The Walker’s promo photo for this weekend’s “King for Two Days” celebration shows drummer Dave King in a sea of stuffed animals. He’s pointing at something out of the frame, perhaps the toys he plays during performances: the vintage Fisher Price Happy Apple that sounds like a wind chime, the rubbery walkie-talkie E.T.s (as in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”) that make eerie feedback, the round metal bowl with the ball-tipped spikes.

Among his other toys are time itself and labels. Is he a jazz drummer? A rock/indie rock drummer? Experimental, electronic, improvisational? Contemporary classical? Blues and roots? Simple answer: Yes. (I’m not sure how often he plays blues and roots, but he did for Peter Lang at the Dakota in April ’08.)

For music fans of many stripes, not to mention musicians and especially drummers, this will be a weekend to remember. Friday features King’s best-known groups: the improvisational Buffalo Collision (with saxophonist Tim Berne, pianist Ethan Iverson and cellist Hank Roberts), the iconoclastic The Bad Plus (with Iverson and bassist Reid Anderson), and the free-bop Happy Apple (with Michael Lewis on saxophones and Erik Fratzke on Fender bass and guitar). The night will end with a set by The Bad Apple.

Historical note: King first saw Berne and Roberts at a Walker performance in the 1980s.

Saturday spotlights newer King projects. For Golden Valley is Now, King will be joined by two friends from his childhood days in the Minneapolis suburb: the utterly compelling keyboardist Craig Taborn and bassist Anderson. The Dave King Trucking Company will consist of Fratzke on guitar, Adam Linz (of Fat Kid Wednesdays) on bass, and Chris Speed on saxophones.

In sum, it’s going to be a party.

See King close-up in a performance at the Cedar, King solo (the video is fuzzy but the drumming is not), and Buffalo Collision live in Brussels. Hear The Bad Plus and Happy Apple on their MySpace pages.

King for Two Days: Friday and Saturday, March 12 and 13, 8 p.m., McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center (each $25/$21 Walker members). Friday’s show is sold out. Tickets for Saturday’s show: 612-375-7600 or online.

This is a big week for jazz in the Twin Cities. I’ll point you toward three national acts coming through. As always, there are many opportunities to appreciate area performers in clubs and cafes around town, and I encourage you to get out and support our resident jazz musicians.

Sunday, March 14: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The great big band led by Wynton Marsalis performs music by Count Basie and Mary Lou Williams plus selections from JLCO saxophonist Ted Nash’s gorgeous “Portrait in Seven Shades” suite. Read an interview with lead trumpeter Sean Jones here.   Orchestra Hall, 7 p.m. ($85-$35). Tickets at 612-371-5656 or online.

Monday, March 15: Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread. Violinist (and MacArthur “Genius” Grant winner) Carter performs music from the African Diaspora, original material, and earlier repertoire. She’s on tour for her new CD by the same name, due out in May, and bringing several band members heard on the album: Will Holshouser (accordion), Chris Lightcap (bass), Alvester Garnett (drums) and special guest from Mali, Yacouba Sissoko (kora). Come a bit early to hear Northrop’s Ben Johnson and yours truly interview Carter and Sissoko onstage. Ted Mann Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m. ($40). Doors at 6:30; interviews at 6:45. Tickets at 612-624-2345 or online.

Tuesday and Wednesday, March 16 and 17: Larry Coryell & Bombay Jazz. Jazz-rock guitar god Coryell teams up with saxophonist George Brooks, bansuri (bamboo flute) master Ronu Majumdar, and young tabla star Aditya Kalyanpur for two evenings of 21st-century global jazz. I’m really excited about these shows. Coryell plays the Dakota fairly often, but we haven’t seen George Brooks since 2004, when he came with Zakir Hussain and Steve Smith. Those were awesome performances, and I expect no less from these. Dakota, 7 and 9:30 p.m. ($25/$20). Tickets at 612-312-JAZZ (5299) or online.

Pamela Espeland keeps a Twin Cities live jazz calendar, blogs about jazz at Bebopified and tweets about jazz on Twitter.