A Brasilliant Mind Photo by Daniel Sheehan For many, Hermeto Pascoal's set was one of the highlights of 2000's Jazz Fest. The self-taught Brazilian jazz composer simply known as Hermeto has one foot in the avant-garde world, composing pieces that incorporate barnyard animals and common speech with traditional instruments, but Miles Davis also tapped him to play electric piano on 1970's Live Evil, and two of the tracks credited to Davis are actually Hermeto compositions. It's no surprise that in New Orleans, where genres and traditions are in constant states of flux, he is the honored musician for New Orleans' first BRAZILIAN FESTIVAL, which runs Wednesday through Sunday at venues around town. The festival is a series of concerts and events featuring Brazilian music and its place in the New Orleans music scene. From Brazil, multi-instrumentalist Jovino Santos Neto (pictured) and percussionist Marcio Bahia are on hand. Santos Neto played in Hermeto's band for 15 years and teaches at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, in addition to recording. Bahia has been Hermeto's percussionist since 1981 and with Santos Neto was part of Hermeto's celebrated O Grupo. Bassist James Singleton and flautist Ray Moore are appropriately among the New Orleanians featured prominently. Though best-known as the bassist for Astral Project, Singleton has played in almost every jazz context imaginable, from traditional to the avant-garde, and Moore is the leader of Brasilliance!, one of New Orleans' growing number of Brazilian jazz combos. The festival gets a head start Monday and Tuesday when regular Snug Harbor (626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696) performers Charmaine Neville and Maurice Brown respectively add Brazilian elements to their sets. On Wednesday at UNO's Sandbar (2000 Lakeshore Drive, 280-6039), Santos Neto plays with UNO Jazz Studies pupils, and that night Riccardo Crespo & Sol Brazil are at Snug Harbor. On Thursday afternoon, Santos Neto gives a workshop at noon at Delgado Community College (615 City Park Ave., 483-4114). Neto spoke at Delgado last year as well, addressing the cultural similarities between New Orleans and Brazil. That night, Neto will play keyboards and flute as part of a trio with Singleton and drummer Wayne Maureau of Brasilliance!. Ellis Marsalis plays his regular Friday-night sets, and then on Saturday Marcio Bahia performs at Snug Harbor with Santos Neto and Singleton, with special guests Astral Project's Steve Masakowski on guitar and Ray Moore on woodwinds. On Sunday, Brasilliance! plays at Snug Harbor with Bahia as special guest, with a second set jam session to close out the festival. Tickets for Jovino Santos Neto at the Sandbar $5. Snug Harbor shows are at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.; tickets for Riccardo Crespo $18, Jovino Santos Neto Trio $18, Marcio Bahia $18, and Brasilliance! $15. -- Alex Rawls

Willie Nelson 8 p.m. Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 1-2 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE; www.hob.com The second night of Willie Nelson's New Orleans two-night stand falls poetically on Election Day, calming what could be a nail-biting night. (Eliades Ochoa had the honors at HOB back in 2000.) Traditionally a non-activist celebrity, Nelson has made his views about government known in recent years, from his famous run-in with the IRS in the 1980s to his very public opinion about the legalization of marijuana. Now, like so many pop-music stars and regular Americans, Nelson believes it's time to put apathy aside and influence our nation's role in the world. 'I normally do not get too heavily involved in politics,' Nelson said when he endorsed Dennis Kucinich's bid for the Democratic nomination, 'but this is more about getting involved with America than with politics.' Nelson has always written songs that chronicle working-class American life; in 2004, he offers a few words about our politics, too. Tickets $50. -- Cristina Diettinger

Kid smART Fundraiser 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4 Private residence, 1565 Exposition Blvd., 410-1990 During its six-year history, local nonprofit arts-in-education group Kid smArt has worked to serve what the group terms 'under-resourced children' through exposure to visual and performing arts. Kid smArt initiatives are designed to be more than simple art lessons -- values of discipline, self-respect, teamwork and accomplishment are wrapped into hands-on art activities. This Thursday, the home of Vincent Saia and Glynn Stephens holds Kid smArt's third annual fundraiser, featuring cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music and artwork. Tickets to the fundraiser range from $75 per person to $500 for two tickets, with all partygoers given a chance to win an Alison Stewart monoprint. Patrons giving $250 receive a gift created by Kid smArt students, and donors of $500 and above will receive a limited-edition giclee print by artist John Scott. -- Frank Etheridge

Robert Kapilow conducts the LPO 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4; 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5 Orpheum Theatre, 129 University Place, 523-6530; www.lpomusic.com Conductor/composer Robert Kapilow conducts the LPO on Thursday and Saturday and appears at NOCCA/Riverfront on Sunday. Center Stage: Robert Kapilow & "What Makes it Great?" 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7 Now this is a way to make a conductor feel at home: put him to work. New Orleans will definitely get the most out of Robert Kapilow, one of the world's most respected young conductors, in these two appearances. First, Kapilow will guest conduct the LPO in its third Classics concert series, as the LPO performs Sergei Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Aaron Copland's El Salon Mexico and Kapilow's own Summer Sun, Winter Moon. Then, Kapilow moves over to NOCCA/Riverfront's Center Stage series in a partnership with the LPO, as orchestra musicians accompany him in his discussion of classical music favorites and explanation of the creative process. Tickets for the LPO performances range from $13-$62; Center Stage tickets $20. -- Simmons

Biloxi Blues 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 5-6; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7; through Nov. 21 Rivertown Repertory Theatre, 325 Minor St., Kenner, 468-7221 Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues is the second of his autobiographical trilogy, which began with Brighton Beach Memoirs and ended with Broadway Bound. Arguably the most interesting of the three, Biloxi Blues opened on March 28, 1985, with Matthew Broderick and his Ferris Bueller's Day Off sidekick Alan Ruck. Unlike most wartime stories, there's not a lot of war in the play, rather the specter of war hangs over Eugene Morris Jerome's platoon trudging through the humidity of basic training in Mississippi. No, this is all about Simon's rather predictable initiation into manhood (military service, young love, lost virginity, etc.), but the charm of Simon's wit and Broderick's performance make for a breezy evening. So it'll be interesting to see what Rivertown comes up with in this, its second offering of the season. Tickets $22 adults, $20 seniors/students, $10 kids ages 6-12; pre-performance buffet $18 general, $16 subscribers. -- Simmons

Go 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 5-6 NOCCA Riverfront, 2800 Chartres St., 865-8810; www.tsunamidance.com Kettye Voltz and Erin Healan conspired to form the Tsunami Dance Company in 2003 on the merit of professional dancers returning to New Orleans bent on a mission to promote and elevate local modern dance offerings. Tsunami artistic director Voltz is familiar to local modern dance fans through performances in Confederacy of Dances and DramaRama. Healan¹s resume includes stints with top Chicago companies. For its second, and more-anticipated, public concert Go, the members of Tsunami will share the wealth. GO is billed as 'a series of high-energy vignettes,' as the works by Voltz and Healean are coupled with original works by dancer-choreographers Nicole Boyd, Maritza Mercado-Narcisse and 2003 Bessie Award winner Scott Heron. Also, artists Andrew Wade Smith, Ryan Dufrene and Denny Judge present mixed-media installations. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 students; cash and checks only accepted. -- Etheridge

Shakespeare in Hollywood 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 5-6; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6 Loyola University, Marquette Theatre, 865-3824 Playwright Ken Ludwig's recently penned farce Shakespeare in Hollywood examines two famed periods in history where great artistic output meshed with a creative culture featuring fame, sex and glamour as top commodities. Set in Tinseltown in 1934, during the height of Hollywood's decadent Golden Age, the play blends fact and fantasy as filmmaker Max Reinhardt's screen version of A Midsummer Night's Dream loses its leading men during production. Fantasy intervenes, and Shakespeare's Oberon and Puck are summoned to portray themselves in the film. Freed from the social constraints of 16th century England, Oberon and Puck begin wearing sunglasses, chasing women and, in a parallel to the lessons of the Bard, become mired in the affairs of mere mortals. Southern Rep artistic director Ryan Rilette returns to his alma mater to direct. Tickets $12 general, $5 students and seniors. -- Etheridge

Pharoah Sanders 10 p.m. and midnight Friday-Saturday, Nov. 5-6 Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club, 1931 St. Claude Ave., 945-9654 Pharoah Sanders' music has always had a profoundly spiritual dimension that has led him to explore world music. His collaboration with David Murray -- David Murray Creole Project III (Justin Time) -- is due out in January, but the venerable tenor and soprano saxophonist was exploring the links between Indian and African music and religion at the same time John Coltrane was making his breakthrough into microtonal playing and raga-length improvisations. Coltrane invited Sanders to play in the latter-day groups that produced some of his most challenging work. Meanwhile Sanders was working at the extremes of the mid-1960s jazz avant-garde along with Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra on ESP-Disc. His masterpiece, 'The Creator Has a Master Plan,' stands alongside Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' as one of the most inspirational pieces of late 20th century jazz, a call for spiritual tranquility in a war-torn world that rings as true today as it did 35 years ago. Call club for cover. -- John Swenson

Louisiana Book Festival Saturday, Nov. 6 Downtown Baton Rouge, (225) 219-9503/(888) 487-2700; www.louisianabookfestival.org Whereas the upstart New Orleans Bookfair has become quite the underground scene for underground writers and underground denizens, the more established Louisiana Book Festival is all above ground and above board. Maybe ³above table² is more accurate, as in dining table, as this year's offering of writers has a distinct culinary air. Chef John Folse, for example, will prepare Creole dishes as part of a series of cooking demonstrations. The festival will also put its words where its tummy is; one of the featured writers is Houston Press restaurant critic Robb Walsh, author of The Tex-Mex Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos and Are You Really Going to Eat That. More traditional literary offerings will come from Shirley Ann Grau, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient of the 2004 Louisiana Writer Award, and Mike Artell, author of Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood, recipient of this year's Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award. Free admission. -- Simmons

Mirliton Festival 2004 10 a.m. until dark, Saturday-Sunday Nov. 6-7 Mickey Markey Park, corner of Royal and Piety streets, 944-9272 While the mirliton is a lowly foodstuff by most of the world's standard's, once a year the Bywater Neighborhood Association throws the modest, green-skinned fruit a party and turns it into, well, more green. The annual Mirliton Festival raises funds to assist the upkeep of Mickey Markey Park, the very site where the festival congregates. There will be live performances by such local musicians as Washboard Chaz, the Revealers, Andy J. Forest and Corey Henry, as well as vendors of mirliton in various forms -- from warm off the vine to stuffed and fried. The Crescent City Farmers Market and the Bywater Art Market will set up shop, too, the latter offering early holiday shoppers a spread of handmade jewelry, pottery, paintings and quilts. Abita Beer, a sponsor, supplies the requisite festival beverage, and participating restaurants include Elizabeth's, Bywater Bar-B-Que and The Joint. Admission is $2. -- Sara Roahen

Pasta & Puccini Gala 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 Pontchartrain Center, Belle Grove Plantation Ballroom, 4545 Williams Blvd., Kenner, 885-2000; www.jpas.org The Jefferson Performing Arts Society's (JPAS) 27th anniversary season may well be remembered as a pivotal one in the company's history, as JPAS this year prepares to break ground on a new headquarters on Airline Drive and now offers programs on both sides of the river, having added the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre and Community Center as a venue. Once again paving the way for its artistic offerings is JPAS' annual Pasta & Puccini, a fundraiser that in itself is a feast for the senses. Benefiting JPAS' children's choruses and educational outreach programs, Pasta & Puccini comes wrapped in Italian decor, with murals and backdrops from Puccini operas such as Madama Butterfly. Guest artists both local and international will stage the opera Die Fledermaus, augmented by music from chamber orchestra L'Orchestra da Camera Aretusea from Siracusa, Italy. Tickets range from $100 per person to $1,000 for a table of eight. -- Etheridge

Lamb of God, Fear Factory, Children of Bodom, and Throwdown 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 524-BLUE; www.hob.com Fear Factory (pictured) performs with Lamb of God, Children of Bodom and Throwdown at House of Blues on Saturday. This show should definitely be considered a triple headliner. First, there is Lamb of God, whose new album, Ashes of the Wake (Sony), shows why the band is lovingly referred to as the 'Rush of death metal' for its masterful technical proficiency. (Thankfully, Geddy Lee's jolly, high-pitched voice and Lord of the Rings lyrical tastes aren't part of the package!) Second, Finnish black metal band Children of Bodom returns after its last tour with Iced Earth. Keyboard player Janne Warman made metal keyboards cool again with unbelievably fast playing and lead solos better than most guitarists. Lastly, industrial metal pioneer Fear Factory was the first band to cross the two genres, and Archetype (Liquid 8) illustrates how it made metal keyboards cool the first time around. Tickets $19. -- Rob BryantT

Olu Dara 1 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6 Tipitina's, 501 Napoleon Ave., 895-8477 Cornetist and guitarist Olu Dara's local shows over the past couple years of have been spectacular. The casual, hip spirit and good-natured joy of his late-career recording burst on Atlantic Records, In the World and Neighborhoods, are amplified as the always dapper Dara sits onstage and rap/sings his songs that take equally from the Caribbean, African and Mississippi traditions. Originally from Natchez, Miss., Dara has lived in New York City since the early 1960s, performing in theater, writing music, and playing with avant-garde musicians. Dara's music combines ideas from those genres and much of the African Diaspora into a groovy, folksy, organic whole. To get the Olu Dara double whammy infotainment special, he will conduct a Tipitina's Internship Program master class from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., discussing his life, history and philosophy while playing with any brave student who wants to get onstage with him. Master class admission free to students and $5 for everyone else; show tickets $15. -- David Kunian

Robert Olen Butler reading/signing 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7 Bassetti Fine Art Photography, 233 Chartres St., 524-2940 Among the detritus swept away by Hurricane Ivan in September was a scheduled appearance by novelist/short story writer Robert Olen Butler, reading from his wonderful new collection of stories, Had a Good Time: Stories From American Postcards (Grove Press). Digging into his antique postcard collection, Butler launches each story with the disharmony between the odd obverse images (biplanes in flight, old women in battle trenches) and the found poetry of the reverse: 'Dear Mathilda, Just a line to let you know I am still alive. I am not going on that hayride. The young man that wants me to go with his sister in law. But she has a cork leg. I am awfull (sic) tired that is the main reason. Regards to all. Milton.' In the hinterland gas-lamp testimonials of its characters, Butler is rescuing these small figures. Butler's a funny reader, with a wicked and sympathetic imagination. Enhancements of strange antique postcards, including those which inspired Butler's stories, will be on exhibit in the gallery at this event co-sponsored by Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society. Free admission. -- Ed Skoog

O. Winston Link: The Louisiana Photographs Through December Old U.S. Mint (Louisiana State Museum), 400 Esplanade Ave., 568-6968 He became a photographic legend for his dramatic -- some called them "breathtaking" -- documentary images of massive, coal-fired locomotives during the twilight years of the steam engine. He also shot publicity and movie stills, but his steam engine photographs were what caught the attention of the public, putting the Brooklyn-born Link in the museums and history books. Less known is the body of work he produced in Louisiana, his wife's native state, where he captured some of the more unique aspects of the culture and lifestyle, often using his former beauty queen spouse as a model. If a tad quieter and more contemplative than his steam engines, these too caught the essence of a bygone era, often with the unusually cinematic flair that characterized so much of this uniquely gifted artist's work. -- D. Eric Bookhardt