Friday-Saturday: Nicollet Circus Band: Jekyll and Hyde Come Alive. Jazz and film have a thing going on. Not only in soundtracks (Sonny Rollins’ music for “Alfie,” Duke Ellington’s for “Anatomy of a Murder,” Woody Allen’s films), but also in live performance. Saxophonist John Zorn and trumpeter Dave Douglas have paired jazz with art films at the Walker; accordionist Patrick Harison once played original music to “The Bicycle Thief” at the Armatage Room while the film flickered on a screen behind the bar. This weekend, trumpeter Kelly Rossum brings his score for the 1920 silent film “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” to MacPhail. A commission from the University of Wisconsin, River Falls, the music is based on various themes representing the film’s main characters. The themes evolve through improvisation over the course of the film. The Nicollet Circus Band, kind of a cross between a Russian circus and Sun Ra, features Rossum on trumpet, Scott Agster on trombone, Chris Thomson and Brandon Wozniak on saxophones, Bryan Nichols on piano, Brian Roessler on bass, Eric Strom on percussion, and Steve Roehm on drums. Here’s a taste. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Oct. 29-30, MacPhail Center for Music, 501 S. Second St. ($20 adults/$15 seniors and youth/$5 with student voucher). Tickets by phone (612-767-5250) or at the door.

Friday-Saturday: Paul Bollenback. The fine jazz guitarist and composer is best known for his work with the Joey DeFrancesco Trio. Born just outside Chicago, Bollenback spent two years in New Delhi as a child; not long after the family relocated to New York, he discovered Miles Davis. No wonder his music is so wide-open and colorful — blues meets bebop, fusion and soul. He’ll play the AQ with bassist Billy Peterson and club-owning drummer Kenny Horst. 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Oct. 29-30, Artists’ Quarter, in the basement of the Hamm Building in St. Paul ($15).

Sunday: Atlantis Quarter Performs Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy.” Most often, Atlantis Quartet — Brandon Wozniak on saxophone, Zacc Harris on guitar, Chris Bates on bass, Pete Hennig on drums — plays its own very appealing brand of original modern jazz. It has also established a terrific Twin Cities Halloween tradition: a “musical costume performance” of a classic album. In 2008, it was John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”; in 2009, Herbie Hancock’s “Headhunters.” This year the group will explore its rock-and-roll influences with a journey through Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy.” Will they sing? Will they play “Stairway” as an encore? They’ll do a set of their own music, too. Prizes will be given for best individual and group costumes. 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, Hell’s Kitchen, 80 S. 9th St., Minneapolis (no cover). 612-332-4700.

Tuesday: Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread. Jazz violinist and MacArthur “genius grant” winner Carter is a projects person, going where her passionate interests and prodigious talents take her. Past excursions have included a tribute to her mother, a celebration of the music of her hometown, Detroit, and a spin on Paganini’s violin. Her latest, “Reverse Thread,” intermingles folk melodies from the African Diaspora with music from throughout her career. If you missed it in March, when it was part of the Northrop Jazz Series, this is what second chances are for. Carter will be joined by Yacouba Sissoko on kora, Will Holshouser on accordion, Chris Lightcap on bass, and Alvester Garnett on drums. Here’s a delightful sampling. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2, Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall ($40/$25). Tickets online or by phone (612-332-5299).

Thursday-Saturday: Fall New Music Cabaret. Three nights of inventive, eclectic and local live music — contemporary classical, improvisational, jazz — hosted by the new music ensemble Zeitgeist and Studio Z. Visit the website for detailed program notes and links to sound files, videos, and information about the artists. Thursday, Nov. 4: Zeitgeist, Renegade Ensemble, and Hanson, Ren & Roessler (Nathan Hanson and Brian Roessler of the Fantastic Merlins, pianist Rahjta Ren). Friday, Nov. 5: Jeff Lambert, Zeitgeist, and the Symphonic Transients Orchestra. Saturday, Nov. 6: Pat Moriarty and Ellen Lease, Zeitgeist, and Jelloslave. 7:30 p.m., Studio Z in St. Paul’s Lowertown, 275 East Fourth Street, Suite 200 ($10/night).

Plan ahead:

• Thursday, Nov. 11, Trylon Theater: REEL Jazz: “The Last of the Blue Devils: The Kansas City Jazz Story.” KBEM and the Trylon screen the film about KC jazz in the cozy, comfy Trylon.
• Sunday, Nov. 14, Southern Theater: Lush Life: Interpretations of the American Jazz Canon. Hosts Adam Levy and DJ Jake Rudh, musical director dVRG.
• Monday-Tuesday, Nov. 15-16, Dakota: Kenny Barron Quartet with David Sanchez. The NEA jazz master and the Grammy-winning saxophonist.

P.S. Tubist Stefan Kac will teach a Jazz History and Listening class at the West Bank School of Music starting next Wednesday, Nov. 3, and continuing weekly through Dec. 22. 12 hours, $145. Join me?

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