jazz

Bespectacled and cardiganed, cozily ensconced within the walls of Wesleyan University, professor Anthony Braxton wears the title well. As adept an improviser as any of his AACM contemporaries, Braxton is even more renowned as a theorist; his concerts can be viewed as demonstrations of his concepts as much as performances. Not to intimate that his music is dry and cerebral, full as they are of the thrill of discovery. His current sextet, making its U.S. debut, is stocked with young disciples weaned on the idea that complex musical structures are not ends in themselves, but means by which to probe even deeper into emotional thought, as evidenced by trumpeter Taylor Ho Bynum's evocative show last month. Nobody seems to remember the last time the elusive Braxton came to Philly (to book this gig, Ars Nova's Mark Christman had to trek to Wesleyan and confront the professor face to face), so this is a rare thrill, not to be missed. Braxton is inarguably one of the most innovative and inspired musician/composers of the 20th and into the 21st century, and by the time the rest of the planet catches up to him, he should be one of the most influential of the 23rd.

Fri., Nov. 4, 8 p.m., $20, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., www.arsnovaworkshop.com.