We. Smirch. We. Smirch distills the lastest buzz from popular gossip blogs and news sites every five minutes. All articles are selected via computer algorithm, vividly demonstrating that computers have a very long way to go before actually accomplishing truly intelligent work. AOL Radio is powered by humans Great radio is all about unexpected connectionsthe kind that an algorithm cant predict. Pick any station in any of the 30 genres. Pop, Rock and Jazz in NYC This Week. THE OCTOPUS PROJECT at Mercury Lounge April 1. Since 1. 99. 9, this Austin based group has made wonderfully uplifting and tuneful instrumental music with an array of quirky instruments like vintage synthesizers and lo fi drum machines. Its the kind of material that would lend itself well to movie soundtracks, and in fact, the group has scored movies like the 2. Get the latest music news plus concert recaps, reviews, photos, videos and more at JamBase. Never miss another hot celeb story The juiciest celebrity news from all around the web on a single page. Jazz was part of Optimus Primes unit, summoned to Earth by Bumblebee after the latter Autobot came to be in the possession of Sam Witwicky. After his protoform. Kid Thing and the coming comedy Damsel, a western starring Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska. For this show, however, the Octopus Project will be showcasing songs from its new album, Memory Mirror, which deftly veers from dazzling Afro pop guitar hooks to bizarre, psychedelic workouts. JONATHAN RICHMAN at the Bowery Ballroom April 9 1. Since forming the influential punk band the Modern Lovers in the 1. Jonathan Richman has earned a devoted cult following that admires his wry, tender and hilarious form of storytelling, best heard on his solo songs, like She Doesnt Laugh at My Jokes and I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar. For this show, hell offer stripped back performances of many of his most beloved tunes, with just his nylon stringed guitar and the accompaniment of his longtime drummer Tommy Larkins. KEVIN ODONNELLPhoto. The Argentine vocalist Sofa Rei above, with the bassist Pablo Menares will give a concert with the guitarist J. C. Maillard at Greenwich House Music School next week. Credit. Darial R. Sneed Jazz. BRAXTON COOK AND JAZZE BELLE at the David Rubenstein Auditorium at Lincoln Center April 7, 7 3. This free concert offers a glimpse of two young ensembles cutting a path between jazz and more popular forms of contemporary black music. The alto saxophonist and vocalist Braxton Cook has a rare mix of Cannonball Adderley like saxophone chops and svelte, tightly arranged fusion tunes. And he sings, in a light and boyish tenor. His forthcoming album, Somewhere in Between, is likely to turn some heads his way. Here he shares the bill with Jazze Belle, a duo featuring the producer and multi instrumentalist Jett Carter and the vocalist Taylor Simone. They make gauzy, ruminative music that waxes existential over lilting hip hop beats. PAQUITO DRIVERA at the 9. Street Y April 8, 8 p. A lion of Latin jazz since his time in the 1. Cuban fusion ensemble Irakere, Mr. DRivera is a saxophonist and clarinetist who composes and arranges works of broad ambition, drawing on Western classical as well as jazz. Here he plays two sets with a sextet of younger musicians. On the second, the group will be joined by several guests, performing a new work for clarinet, strings, flute, percussion and jazz ensemble. ANAT FORT at the Cornelia Street Caf April 1. The pianist Anat Forts compositions move with a rolling, languorous grace, allowing light to enter from different angles. Undertones of the blues crop up briefly, often tossed into an impressionist thicket of arpeggios and wandering lines. Her most recent album, Birdwatching, on ECM, features the Italian clarinetist Gianluigi Trovesi its a subtle triumph. She will play selections from that disc here with a different but still fabulous combo Chris Cheek on tenor saxophone, Gary Wang on bass and Francisco Mela on drums. HUMAN ELEMENT at Shape. Shifter Lab April 7 8, 8 and 9 3. Listeners nostalgic for or just curious about the days when Weather Report was on the cutting edge will find plenty to celebrate about Human Elements throbbing jazz rock fusion. The quartet features the keyboardist Scott Kinsey, the percussionist and vocalist Arto Tuncboyaciyan, the electric bassist Matthew Garrison and the drummer Gary Novak. Taken together, the groups members have played with Chick Corea, Al Di Meola, Herbie Hancock, Jack De. Johnette and Joe Zawinul that is, an encyclopedias worth of fusion heroes. CHRISTIAN Mc. BRIDES NEW JAWN at Dizzys Club Coca Cola April 1. The eminent bassist Christian Mc. Bride has been playing recently with a new quartet, often exploring the repertoire of Thelonious Monk and toying with the rough hewn sound of 1. With Nasheet Waitss earthy but aerated drumming, and no chordal instrument, possibilities fling themselves open at every turn. The front line features Josh Evans New Yorks premier young straight ahead trumpeter and Marcus Strickland on tenor saxophone. NOAH PREMINGER QUARTET at Smalls April 7 8, 1. On Inauguration Day, Mr. Preminger, a tenor saxophonist, released Meditations on Freedom, an album featuring versions of famous topical songs and a few of his own works of musical protest. His saxophone emits a broad and smoky sound, with a measured inflection that gives the music an unhurried, cogitative pacing. This concert features Max Light on guitar, Kim Cass on bass and Ian Froman on drums three quarters of the personnel on the album. SOFA REI at Greenwich House Music School April 1. A classically trained Argentine vocalist, Ms. Rei also plays a number of South American folkloric instruments. She has recently stepped away from working with full ensembles, and later this month she will release El Gaviln. On the album, she uses loops and effects to augment her already voluminous voice, and is accompanied by only the experimental guitarist Marc Ribot. In this concert shell appear in a duo with J. C. Maillard, who plays the guitar and the Saz. Bass, an eight stringed instrument of his own creation. GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO Correction April 8, 2. A jazz entry in the Listings pages on Friday about the Argentine vocalist Sofa Rei, who will give a concert on Thursday in Manhattan, omitted part of the name of the location. It is Greenwich House Music School, not Greenwich Music School. Continue reading the main story.