Don't look for the Newcomb Dance Company to rest on their laurels any time soon. Recently presented with the Tribute to the Classical Arts award for Best Modern Dance Production in 2002, the Tulane troupe will again present the award-winning AN EVENING OF DANCE, featuring several new works debuting along with signature favorites, with performances Thursday through Saturday this week. An Evening of Dance features the works of guest artists John Allen and Doug Varone, along with the contributions of Tulane's dance faculty. The performances include a wide range of dance styles, from modern dance to ballet. Allen offers The Sun Rises, the Ice Thaws, an abstract rendering on the possibility of bringing life to an inanimate object. One of the highlights of 2002's program came with Varone's Bench Quartet, which captures a dilemma facing a small community through Varone's choreography of a four-woman cast dancing about the stage with heavy hearts and big, sweeping movements. While 2002's An Evening of Dance brought Bench Quartet's debut, this year's performances mark the final time it will be staged. From the Tulane faculty comes works such as Alice Pascal Escher's re-staging of Concentric Concerto, along with her debut of a modern ballet piece. While Concentric Concerto moves in a silent energy to Archangelo Corelli's Concert Grosso Opus Number 6 in F, the debut ballet is set to traditional bluegrass with eight dancers romping against a backdrop of mountaintops and open fields. Barbara Haley will orchestrate Vertiges with her dancers using their favorite texts and visuals to illustrate a series of phases on stage. Beverly Trask also will debut a work with a cast of eight women and six men partnering together in a number of ways. An Evening of Dance will be held at 8 p.m. nightly Thursday through Saturday at Dixon Hall on the Tulane campus. Tickets are $10 general admission, $8 Tulane faculty and staff, and $6 all students and seniors. For more information or tickets, call 865-5106. -- Frank Etheridge

Erykah Badu 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Erykah Badu dishes out the soul on Tuesday at House of Blues. The unmistakable sound of Erykah Badu's voice is a reminder of that moment in the late '90s when soul music suddenly reemerged as "neo-soul." With her one-of-a-kind funk-laden sweet sound, Badu took her place at the vanguard of the movement that softened the mainstream black music canon after a solid decade of hardcore hip-hop, and added depth to the boy-band/girl-band pop scene. Five more years of writing, recording, producing and parenting-- her son's father is Andre 3000 of Outkast -- has left her in no worse a place artistically. Since her 2000 tour de force, Mama¹s Gun, her cameos and production contributions don't receive the same frenzied response as her 1997 debut, but Badu seems to have secured a cushy seat among the ranks of soul royalty. She shares her latest radio hit with high-minded Chicago-based rapper Common. "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" reasserts her affinity for the four elements. Buzz of a new album is on the rise, but, if we know Badu, she won't put it out until it's perfect. Tickets $39.50. -- Cristina Diettinger

Varla Jean: I've Got the Music in Me 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, Feb. 18-22 Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581-5812 Jeff Roberson and his alter-ego, Varla Jean, return to New Orleans with Varla Jean's new show, Iÿve Got the Music in Me, this week at Le Chat Noir. Varla Jean Merman (all 6-feet-2 of her) is back in town to present her critically acclaimed one-woman cabaret extravaganza, I¹ve Got the Music in Me. Four new videos and eight new songs include such titles as "The Yodeling Weiner," "Coffee Enya-Ma," "White Swallow" and "Varla Jeans: The Denim Line." Varla Jean left New Orleans and moved to New York in 1994, but returns to the Big Easy periodically to host the Bourbon Street Awards and treat locals to her outrageous musical performances. Varla Jean creator Jeff Roberson wrote I¹ve Got the Music in Me along with Matt Callaway and Michael Schiralli, who also directs. The first night of her exclusive engagement at Le Chat Noir benefits the Mystic Krewe of Satyricon, which will welcome Varla Jean as a featured performer in its Feb. 23 Mardi Gras ball. Reservations for the first night are available only through Satyricon by calling 525-4498. Tickets $26. -- Deborah M. Stein

A Lesson Before Dying 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Feb. 21-22; through March 15 Loyola University, Marquette Theater, 865-3824 Loyola University's Department of Drama and Speech offers as its first 2003 production an adaptation of Ernest Gaines' novel of the same title set in 1940s Louisiana. Gaines' tale centers around the plight of a black teenager, Jefferson, sentenced to die for a murder he did not commit, the death of a white shopkeeper in a tiny hamlet in the heart of Acadiana. The case spurs local schoolteacher Grant Wiggins to reflect on the ways, in his own life, that he is condemned as a black citizen by society. A shared empathy soon develops as Jefferson's godmother convinces Wiggins to teach her godson to "walk like a man" in the days leading to his execution. Lane Savadove directs. Tickets $10 general admission, $7 students and seniors. -- Etheridge

Paris Piano Trio 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, University of New Orleans, 280-SHOW or 280-6381 This week, the University of New Orleans wraps up its tribute to the Louisiana Purchase bicentennial, "Les Nuits des Musiciens de France." The third and final performance features the French musicians Regis Pasquier on violin, Jean-Claude Pennetier on piano and Roland Pidoux on cello, a group known in Europe as "Les Musiciens." This talented trio have toured in Europe and North and South America and are showered with praise wherever they play. Not only are these musicians remarkable for their success as a group, but they also each conduct successful solo careers, and are professors at the National Conservatory of Music in Paris, where they started playing together as students. Judging by the other performances in this series, this show will definitely not disappoint. Proceeds from the concert benefit UNO's music scholarship program. Tickets $20 general public, $10 seniors 55 and over, $5 students. -- Stein

Almas Gemelas, Ballzack 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Almas Gemelas is a local Latin-leaning band that takes the shape of a saucy dance band and American pop outfit in the same set. The seven-piece party band takes half of its members from Puerto Rico, and the other half from the continental States, for a mosaic mix of Latin melodies and torch ballad vocals. Jorge Colon croons original songs in English and Spanish, depending on the selection, while rhythms bear the heavy accents of reggae and other island beats. For this performance, Almas shares a bill with local clown-rapper Ballzack. With his farcical lyrics and stripped-down beats, Ballzack's irreverent, cartoonish music falls in the same vein as geek-rapper MC Paul Barman or sex-fixated head case Kool Keith. His rhymes, utilizing oddball musings and childhood humor, are almost clever in their sheer silliness. His debut full-length album, Knucklehead Memoirs, chronicles his twisted musings on a variety of human issues with tracks like "Monkey Hand Jobs" and "The Wankers." Admission $10. -- Diettinger

Roger Miret & the Disasters 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 Shim Sham Club, 615 Toulouse St., 299-0666 In the early-80s underground urban music scene, New York City's Agnostic Front was making some of the earliest punk-metal crossover music, and frontman (no pun intended) Roger Miret was at the helm. His working-class background gave him a true street-kid bent that proved valuable in the context of NYHC (New York Hard Core), and popular among its fans -- working-class post-punks who considered themselves victims of Reaganomics. Miret's lyrics of alienation and socioeconomic oppression really spoke to the yuppie-haters of the time. But unlike most punk rockers, Miret has displayed remarkable resilience throughout his career. Through the '90s he switched from guitar to bass and played in his wife's band. Once again settled on punk purism, Miret recently assembled a new band, the Disasters, and released a self-titled debut. Ska-punk luminaries Voodoo Glow Skulls are also on the bill. Austin-based acoustic jazz-and-blues outfit Asylum Street Spankers play at 9:30 p.m. Admission $10. -- Diettinger

Donald Harrison Jr. & Idris Muhammad 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 Snug Harbor, 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Any meeting of New Orleans jazz titans Donald Harrison Jr. and Idris Muhammad is cause for celebration; these two boundary-pushing artists have collectively played with fellow innovators such as Art Blakey, Lonnie Smith, Randy Brecker, Pharoah Sanders and Lou Donaldson. Those collaborations are indicative of the amazing stylistic ground that saxophonist Harrison and drummer Muhammad cover, but with Carnival season starting to kick into high gear, Mardi Gras music should permeate their two sets on this show. Harrison is a true keeper of the flame for Mardi Gras Indian music, having learned the tradition from his late father, Big Chief Donald Harrison of the Guardians of the Flame. He also recorded the acclaimed Feathercraft album with percussionist Chief Smiley Ricks. Muhammad, meanwhile, is a one-man band of street rhythms, and his musical dialogue with Harrison should help make Frenchmen Street sound like a high-stepping parade. Tickets $18. -- Scott Jordan

Barkus Pawty and Parade 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 23 Armstrong Park, 581-BARK For Mystic Krewe of Barkus's 11th annual parade, the krewe has chosen the theme "Tailhouse Rock: From Graceland to Jazzland." The theme honors Elvis while focusing attention on dogs "jailed" in shelters, awaiting adoption by a loving family. Krewe captain Jo Jo McWood will lead King Barkus XI (former grand marshal Norm Cooper-Smith) and the as-yet-unannounced Queen Barkus XI, who is always a rescued or adopted female. The Pawty will feature entertainment, food and beverages while providing paraders and their chaperones with time to get into the right mood for the 15-block walk, which will end up back at Armstrong Park. Proceeds benefit animal welfare groups, homeless animals and rescue/working dogs. The parade starts at 2 p.m. Registration is required, and information can be found online www.barkus.org. Parade registration $30-$50, Pawty free admission. -- Stein

Freddie Staehle Trio 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23 Water's Edge Bar & Grill, 4427 Pontchartrain Drive, Slidell, (985) 781-5882 Simply put, Freddie Staehle is one of New Orleans' greatest drummers. From his early work with Dr. John to his more recent collaborations with trumpeter Charlie Miller, Staehle is a soulful encyclopedia of indigenous rhythms. He's also one of the most creative instrumentalists around; his hand-made "Winger Tree" is a massive and beautiful hand-made drum kit featuring multiple percussion instruments that Staehle plays beautifully. Staehle is joined on this gig by bassist Spike Perkins and guitarist Steve Armstrong, with special guest saxophonist Jerry Jumonville. The Water's Edge Bar & Grill is a new Slidell venue run by frequent DownBeat (and occasional Gambit Weekly) contributor Glenn Astarita, so jazz fans should keep an eye out for the club's music bookings. No cover. -- Jordan

Frederick J. Brown: Portraits in Jazz, Blues and Other Icons Through March 16 New Orleans Museum of Art, City Park, 488-2631 Raised in Chicago's hardscrabble South Side, Frederick J. Brown did not grow up with many privileges, but his childhood did have some advantages that others might envy. Through his father he met blues musicians such as Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Lightnin' Hopkins, who became critical influences on his art. Even now he paints to the sounds of jazz, and includes Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton among his friends, so it comes as no surprise that his big expressionist paintings at NOMA feature musicians such as B.B. King, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Otis Spann and Bessie Smith. Influenced by African and Native American art as well as Max Beckman and the German expressionists, Brown's unique style of swashbuckling, larger-than-life figuration that is as insightful as it is engaging. -- D. Eric Bookhardt