Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, a new jazz club, opens this weekend at the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. We care because it’s jazz, it’s New Orleans, and Mayfield is artistic director of jazz at our own Orchestra Hall.

At the Dakota on Nicollet Mall, Lowell Pickett is expanding the club’s musical palette with blues and beyond. This week he brought in 93-year-old bluesman Honeyboy Edwards; next week, Leon Redbone appears for one night (Tuesday); in April, Judy Collins comes for two. Meanwhile, Famous Dave’s blues and BBQ club in Calhoun Square has added jazz to its menu with “Swing Night Mondays.”

Whatever works. Here’s what looks good this weekend and into next week.

Saturday, March 21: A musical feast at the Dakota. Talk about mixing it up. The evening begins with the Chiara String Quartet (Rebecca Fischer and Julie Yoon, violins; Jonah Sirota, viola; Gregory Beaver, cello) playing classical chamber music at 7:30. At 9, vocalist (and actor -- Penumbra, Guthrie, Mixed Blood) Regina Marie Williams takes the stage with jazz standards. The late-night show at 11:30 features Colorado-based saxophonist Aakash Mittal and his quartet. Mittal’s music is a cross-cultural blend of jazz with the sounds and rhythms of India, where his father was born. I’ve been listening to his debut CD, “Possible Beginnings,” and I like it very much. Hear selections on his website.  7:30 p.m. Chiara ($10), 9 p.m. Regina Marie Williams ($10), 11:30 p.m. Aakash Mittal ($5). All at the Dakota.

Sunday, March 22: Tanner Taylor’s Tribute to Oscar Peterson. The stellar young pianist pays tribute to one of his main muses, the late, great Canadian master Oscar Peterson. If you’ve heard Taylor play Peterson (for example, at the AQ last June), go. If you haven’t heard Taylor play Peterson, go. With bassist Graydon Peterson, drummer Mac Santiago, and saxophonist Dave Karr. Vocalist and radio personality Arne Fogel emcees. 2 p.m. Sunday, Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 West Old Shakopee Road ($20). Call 952-563-8575 or order online.

Sunday, March 22: A Tribute to Leslie Johnson and “The Mississippi Rag.” Johnson founded the Rag -- the voice of traditional jazz and ragtime -- in 1973, then edited and published it for 35 years, finding fans and readers in all 50 states and 26 foreign countries. She passed away on Jan. 17, and on Sunday there’s a party in her honor. Butch Thompson, the Bill Evans New Orleans Jazz Band, the Pig’s Eye Jass Band, Doug Haining and the Twin Cities Seven, and the Mouldy Figs will perform; KBEM’s “Corner Jazz” host Maryann Sullivan will host. 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday, Mainstreet Bar and Grill, 814 Main Street, Hopkins; 952-938-2400. No cover, but donations to the New Orleans Musicians’ Club are encouraged.

Find Twin Cities jazz calendars and more jazz news online at Jazz Police.  In the Main Menu at the left, click on Twin Cities.