In the Paint Basketball star Grant Hill is known for many great feats of athletic skill and physical prowess. He's remembered for passionate play and tenacious defense in helping lead Duke University to back-to-back NCAA championships in the early 1990s. Upon graduation with a degree in history, he was selected as the top player in the NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons, earned an Olympic gold medal and established himself as one of the top players in the NBA before an injury sidelined him for most of the past three years. Beginning this Saturday, Hill presents another facet of accomplishment with the opening of the exhibit SOMETHING ALL OUR OWN: THE GRANT HILL COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART at the New Orleans Museum of Art (1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, 488-2631). The exhibit runs through June 6. Hill's father, Calvin Hill, was a great athlete as well, having played football for the Dallas Cowboys. The elder Hill handed down not only superior genes but an appreciation for art as well, raising his son in a home filled with art and trips to museums and galleries. Grant Hill, with this touring exhibit, aims to share that love of art along with a mission to inspire social discourse over African-American history and culture. In the same-titled book accompanying the exhibit, edited by Alvia J. Wardlaw and published by Duke University Press, Hill says, "All the works of art in this collection, both individually and together, lift us, inspire us, and give us hope. They remind us of who we are, of what we have endured, of our triumphs and failures, of our hardships and our challenges as African Americans. They are also a constant reminder of the uniqueness and richness of the African-American experience." The two featured artists in Something All Our Own are Romare Bearden and Elizabeth Catlett. Bearden's early work Serenade (pictured) draws the face of African Americans in the rural South with African tribal masks, and 1985's The Street illustrates the dynamics of black urban life. Catlett's focus in her sculptures, paintings and drawings is on the essence of the African-American woman, particularly motherhood, seen in efforts such as the bronze sculpture Standing Mother With Child. For more info, call NOMA at 488-2631 or visit www.noma.org. -- Frank Etheridge

Brotzmann Chicago Tentet 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3805 Tenor saxophonist Peter Brotzmann is a true heavyweight. A titan of European free jazz, his trio gig at the CAC in 2002 was the best show that year. Album titles like Machine Gun, Balls and Die Like a Dog give just a hint of his intensity. Co-leader Ken Vandermark is one of the young visionaries of avant-garde jazz. Hailing from Chicago, he has played his saxophones in many settings, making this sometimes inscrutable music more accessible to the general public. The rest of the Tentet consists of some of the top avant improvisers from across the globe, including musicians such as saxophonist Mats Gustafson and percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love, both of whom have come to New Orleans before and left scorched stages in their wake. Given the power of this group, expect serious and subtle energy with profound music. This has the potential to be a gig people will talk about for years to come. Tickets $20 general admission, $15 for CAC members. -- David Kunian

Chicago 8 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, April 6-7; 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 7 Saenger Theatre, 143 N. Rampart St., 524-2490 Tom Wopat leads the touring cast of Chicago in town this week at the Saenger. While far too many people have connotations of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger with Chicago, the classical musical still stands strong in its legacy as one of Broadway's timeless commercial and critical successes. The Broadway in New Orleans series brings the ol' razzle-dazzle -- capturing the sensuous underbelly of 1920s mobsters and nightlife, murder and celebrity -- to town for three shows this week. The masterful, multi-award-winning score of composers John Kander and Fred Ebb remains in this production, of course, but the cast features a number of fresh and interesting faces. Tom Wopat, aka Luke Duke of The Dukes of Hazzard, portrays attorney Billy Flynn. Veteran stage actresses work to capture the play's murderesses, as Bianca Marroquin is Roxie Hart and Reva Rice plays Velma Kelly. Tickets range from $20-$56, and are available through the Saenger box office or Ticketmaster (522-555). -- Etheridge

I Can Lick Any Son of a Bitch in the House 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 6 Mermaid Lounge, 1100 Constance St., 524-4747 Portland quintet I Can Lick Any Son of a Bitch in the House takes raw Southern rock and makes it hip again. And raw is the key word here. The band name comes from the title of boxer John L. Sullivan's biography, its main influences (Thin Lizzy, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Rolling Stones) shine through unabashedly, and singer Mike Damron makes no bones about the band's "extremely liberal" political stance. Its newest album, Put Here to Bleed (In Music We Trust Records) takes stabs at George W. Bush, "the unjustified war" and conservative Christian stances, all without sounding hackneyed. Though there's a lot of the '70s in the sound and Steve Earle in Damron's powerful, twangy vocals, song structures and drum beats show traces of punk and indie rock. The band is making its first tour outside of the Western states in an effort to raise voter consciousness throughout the nation. Call club for cover. -- Rob Bryant

ARTDOCS Benefit Art Auction 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, April 8 UNO Downtown Theater, 619 Carondelet St., 522-5471 We've all heard the riff: "America has the best heath care system in the world." And that may be true -- if you have health insurance. But ordinary Americans are increasingly priced out of the system, and for struggling artists the problem is critical. In 1999, Dr. Vince Morelli and art dealer Jonathan Ferrara joined forces to address this problem through ARTDOCS, a pro bono medical services provider for artists in need. Since that time, more than 1,300 have been treated. All this costs money, and the annual ARTDOCS benefit auction -- this year featuring work by more than 70 of this city's best-known artists -- helps underwrite those costs. Beyond the splendid visuals, featured entertainers include the Panorama Jazz Band, Dante the Magician, and acrobatics by New Orleans School of Circus Arts, fire eaters, jugglers and many others. Admission: $15. -- D. Eric Bookhardt

New Orleans' Great Comedy Showcase Friday, April 9, through Saturday, April 24 Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581-5812 As amusing as our beloved city is at times, catching a comedy show isn't typically atop the list of entertainment options. Le Chat Noir shakes things up for the next two weeks with New Orleans' Great Comedy Showcase, a series of performances by top local and national comedians. The national talent, presented over four nights April 16-17 and April 23-24, are collectively dubbed The Good Humor Men. The group comes with headliner Pat Hazell, a familiar comedic voice to area audiences from theater shows The Wonderbread Years and Bunk Bed Brothers and on a national level as a writer for Seinfeld and The Tonight Show. Also appearing are Jimmy Brogan, Evan Davis, Anthony Griffith and local fave Amanda Hebert (Late Night Catechism). The local crew is under the direction of "Wild" Bill Dykes, who has recruited Aldo, Carrey B, RedBean, Kristen Becker, Jody Borello, Seth Cockfield, Dane Faucheaux, Tom Gregory, Fayard Lindsay, Sean Patton, T. Ray, Mike Strecker, Nature Boy, and Yvonne Landry. Tickets range from $7 to $15, plus $5 bar minimum. For a full schedule, visit www.cabaretlechatnoir.com. -- Etheridge

Lost Boys of Sudan 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 9, through April 15 Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 525-2767 "At its core Lost Boys of Sudan is about coping with loneliness, as alienation increases and the two try to stay afloat," New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell writes in his glowing review of this documentary about hopeful Sudanese teens migrating to the United States and, presumably, a better life. Filmmakers Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk had what seems like unlimited access to the boys, Peter and Santino, for an entire year as they fled their country's civil war. The movie captures the subtleties of the prices, the tradeoffs and contradictions of coming to America. That Peter and Santino are dark-skinned blacks only makes things more challenging for them, even with their lighter-skinned African-American counterparts. The film is the crown jewel of the New Orleans Human Rights International Film Festival, and the screening is co-sponsored by the Ashe Cultural Arts Center. Tickets $6 general admission, $5 students/seniors/unemployed, Zeitgeist members. -- Simmons

The Darkness, plus the Wildhearts 8 p.m. Friday, April 9 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE "At times it's annoying because ... the words glam rock -- which people often talk about but is about (artists like) Gary Glitter and Slade -- that's not us," The Darkness drummer Ed Graham says of constant comparisons to bands like those and, of course, Queen. "I think that's way off the mark. Brian May from Queen said The Darkness don't sound like Queen. It probably sounds like that because someone saw (lead singer Justin Hawkins wearing) a cat suit." Still, The Darkness remains defiant in its referential chord-crunching and jumpsuit-wearing rockers from the days of old, and last year's Permission to Land is a gem. Hits such as "Growing on Me" (an homage to genital warts) and "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" feature a pyrotechnic display of Hawkins' falsetto workouts. So is The Darkness serious or just goofing? "People love our songs because there's an element of fun, because we're laughing while we're writing," Graham says. "It's being honest because that's Justin's personality." This sold-out show is part of the band's first U.S. tour, and you can't help but feel that The Darkness will be back very soon and in an arena where it belongs. -- David Lee Simmons

Jane Monheit 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, April 10 Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., 528-3805 Jazz vocalist Jane Monheit appears at the CAC as part of the Jazz America series on Saturday. Jane Monheit's graceful presence is a compelling reason to see her live and makes her latest release, the DVD Live at the Rainbow Room, a better value than the CD version. The Long Island-born Monheit began her career as a cabaret performer in New York City and didn't begin to play jazz until she was 17. By age 20, she'd placed as runner-up in the 1999 Thelonious Monk talent contest and landed a recording contract. Never Never Land presented her as a capable pianist with a lithe voice studied in the formal swing of Ella Fitzgerald. Come Dream With Me advanced her technique, but revealed interpretive shortcomings. By the time of In the Sun, Monheit clearly felt comfortable enough to delve into her cabaret roots for such pop material as "Love Has No Pride." She also sang a beautiful version of "As Time Goes By" with Wynton Marsalis on Mark O'Connor's In Full Swing and appeared on Terence Blanchard's collection of Jimmy McHugh standards, Let's Get Lost. She appears as part of the CAC's Jazz America series, curated by Blanchard. Tickets $25 general admission, $20 for CAC members. -- John Swenson

Dave Dondero 9 p.m. Monday, April 12 The Big Top Art Gallery, 1638 Clio Street, 569-2700 On his fourth album, The Transient, there&185;s a worn quality to Dave Dondero&185;s voice, as if he&185;s seen too much, but not so much that he has toughened up. His slight quaver makes his folk music sound like a real response to the world he, like the great troubadours, keeps traveling through. The sound isn&185;t a pose; Dondero admits his restlessness. He traveled to Lincoln, Neb., to record the album with longtime fan Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, which hints at his indie sensibility. His lyrics often spring from commonplace phrases and overheard conversations, but the results are personal and distinct, despite their origins. Typical of a traveler, Dondero lived in New Orleans for a while working at Cafe Sbisa among other places, and in 2000 recorded Spider West Myshkin and a City Bus, name-checking Myshkin and Ninth Ward folkie Mike West. Cover $5. -- Alex Rawls

Orchestra Baobab 9 p.m. Monday, April 12 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE The new millennium's pan-African music revival came at the right time for Orchestra Baobab. A linchpin of the West African pop scene throughout the '70s and into the '80s, the Senegalese big band reemerged at the height of the world music craze that brought Afro-beat back to prominence in 2001. With a new album, Specialst in All Styles, and a reissue of the 1982 classic, Pirate's Choice, the influential outfit made its return to world consciousness after 15 years of inactivity. Named for the Dakar club where it was the house band, Orchestra Baobab was known in its heyday for its infectious Afro-Cuban rhythms and use of traditional local elements, a fusion that caught on all over Africa and Europe. Today, the Orchestra's repertoire is dominated by the mbalax sound of the Wolof people of Northern Senegal. Ironically, mbalax, when introduced by rising star Youssou N'Dour in the early '80s, made Orchestra Baobab sound dated and led to its decline. Tickets $20. -- Cristina Diettinger