Trio charm

Monty Alexander is a suave, amiable showman who knows how to flirt with an audience before wowing them with silky, spunky renditions from the American Songbook on his piano — or his melodica. The roots of bebop and his native Jamaica pervade Alexander's phrasing. The trio is his métier, always with topnotch sidemen. So it is with former Ellington Orchestra bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer Obed Calvaire from Miami by way of Haiti. (7 and 9 p.m. Wed., Dakota, Mpls.; $30-$35, dakotacooks.com)

The Wooten tang clan

The legacy of fusion jazz bassists is impressive, ranging from Jaco Pastorius to Stanley Clarke to Marcus Miller. Victor Wooten is in that echelon. A multi-Grammy winner, he can nimbly spider-walk along the neck of his instrument or settle into torridly throbbing funk-rock. Wooten will be with his trio, which includes Dennis Chambers — who used to play with John Scofield and was drummer for Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" — and brawny-toned saxophonist Bob Franceschini. (7 and 9 p.m. Thu.-Fri., Dakota, Mpls.; $25-$42, dakotacooks.com)

No Territory unturned

Drummer Davu Seru has long been a salutary presence on the local jazz scene. But he's really putting his marker down with his No Territory Band, an ambitious attempt to synthesize his debt to Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor and George Russell with his lessons from a trip to Ghana and his experiences being a black native of the Twin Cities. (7 p.m. Sat., Studio Z, St. Paul; $10, $15 at the door, studiozstpaul.com)

Dave King's next cool project

Here comes drummer Dave King with another cool conglomeration of musicians, this one appropriately called Dave King Vector Families. It's King's old Siamese Fighting Fish trio with the addition of the resourceful saxophonist Brandon Wozniak from the Dave King Trucking Company. Dean Granros (guitar) and Anthony Cox (electric bass) braid strings while King colors the soundscape on his drum kit. (9 p.m. Sat., Vieux Carre, St. Paul; $15 cash only, vieux-carre.com)

Britt Robson