The Short List: This Week’s Recommended Shows

David Sanborn ~ Wednesday, June 3 through Sunday, June 7

As much as some jazz snobs like to disparage smooth, crossover, and pop forms of jazz, saxophonist David Sanborn has remained a household-name representative of those genres for three decades without having sold his soul. With his enduringly robust tone, Sanborn stands as a testament to the fact that you don't have to play like Kenny G in order to resonate with listeners on a wide scale. In fact, Sanborn has not only shown dexterity (and integrity) in his ability to play in blues, R&B, pop, and rock settings (as his numerous sideman credits with high-profile acts like Paul Butterfield, David Bowie, and Stevie Wonder demonstrate), but he has also at various points in his career proven that he still has an artistic hunger to throw curveballs at his audience. Case in point: Sanborn's latest album, Here and Gone, his spirited homage to Ray Charles' saxophonist and arranger Hank Crawford. Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729. 7:30 p.m. Wed. & Sun.; 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. Thurs.; 8 & 10 p.m. Fri. & Sat. $32.50. All ages. SABY REYES-KULKARNI

Far ~ Thursday, June 4

In the heyday of melodic post-hardcore—back in the late 1990s—Far was the protoype for mainstream and critical success. The Sacramento band's first release on a major label, Tin Cans With Strings to You (1996), is a combination of chug-chugging guitars, double-bass pedals, and lead singer Jonah Matranga's guttural screams. The music and vocals were much calmer on Far's next release, Water and Solutions: Songs like "Really Here" are slowed-down near-ballads that paved the way for Biffy Clyro and nearly every other emo band that's emerged in the past decade. The band disbanded in 1999 and—after Matranga's successful solo career of heartbreaking, semi-acoustic songs—reunited last year. Now Far is recording a new album on a much smaller label (Vagrant), and touring the U.S. after releasing only one single, a hardcore-influenced cover of Ginuine's 1996 single "Pony." Matranga's vocals even employ Autotune, Kanye West–style, on the chorus. While the song is undoubtedly different from anything else Far has created, "Pony" demonstrates that the band, to some extent, is still stuck in the 1990s—which is more promising for a reunion tour than for the creation of a new album. With 1939 Ensemble, By Sunlight, Colonies. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 7 p.m. $15 adv. PAIGE RICHMOND

Jason Lytle ~ Thursday, June 4

While most of you already know that former Grandaddy frontman Jason Lytle will be opening for Neko Case at the Paramount tonight, he'll also be making an appearance at Herman Jolly's Acoustic Coal Mine, a monthly unplugged showcase at Mars Bar in which both local and touring artists strip five of their songs down to the bare bones. Usually the showcase doesn't feature such well-known artists, but it's the perfect setting for an artist like Lytle, whose songs, while they sound nice augmented with all those instrumental accents, don't require fancy accoutrements to captivate an audience. He's an artist who's solid on the fundamentals, and that's what this showcase is meant to do: peel away a song's flesh and reveal the structure that holds it together. Though Grandaddy fans will surely be hoping to hear some old hits, Lytle's more likely to compile a set list of songs from his brand-new solo record, Yours Truly, the Commuter. With Herman Jolly, Rusty Miller, Hazelwood Motel. Café Venus/Mars Bar, 609 Eastlake Ave. E., 624-4516. 9 p.m. $10.SARA BRICKNER

The Wooden Birds ~ Thursday, June 4

It's been four years since we've heard from Andrew Kenny, former American Analog Set frontman. But Magnolia, the debut LP from his new band the Wooden Birds, has proven to be worth the wait. Tambourines rustle like leaves, or like Kenny's hushed, raspy voice, which takes on an ethereal quality when he harmonizes with Leslie Sisson. Coupled with the syncopated guitar-top percussion that permeates the album, Magnolia evokes a warm, earthy mood as appealing and pervasive as the scent of the flower it's named for. Even at low volume, Kenny's melodies hang thick in the air, and his words seem weighted with metaphysical truth even when he's not singing about something serious. And while critics will decry Kenny's decision to recycle "Hometown Fantasy," a song from a split EP he once released with Ben Gibbard, it seems fair that Kenny—who was burned by bad record-label decisions while American Analog Set was active—wants to give the song (and himself) another chance with Barsuk. With Other Lives, Bryn Lumsden. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St. 324-8000. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. SARA BRICKNER

Jens Lekman ~ Thursday, June 4 and Friday, June 5

Before Lykke Li swooped in to steal our undeserving hearts, we were all plenty busy being smitten with fellow Swedish import Jens Lekman, who sang about psychologically unstable women, his friend Lisa's birthday, a tram that goes all the way to heaven, and, well, wanting to be your dog. Comparisons to Jonathan Richman and Belle & Sebastian rightfully abounded, and Lekman followed up the gorgeous When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog with the winning singles collection Oh You're So Silent Jens and the more ambitious crossover success Night Falls Over Kortedala. Just as Lykke Li fuses pop, folk, and electronics until we no longer notice the overlap, Lekman enlists crackling samples in a way that's just as wistfully romantic as the angelic strings, coy-boy singing, and poised yet stinging lyrics that populate his records. According to one song, he'll hold your hair while you vomit, help brush your teeth, and even kiss your stomach afterwards. A total keeper, then. With Tig Notaro. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $15 adv. DOUG WALLEN