One of 2002's club show highlights during Jazz Fest was the debut of the Ponderosa Stomp, an amazing three-night mini-festival featuring and celebrating some of blues, rock 'n' roll, swamp pop and rockabilly's founding fathers. For roots music aficionados, the Stomp was nirvana; you almost had to rub your eyes and pinch yourself to make sure it wasn't a dream. Who could have imagined that on one stage, you could see and hear a guitar lineup such as James Burton, Scotty Moore and Paul Burlison -- backing up Dale Hawkins and Lazy Lester, while D.J. Fontana and Earl Palmer alternated in the drum chair? Promoters the Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau imagined it and pulled it off brilliantly, and now they're back at it again. Plenty more historic reunions and collaborations are in store at the SECOND ANNUAL PONDEROSA STOMP, which takes place Tuesday through Thursday at Mid City Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl (4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133). Each night has a loose theme of sorts, and Tuesday is blues-heavy, featuring a reunion of Howlin' Wolf bandmembers Jody Williams, Hubert Sumlin and Henry Gray, as well as James "Blood" Ulmer and Billy Boy Arnold (pictured). Wednesday features a reunion of Elvis Presley's Blue Moon Boys and a full roster of Excello swamp blues legends. New Orleans R&B, jazz and swamp pop reigns supreme on Thursday, as the Stomp wraps up with a reunion of session men from the heyday of Cosimo Matassa's studio: the AFO Executive Band featuring Harold Battiste, and swamp-pop legends such as Warren Storm, Rod Bernard and Tommy McClain belting out their south Louisiana anthems. Still, those highlights just scratch the surface of the Ponderosa Stomp's deep talent pool. The Sun Ra Arkestra performs each night, and unsung veterans such as Sam the Sham ("Wooly Bully") and Willie Cobbs ("You Don't Love Me") are among the scheduled performers. For a detailed lineup of artists, visit www.knights-maumau.com. The music gets underway at 5 p.m. each night and usually lasts until 3 a.m. Tickets are general admission and cost $30 per night, or a three-day pass is available for $80. -- Scott Jordan

Melvin Sparks, Johnny Vidacovich, James Singleton 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 29 The Howlin' Wolf, 828 S. Peters St., 522-WOLF James Singleton and Johnny Vidacovich (pictured) join Melvin Sparks for a groove jam at The Howlin' Wolf on Tuesday. In the late-60s heyday of organ combo groove-jazz, guitarist Melvin Sparks was a studio staple, and his guitar work graced albums by the likes of Lou Donaldson, Sonny Phillips and Charles Earland. Like guitarist Grant Green, Sparks helped take jazz from bop into groovier territory. Tonight, he joins Johnny Vidacovich and James Singleton for a one-off trio gig. The cornerstone for local jazz combo Astral Project, this drum-and-bass team is one of the tightest and funkiest jazz rhythm sections in the world -- the perfect catalyst for an improvisational adventure with this groove-jazz guitar veteran. San Francisco-based jam-band scene newcomer Om trio opens. The relentless road warriors play a bizarre melange of acid jazz, trance, funk and metal that they like to call "elevator music for headbangers." Admission $15. -- Cristina Diettinger

The Shim Sham Revue, featuring the Southern Jeze-Belles 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday, May 4 Shim Sham Club, 615 Toulouse St., 299-0666 By now locals already know full well about the Shim Sham Revue, where Bourbon Street's burlesque heyday is celebrated with an uncanny sense of joie d'vivre. So it's an opportune moment for visitors to get in on the act, which features homages to the strippers and their dances of the '40s and '50s (some of whom attend the show) backed up by one of the best trad-jazz ensembles in the city: Big Easy Award-nominated Ronni Magri's Shim Sham Revue Band. Drummer Magri has recruited such impressive artists as pianist Tom McDermott, reedman Evan Christopher and trumpeter Mark Braud, with Ingrid Lucia taking guest-vocal turns. But there's more; longtime Quarterite Becky Allen provides a timeless stand-up routine, while Running With Scissors' Flynn De Marco has succeeded Bob Edes as emcee with his pencil-thin mustachioed Danny Martini. A recent delight has been the addition of vaudeville veteran Chet Lowe performing magic tricks. The Revue has received notice everywhere including Time, Newsweek, USA Today, GQ and Entertainment Tonight. So sit back and enjoy numbers by such teasers as Mademoiselle Nicola, Miss Lina Chaste and Kitten La Rue. Tickets $17 advance, $20 door, $15 students. -- Simmons

Les Claypool's Frog Brigade 10 p.m. Sunday, May 4 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-TIPS Since his foray into the Jazz Fest club scene with Oysterhead in 2000, former Primus bassist Les Claypool has secured a place as one of the season's eminent figures. With his twisted sense of humor and signature slappy bass, Claypool will lead a massive Fest-time close-out at Tipitina's for the second year in a row. The Frog Brigade, his first all-original band since Primus, features such venerable characters as Seattle sax freak Skerik, percussionist Mike Dillon (both of jazz-funk trio Garage a Trois), and dread-headed guitarist Eenor. Outrageous costumes are the norm for this group, which incorporates wildly theatrical elements into its adventurous music for a total sensory experience. The World Accordion To Glenn Hartman and Wally Ingram opens. This act combines New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars accordionist Hartman, ace percussionist Ingram, and several guests for a live manifestation of the duo's 2002 self-titled album. Electronic funk-rock trio Drums & Tuba is also on the bill. Tickets $30. -- Diettinger

Los Lobos, plus Ammareso Agofomma 10 p.m. Saturday, May 3 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3805 On Good Morning Aztlan, Los Lobos showed they have settled into a comfort zone without losing any quality. Their albums aren't as daring as the Mitchell Froom/Tchad Blake collaborations that produced such works as the classic 1992 effort, Kiko, but they still infuse their sound with what feels like a checklist of American roots music with a Mexican folk foundation as befitting their east L.A. roots. They may be America's finest roots band, as Aztlan clearly shows; "Done Gone Blue" and the title track are rollicking rockers that groove as sweetly as anything from earlier albums such as How Will the Wolf Survive, fueled by David Hidalgo's clear tenor. Likewise, "Luz de Me Vida" has co-leader Cesar Rosas crooning in his trademark Spanglish over the hum of Steve Berlin's saxophone. Indeed, these Wolves show every sign of surviving. Opening act for this CAC show is the Amammereso Agofomma, a 26-member dance-and-drum group from Ghana. Tickets $25 general admission, $20 CAC members, $65 VIP seating. -- Simmons

Continental Drifters CD-release party 10 p.m. Sunday, May 4 Carrollton Station, 8140 Willow St., 865-9190 New Orleans roots-rock supergroup the Continental Drifters traditionally close out Carrollton Station's Jazz Fest schedule, but this year the performance comes with a twist. The band's gone through numerous personnel changes in the past few years, with vocalist Susan Cowsill and drummer Russ Broussard leaving the fold; Bangles guitarist/vocalist Vicki Peterson recently left New Orleans and has a full-scale Bangles reunion album and tour upcoming, so her future with the band is unclear. But turnover has always been a part of the Drifters' career, and tonight's show finds the band coming full circle. It's a CD-release show for Nineteen-Ninty-Three, the band's stellar debut studio CD that was never released. To honor the event, the band's original lineup -- bassist Mark Walton, drummer Carlo Nuccio, and multi-instrumentalists Peter Holsapple, Gary Eaton and Ray Ganucheau -- is reuniting for this one-off show. Admission TBA. -- Jordan

The Jazz Lenses: Photographs by Skip Bolen and Steve Forster Through May 31 John Stinson Fine Arts, 900 S. Peters St., 566-1944 They have turned up everywhere over the years. Steve Forster is, of course, the ubiquitous Times-Picayune photographer, the eye behind all those chablis-tinged grins on the Sunday Big Easy page, and Skip Bolen is the tri-coastal local, accomplished photographer, fashion and graphic designer who in recent years has rededicated himself to his first love, the art of music -- that is, music as visual art -- here, in Los Angeles and beyond. Bolen's musician portraits have graced many books and magazines as well as CD jackets, and both Bolen and Forster are peripatetic jazz hounds as we see in this show, where Bolen's eloquent large-scale black-and-white prints, and Forster's "monumental one-of-a-kind 4-x-6 foot color jams on the New Orleans Jazz Lifestyle" capture the high spirited mise-en-scene of the musical lifestyle. -- D. Eric Bookhardt

Soulive with special guests 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-8477 Soulive (pictured) grooves with special guests Nicholas Payton and Fred Wesley on Wednesday at Tipitina's. Of all the bands lumped into the current jam-band category, Boston-based trio Soulive has some of the firmest roots in jazz. Brother tandem Alan Evans (drums) and Neal Evans (Hammond B-3 organ), along with guitarist Eric Krasno, know their way around Blue Note's '60s catalog of soul jazz and open up explorations of the genre with everything from hip-hop beats to hardcore funk workouts. Their stripped-down trio sound works just fine on its own, but the band can supplement its sound when inspiration strikes. This show is one such time, as Soulive welcomes a bad-ass horn section featuring New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton and legendary James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley. The icing on the cake is guest guitarist John Scofield, whose superb recent funk/jazz recordings have won him a whole new fanbase. Lil Rascals Brass Band, Lettuce open. Tickets $25. -- Jordan

HP Classic of New Orleans Thursday-Sunday, May 1-4 English Turn Golf & Country Club, 831-4653 Boasting a $5 million purse and all the amenities of English Turn, the HP Classic continues in a strong but still-growing tradition of New Orleans as one of the favorite stops along the PGA Tour. The 2003 edition marks the end of an era; Rick George, the charismatic president and CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation -- the local nonprofit that hosts the event and benefits from some of its proceeds -- will leave his post to assume leadership of the PGA's Champions Tour. It's a promotion no doubt linked to the PGA's love affair with the local tournament. Luckily for us, George's success is evident and in place, as the week includes various dinners and social events, a Pro-Am tournament Monday, and top-flight golf action Thursday through Sunday. Top-ranking pros such as Phil Mickelson and Masters runner-up Len Mattiace will be in competition. Daily passes are $25, with weekly passes $50 ($25 for seniors over 65). Visit www.hpclassic.com for more info. -- Frank Etheridge

Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes 10 p.m. Thursday, May 1 Red Eye Grill, 852 S. Peters St., 593-9393 What can you say about a band that performed its record release party last month in tuxedos and boxer shorts for three hours? That's Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes for you. Its zany brand of horn-driven funk and rock is fun, funny, and great to dance to. Their new CD, Bandicoot, celebrates the glories of St. Bernard Parish in "Sweet Chalmette" ("Friday night at the Daiquiri and Creams, more beautiful people than you've ever seen!") and makes fun of local sayings in "Ya Heard Me." They're not just a band of jokers, either; almost all of the members are graduates of Loyola University's Classical Music program and have serious musical chops, but somewhere in there you can tell they've checked out local stalwarts All That and Galactic. When Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes get cooking, things can get out of control, and the rowdy setting of the Red Eye Grill could inspire all sorts of clothing to come off from both band and audience. No cover. -- David Kunian

Evan Parker, Alex Schlippenbach, Paul Lytton 9 p.m. Thursday, May 1 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3800 Against the backdrop of the Jazz Fest season's focus on American roots music, the Parker/Schlippenbach/Lytton show offers a refreshing look at the European avant-garde extension of the jazz tradition. Bristol, England, native Evan Parker is widely regarded as the most significant saxophone frontiersman since John Coltrane. Wearing Coltrane's influence on his sleeve, he unleashes relentless runs of squawks, squeaks, and angular melodies on his audiences. A longtime collaborator of Parker's, drummer Paul Lytton, also a native of Britain, has been a groundbreaker since the '60s with unorthodox electronic methods that threaten to steer jazz away from its organic tradition. This will be drummer Lytton's second New Orleans appearance since his local debut last fall. Pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach joined this tour when bassist Barry Guy was forced to cancel. Creator of the Global Unity Orchestra in the '60s and the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra in the '80s, Schlippenbach is a premier European free jazz bandleader. Tickets $15 (CAC members $12). -- Diettinger

Gomez 8 p.m. Friday, May 2 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Gomez brings on its British groove to House of Blues on Friday. Photo by Jay Blakesberg Time is running out on calling Gomez a surprisingly mature band for its age; sooner or later, we're just going to have to admit that the group is brilliant, period -- age be damned. On last year's Bring It On, Gomez's third effort for Virgin Records, this British quintet continued to expand on its bluesy psychedelic grooves. Few artists understand the possibilities of meshing acoustic and electronic sounds (Beck immediately comes to mind), but Bring It On finds Gomez adding more squawks, burps and loops without losing any cohesion. This is a jam band that doesn't need to jam that hard. Guitarists Tom Gray, Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell all trade off on lead vocals, only one example of their democratic ways; Ottewell's my personal favorite (think John Mayer without the banality). Through the dream-state floating of acoustic picking on "Miles End," Ottewell laments about a player's good fortune, "He's been king now for so long now, his days are numbered/Times have changed, so move along/ The dream is over/ We've been waiting for so long, we think it's over." No, Gomez is just beginning. Patrick Park opens. Tickets $28. -- David Lee Simmons

Cajun Fried Recipe 1:45 a.m. Saturday, May 3 The Howlin' Wolf, 828 S. Peters St., 522-WOLF It's been a whirlwind year for guitar doozy Brian Carroll, aka Buckethead. A crucial cog in the experimental funk-rock band Praxis, Buckethead became an unlikely media darling after joining a bizarre version of Guns 'n' Roses that bombed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards and then embarked on one of the most disastrous arena tours of all time. Now, wearing his signature hockey mask and Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket hat, he joins a motley one-time band of notables from several corners of the music world. The rhythm section features veteran Headhunters drummer Mike Clark and bass virtuoso Rob Wasserman. Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman will inject the ensemble with local flavor. Surprise guests are likely to show up in typical Jazz Fest season fashion. Buckethead opens the show solo. Known for his flawless stylistic meandering and aggressive technique, he can rival the best of metal, funk, jazz, and pop guitarists in the span of a single set. Admission $20. -- Diettinger

Gov't Mule's Deepest End Concert 10 p.m. Saturday, May 3 Saenger Theatre, 143 N. Rampart St., 524-2490 After the death of bassist Allen Woody in 2000, Gov't Mule mourned by morphing into the mother of all supergroups. Instead of choosing just one bass player to replace Woody, remaining members Warren Haynes and Matt Abts created a multi-media bass blowout. The band recorded the two-volume epic The Deep End, featuring a vast range of star bassists including the Who's John Entwistle, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, and Primus' Les Claypool. The project also spawned a feature-length DVD documentary, Rising Low, aptly directed by Phish bassist Mike Gordon. Tours with jam-band scenesters such as the Aquarium Rescue Unit's Oteil Burbridge and Widespread Panic's Dave Schools followed, and this Saturday's "Deepest End Concert" is set to be the culmination of the two-year project. Featuring performances from an incredible array of surprise guest bass players, the show will be recorded and filmed for another CD and DVD. After this grand-scale finale, Gov't Mule will announce a new permanent bass player and resume its former identity as a jam-band power trio. DJ Motion Potion opens. Tickets $30. -- Diettinger

Broadway Gala VIII 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4 Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 400 Phlox Ave., Metairie, 885-2000 In addition to its performances for grownups (such as this past season's Cabaret), the Jefferson Performing Arts Society also organizes summer showcases for New Orleans' budding singers in grades 3 to 12. Help support the Children's Chorus & Youth Chorale in its annual spring tour by coming out to listen to a night of Broadway tunes as interpreted by these talented young performers. With the community's help, the two musical groups will go on to perform The Music Man and The Will Rogers Follies this summer. The musical focus of Broadway Gala VIII will be on the period in American history when vaudeville was tops and big band music had folks swinging the night away. The Jefferson Performing Arts Society Broadway Pit Orchestra will provide musical accompaniment. Complementing the program will be the barbershop music of the Nile Manske Trio. Tickets $15 general admission, $5 students. -- Deborah M. Stein