center. Phil Wilson is a Berklee professor, noted jazz educator and big band arranger who has performed and recorded with Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Woody Herman and Frank Sinatra. The concert, An Evening with Kirill Gerstein: Rhapsody in Blue, will feature new works by Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau that Gerstein commissioned as part of his 2010 Gilmore Artist Award.

Lalah Hathaway At: Berklee Performance Center,Friday She is blessed with what may be the most perfect voice in R&B and soul today, yet singer Lalah Hathaway has appeared far more often on other people's records than she has under her own name. Three albums in 15 years does not a major-label, commercial career make. Hathaway's quiet life as a sort of session musician appears to suit her fundamentally shy temperament. But when she takes center stage, watch out. In a triumphant performance Friday at the Berklee Performance Center, Hathaway deployed her flawless pitch and exceptional range...

There is always a strong contingent of ski film premieres the week of the Boston Ski Expo, and this year is no exception. Here's a rundown of some of this year's top films showing in the Boston area this week. Warren Miller Entertainment: "Like There's no Tomorrow" Somerville Theater Wednesday -7 p.m. Thursday - 7 and 10 p.m. Berklee Performance Center Friday - 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday -  6 and 9 p.m. The Sherpas: "All.I.Can" The Greatest Bar Thursday -9 p.m. All.I.Can.

David Byrne is one of the few stars of the rock era who is both genuine eclectic and deep musician. During a dozen years with the Talking Heads he masterminded the group's exploration of art-funk, New Wave minimalism, radio-ready guitar pop, and intricate world beat. Byrne's 10 solo albums -- the latest is "Grown Backwards," for Nonesuch -- have been no less adventurous, spanning electronics and dance theater, Latin traditions, and straight-ahead rock. The 52-year-old icon was greeted with a raucous standing ovation when he took the stage Thursday at...

Among the many Berklee alumni performing at the Heavy Rotation Records 6th Annual Epic Event, held at the Berklee Performance Center on Wednesday, hip-hop was the dominant presence. Others shared a certain Berklee-stamped sensibility and had a jazzy undertow to their music. But all eight groups had one link in common: inclusion on the "Dorm Room Sessions Vol. III" CD released through Berklee's student-run Heavy Rotation Records. All of the performers seem to have reached a certain level of success.

PICK OF THE DAY Jazzy Jane The program will be announced from the stage, and even if Jane Monheit sings the bar menu, you won't be disappointed. "Never Never Land" took up residence on the Billboard Jazz chart for more than a year, and if Monheit sings "Over the Rainbow" you'll never want to click your heels and go home. 8 p.m. $40 and up. Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-482-6661. www.celebrityseries.org FRIDAY Hay ride The latest album by the former frontman for Men at Work is titled "Gathering Mercury," and Colin Hay has said that while the subject matter...

Herb Pomeroy, who passed away last year at age 77, was one of Boston's most beloved musicians. A wonderful trumpeter, accomplished arranger, and superb band leader, Pomeroy's greatest legacy may well be the several generations of students he taught in his 40 years at the Berklee College of Music. Tuesday night, at the Berklee Performance Center, the college presented a resounding tribute to Pomeroy, featuring the 19-piece Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, a student ensemble inaugurated by Pomeroy in his early days at the school and now directed by trumpeter Greg Hopkins.

PICK OF THE DAY Downs to business Becoming a mother has informed both the life and art of Mexican-American singer Lila Downs. It's the major inspiration for her latest release, "Pecados y Milagros. " Downs commissioned 15 Mexican painters to create votive paintings, or retablos, to accompany the music. While she performs with her band La Misteriosa, images of the works will be projected onstage. March 9, 8 p.m. $30-$42. Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass. Ave., Boston.

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com) The Zumix firehouse on Sumner Street in East Boston. By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent An East Boston-based youth arts organization is working with a coalition of local non-profit youth groups and international partners to promote youth participation in the arts. Zumix, a 21-year-old music, radio, and theater program for children and adolescents, has partnered with the City of Boston, the United Nations, and an organization called the Sounding Board to present the Boston Rio+20 Project, held in conjunction with the Rio+20 Global...

CLUBS & DANCE NIGHTS DEADMEAT TOUR 2012 Steve Aoki, son of Japanese Olympic wrestler and Benihana founder Rocky Aoki, created the record label Dim Mak in the mid-'90s. (Dim Mak refers to a martial arts move that causes instant death.) In addition to Aoki's headlining set on Feb. 16, Datsik and Autoertique will also perform. Feb. 16, 7 p.m. 21+. Tickets: $35-$50. House of Blues. 888-693-2583, www.houseofblues.com THIRD ANNUAL BOSTON CHILI CUP Ned Devine's will be hosting its annual chili cook-off, now in its third year, where more than...

There is always a strong contingent of ski film premieres the week of the Boston Ski Expo, and this year is no exception. Here's a rundown of some of this year's top films showing in the Boston area this week. Warren Miller Entertainment: "Like There's no Tomorrow" Somerville Theater Wednesday -7 p.m. Thursday - 7 and 10 p.m. Berklee Performance Center Friday - 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday -  6 and 9 p.m. The Sherpas: "All.I.Can" The Greatest Bar Thursday -9 p.m. All.I.Can.

In celebrating the centennial of Robert Johnson’s birth, a superb musical collective traced the bluesman’s legacy from its humble beginnings to meteoric impact during a moving and wildly entertaining show Friday at the Berklee Performance Center. Guitarist and singer Todd Mohr anchored the proceedings, and his mates from Big Head Todd and the Monsters filtered among a cast that also included Delta blues upstarts Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, venerated elders Hubert Sumlin and David “Honeyboy’’ Edwards, and the celebrant’s grandson...

Scullers Jazz Club Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston 617-562-4111 www.scullersjazz.com Regattabar Jazz Club The Charles Hotel 1 Bennett St., Cambridge 617-395-7757 www.regattabarjazz.com Berklee Performance Center 136 Mass. Ave., Boston 617-747-2261 www.berkleebpc.com Wally’s Cafe 427 Mass. Ave., Boston 617-424-1408 www.wallyscafe.com Beehive 541 Tremont St., Boston 617-423-0069 www.beehiveboston.com ...

Scullers Jazz Club Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston 617-562-4111 www.scullersjazz.com Regattabar Jazz Club The Charles Hotel 1 Bennett St., Cambridge 617-395-7757 www.regattabarjazz.com Berklee Performance Center 136 Mass. Ave., Boston 617-747-2261 www.berkleebpc.com Wally’s Cafe 427 Mass. Ave., Boston 617-424-1408 www.wallyscafe.com Beehive 541 Tremont St., Boston 617-423-0069 www.beehiveboston.com Ryles Jazz Club 212...

In celebrating the centennial of Robert Johnson’s birth, a superb musical collective traced the bluesman’s legacy from its humble beginnings to meteoric impact during a moving and wildly entertaining show Friday at the Berklee Performance Center. Guitarist and singer Todd Mohr anchored the proceedings, and his mates from Big Head Todd and the Monsters filtered among a cast that also included Delta blues upstarts Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, venerated elders Hubert Sumlin and David “Honeyboy’’ Edwards, and the celebrant’s grandson Steven Johnson.