E-Mail This Article to a Friend Winter dreams Jazz on tap in clubs and concerts BY JON GARELICK

A figure on the European free-improv scene since the ’60s, saxophonist and clarinettist Peter Brötzmann has long pushed the sonic extremes of his instruments and extolled all the virtues of high-energy playing. Brötzmann brings his Die like a Dog Trio, with bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, to the Institute of Contemporary Art on March 6 as the season opener for the Boston Creative Music Alliance. Also confirmed by the BCMA is Steve Lacy’s performance of "The Beat Suite," his setting of Beat poetry texts, on March 12, with his vocalist wife, Irene Aebi, bassist Jean-Jacques Avenal, drummer John Betsch, and trombonist George Lewis. Tickets for BCMA events are available through the Twisted Village record store in Harvard Square (617-354-6898).

Scullers (617-562-4111) brings in the phenomenal bassist Christian McBride with the cutting-edge young saxophonist Ron Blake, pianist Geoff Keezer, and drummer Terreon Gulley on January 16 and 17; the Brussels Jazz Orchestra with saxophonist Dave Liebman on January 19; the Swedish piano trio E.S.T. on January 22; "Boston’s First Lady of Jazz," Rebecca Parris, with pianist Brad Hatfield and guest reedman Dick Johnson, on January 23 and 24; and the 24-year-old Ahmad Jamal–mentored pianist Hiromi with her trio on January 28; the Boston-based songwriter and vocalist Marta Gómez on February 4; the genre-blurring pianist/composer Jason Moran and his group the Bandwagon on February 5; local cabaret avatars Will McMillan and Bobbi Carrey on February 11; young blues talent Nicole Nelson on February 12; jazz vocalist Carol Sloane with pianist James Williams and tenorman Harry Allen on Valentine’s Day weekend, February 13 and 14; Toots Thielemans with keyboardist Kenny Werner and guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves February 19-21; B-3 organist Bruce Katz with soul-sax legend David "Fathead" Newman on February 26; drummer Steve Smith with a crew of Buddy Rich–band veterans on March 2; jazz singer Tierney Sutton on March 17; soul/R&B greats the Holmes Brothers on March 25; and the Kendrick Oliver & the New Life Orchestra on March 26.

The controversial jazz sensation of 2003, the Bad Plus, comes into the Regattabar (617-876-7777) on January 10. That’s followed by Brazilian vocalist Teresa Inés on January 15; the Charlie Haden/Kenny Baron duo January 16-18; the Argentine folk-jazz ensemble Los Changos with bassist Fernando Huergo on January 20; Hector Cuevas & the Boston Latin Jazz Band on January 21; Dave Maxwell’s Maximum Blues on January 21; the Ahmad Jamal Trio January 23-25; the Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra on January 27; the Patrice Williamson group on January 28; the Bruce Gertz Quintet with Jerry Bergonzi, John Abercrombie, Joey Calderazzo, and Adam Nussbaum on January 29 and 30; the Mike Stern Quartet with Richard Bona, Dave Weckl, and Bob Franceschini on February 3 and 4; the Michel Camilo Trio with Charles Flores and Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez February 6-8; the Latin-charged Hilary Noble/Rebecca Cline Enclave on February 10; Mili Bermejo in her current trio featuring pianist Bruce Barth and bassist Dan Greenspan on February 11; the Javon Jackson Quartet with keyboardist Sam Yahel (Joshua Redman), Rodney Jones, and Lenny White on February 12; and a Valentine’s weekend with Irma Thomas February 13-15.

The folks who book the Regattabar, WaterMusic (same phone number), are also presenting Cassandra Wilson at the Berklee Performance Center on February 7 and the Dave Brubeck Quartet at Berklee on March 27 and Sanders Theatre on March 28.

The jazz features at Ryles (617-876-9330) this coming spring include the Andy Voelker Trio on January 7; the Eric Bloom Quartet on January 15; the Greg Hopkins Quintet with Tim Ray, Billy Pierce, and Mick Goodrick on January 21; and the Bruce Bartlett Trio on January 28.

Zeitgeist Gallery (617-876-6060) has its continuing Monday residency by the Fringe; Sunday-afternoon "open acoustic improv" jam sessions in January organized by drummer Nat Mugavero; the Brazilian group Sonho Meu on January 14; the Joe Maneri Trio on January 15 and again on January 28 opening for Neil Leonard’s Garden of Reeds band; pianist Dave Maxwell’s experimental improv band Outtakes Unlimited on January 16; the Piazzolla/Borges–inspired Sofia Koutsovitis Quartet on January 22; Dave Tronzo’s Funkloric Trio on January 26; saxophonist Tony Malaby with Zeitgeist resident pianist Gil Aharon and his trio on February 28; and the Joe McPhee/Joe Giardullo Duo on March 20.

And in the wilds of Hyde Park, the MIM series continues at the Artists-at-Large Gallery (617-276-3223) with its Monday-night residency of the mi3 Trio with Pandelis Karayorgis, Nate McBride, and Curt Newton.