Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Today is Jan. 17. Drummer Big Sid Catlett was born this date in Evansville, Ind., in 1910. Always in great demand, he was a big man behind the drums, yet as protege Art Blakey once said, Catlett could make the drums sound as soft and light as a butterfly. Advertisement Pianist and composer Bob Zurke was born this day in 1912 in Detroit. He succeeded Joe Sullivan in the Bob Crosby Orchestra in 1936, where "Honky Tonk Blues" was his most famous feature. Zurke died in 1944. Tenor saxophonist Vido Musso was born this day in 1913 in Carrini, Sicily. With a throaty-growl from his horn, he was a crowd-pleasing favorite in the many of the great Swing Era big bands during the 1930s and '40s. Musso died in 1982. Advertisement Bop pianist Cedar Walton was born this day in 1934 in Dallas. In addition to being a splendid accompanist, Walton has led the group Eastern Rebellion. His compositions "Bolivia" and "Firm Roots" have become jazz standards. Tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, a former member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and longtime music educator, was born this day in 1943 in Houston. Looking at today's hip happenings... Germany's Jazz-Institut Darmstadt -- home to the largest public collection of books, periodicals and jazz records in Europe -- has long sported a trumpet weathervane on the roof of its historic Kavalierhaus. And now, the Institute has another visual monument on exterior display. It's a sculpture of blues harmonica player "Little Walter" (Marion Walter Jacobs). The work by sculptor Detlef Kraft is the only public sculpture in Germany dedicated to a black musician. On the New York jazz scene, guitarist Larry Carlton's group continues its weeklong run at the Blue Note tonight. Drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts is at The Village Vanguard through Sunday. Singer-pianist Mose Allison's trio is at Iridium all week. Trombonist Chris Washburn's SYOTOS Latin jazz band is at the Nuyorican Poets Café tonight. Drummer Dave Wasik brings his ethnofusion, funk, soul and acid jazz band, The Waz, into the Knitting Factory tonight. The Sonny Fortune quartet is at Birdland tonight through Saturday. Singer Yardena is at The Garage tonight with pianist Edsel Gomez, bassist Eric Stiller and drummer Bruce Cox. Advertisement On the Boston jazz scene, singer Kendra Shank is at Scullers jazz club tonight. Singer Mili Bermejo is at MIT's Killian Hall in Cambridge with a septet featuring drummer George Schuller, pianist Tim Ray and saxophonist Donny McCaslin in an ''Identity: New Music for a New Century'' collaboration. Trumpeter Darren Barrett is at the Good Life in Boston. Guitarists Duke Robillard and Gerry Beaudoin team up tonight at Harry's Too in Westborough. Monica Hatch is at Café Amore in Worcester. Olu Dara is at the House of Blues in Cambridge tonight. Jazz broadcaster Eric Jackson of WGBH-FM examines jazz styles today in a midday discussion at the Old South Meeting House. The Bruce Katz Band is at Black Eyed Sally's in Hartford, Conn., tonight. Drummer Mickey Roker's quartet explores the music of Jerome Kern tonight at Ortlieb's Jazzhaus in Philadelphia. On the Chicago jazz scene, the Jazz Showcase opens its annual Marshall Vente Jazz Festival, which features the Rich Corpolongo quartet and Barry Winograd quartet tonight. The JazzTropicale project is in the spotlight on Friday, along with Neville York, A Cor do Brasil and a Brazilian and Latin jam session. Redd/Holt Unlimited and Project Nine featuring saxophonist Billy Harper is on tap for Saturday. Project Nine is back for the Sunday matinee, along with the Bob Acri quartet. Charlie Johnson is at the Backroom tonight. Alan Gresik's Swing Shift Orchestra is at the Green Mill. Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque are at HotHouse. Erwin Helfer and the Chicago Boogie Ensemble are at Joe's BeBop Café and Jazz Emporium. The Jeff Parker trio is at Pete Miller's Steakhouse. Temple Schultz is at Philander's in Oak Park. Advertisement On the New Orleans jazz scene, the Albert-Ankrum Project is at the Acadian Beer Garden tonight. The Potholes Brass Band is at Donna's. Rob Wagner's New Thing is at the Dragon's Den. Photon is at El Matador. Pianist Victor Atkins' quartet is at the Funky Butt tonight. Leah Chase and Bill Solley team up tonight at the Hotel Inter-Continental. The Soul Rebels Brass Band is at Le Bon Temps Roule. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Asparagus Allstars Brass Band are at the Maple Leaf. John Brunious leads the band at Preservation Hall tonight. Henri Smith teams up tonight with Donald Harrison and Kermit Ruffins at Snug Harbor. In California tonight, Mundell Lowe, Ron Eschete, Paul Kreibach and Luther Hughes join forces at Steamers Jazz Café in Fullerton. Joanne Brackeen and Ravi Coltrane are at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles tonight through Sunday. Drummer John Patitucci's quartet featuring drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez is at the Catalina Bar and Grill in North Hollywood. Saxophonist Mel Martin is at Spazio in Sherman Oaks tonight with pianist Jon Mayer's trio. Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba's trio is at Yoshi's in Oakland tonight through Sunday. Saxophonist Andrew Speight is at Jazz at Pearl's in San Francisco with the Al Plank trio. Advertisement Pianist McCoy Tyner's trio is at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle through Sunday. Pianist Sharon Minemoto's quintet is at The Cellar in Vancouver, Canada, tonight.
