Jeannette Lambert’s Bebop for Babies, 4 p.m., Strong --- National Museum of Play

Jeannette Lambert has a simple philosophy when it comes to kids and jazz: there’s no reason for them to miss out on it. Lambert takes the songs kids already know and love --- “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” “Old MacDonald,” “Frère Jacques,” and many others --- and plays them in simple, catchy jazz arrangements. Her band is no Mickey Mouse outfit; it consists of real jazz players. The result is music kids love, and it won’t drive parents crazy.

For more information on Lambert or Bebop for Babies, visit http://www.bebopforbabies.com/. (RN)

Rochester Area High School Jazz Bands, 4:30 p.m. & 5:15 p.m., Jazz Street Stage

Jason Moran & The Bandwagon, 6 p.m. & 10 p.m., Montage

Jason Moran’s prowess as a jazz pianist is unquestionable, but it seems like his skill is never enough for him. Moran is constantly experimenting, pushing the envelope while pounding the keys. On his album The Bandwagon, the tunes range from free-form improvisations and march-like anthems to an interpretation of Johannes Brahms’ brilliant Intermezzo Op. 118, No. 2. On two of the tracks, Moran bases his improvisational melodies on the rhythm and meter of voices recorded from telephone conversations.

For more information on Moran, visit http://www.jasonmoran.com/. (RN)

James Moody Quartet, 6 & 10 p.m., Kilbourn Hall

It would be more than enough if James Moody were only a great saxophonist and flautist, but he is also responsible for one of the most popular songs in jazz. Moody didn’t write “I’m In The Mood For Love,” but his improvisation, built on the song’s chords, was so engaging that it spawned a new set of vocalese lyrics by Eddie Jefferson, a hit record by King Pleasure, and a new title, “Moody’s Mood For Love.” After a stint in the Air Force, Moody joined Dizzy Gillespie’s group. Over the last seven decades he has recorded hundreds of albums and played beside just about every significant jazz player of the second half of the 20th century.

For more information on Moody, visit http://www.jamesmoody.com/. (RN)

Nobuki Takamen, 6 p.m., Club Pass Big Tent

Gene Bertoncini protégée Nobuki Takamen has been playing guitar since he was 14. The New Jersey by way of Hiroshima musician is building a reputation around the New York jazz scene for his unfettered traditional approach. This year's festival is full of a lot audio astronauts and oddballs, so it should be nice to mix it up with a cat who actually reads the dots.

For more information on Takamen visit http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/men-tei/Men-teiEnglish.html. (FD)

Eastman School of Music Jazz Trios, 6 p.m., Jazz Street Stage

Zapp String Quartet, 6:15 p.m. & 10 p.m., Max of Eastman Place

The RIJF has been known for presenting musicians who expand the boundaries of their musical forms; the Netherlands’ Zapp String Quartet certainly fits that bill. Even when these four superb musicians sound like a traditional string quartet, their music is reminiscent of envelope-pushing quartets by Bartok, or Beethoven’s late quartets. And that’s just the beginning; you can expect to hear rock, country, various strains of ethnic music, and jazz with a great deal of improvisation along the way. The Zapp Quartet takes the voicings, dynamics, and interplay of a traditional string quart and turns them, lovingly, upside down.

For more information on Zapp String Quartet visit http://www.zappstringquartet.com/. (RN)

Catherine Russell, 6:30 p.m., High Fidelity

Chances are you’ve seen or heard New York City’s Catherine Russell before. Russell, an associate professor of voice at Berklee College of Music in Boston, has lent her formidable pipes to Steely Dan, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Madonna, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, and Rosanne Cash, to name a few. That’s because the vocal utility in her arsenal is fortified with anything and everything from barrelhouse bellows to sultry ballad swoon to cool, cool torch song come-ons. And the talent runs deep; her dad was Louis Armstrong’s musical director when Satchmo moved operations to NYC in 1935. (FD)

Music Educators Big Band, 7:15 p.m. & 9:15 p.m., Jazz Street Stage

In The Country, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., Reformation Lutheran Church

In The Country might be called a power trio from Norway, but in this case the power is not found in explosive solos; it’s in the magnificent subtlety of the group. Morten Qvenild (keyboards) is the composer of In The Country’s beautiful compositions; Roger Arntzen (bass) and Pål Hausken (drums) are key players in bringing them to fruition. The group’s recent album, Losing Stones, Collecting Bones, is full of gorgeous impressionistic tunes that recall the greats from Eric Satie to Bill Evans. This concert is sure to be among the most sublime of the RIJF.

For more information on In The Country, visit http://www.inthecountry.no/. (RN)

Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, 8 p.m., Eastman Theatre

Wynton Marsalis is the Louis Armstrong of our time, an ambassador of jazz to the world. He's a brilliant player, a first-rate composer/arranger, and the tireless artistic director of jazz at Lincoln Center. He also leads arguably the world's premier jazz band, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Under Marsalis' direction the orchestra has explored the legacy of Duke Ellington and, more recently, John Coltrane and Charles Mingus. Born into the first family of jazz (Ellis, Branford, etc.) in New Orleans in 1961, Marsalis emerged as a leader among the "Young Lions" of the 1980s, bringing jazz back to its acoustic roots. In 1997 his epic Blood On The Fields became the first jazz composition to win the Pulitzer Prize. Marsalis isn't the only giant in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The trumpet section boasts Ryan Kisor, Sean Jones, and Marcus Printup. Among the reed players are Victor Goines, Sherman Irby, and Ted Nash.

The RIJF is the first stop on a tour featuring Marsalis' composition, Congo Square. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Congo Square in New Orleans was the only location where African slaves were allowed to perform their music and dances. It is viewed as the birthplace of jazz. The Orchestra will be joined by the nine-member ensemble Odadaa!, featuring Ghanaian master percussionist Yacub Addy. For more information on Marsalis or the orchestra, visit  http://www.jalc.org/.

Corey Harris, 8:30 p.m. & 10 p.m., Club Pass Big Tent

It’s those that push the blues that will save it. Blues guitarist Corey Harris pushes his blues forward by reaching back --- way back to mother Africa, the birthplace of it all. A few years back Harris met up and played with African bluesman Ali Farka Toure. Martin Scorsese documented the trip in Feels Like Going Home, the director’s chapter of the TV mini-series “The Blues.” Harris plays acoustic with a sound typically thought to rooted in the Delta. But Harris goes even deeper to where the Delta was rooted.

For more information on Harris visit http://www.coreyharrismusic.com/. (FD)

The Latin Side of Miles Davis, 8:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m., Harro East Ballroom

The Latin Side of Miles Davis is the latest jazz transformation project by trombonist Conrad Herwig. Long known as one of New York’s most progressive trombonists, Herwig has always gravitated toward the Latin side, playing with Eddie Palmieri, Airto Moreira, Paquito D’Rivera, and many others. In the mid-1990s he recorded The Latin Side of John Coltrane, interpreting the master’s tunes with a Latin tinge. In 2004 and 2006 Herwig released albums exploring the Latin side of Miles Davis. The first, Another Kind of Blue, reinvented Davis’ most popular album. The most recent, Sketches of Spain y Mas, revisits that tune, “Solar,” and “Seven Steps to Heaven.” Any group exploring Davis’ music needs a great trumpeter; that’s why Brian Lynch is co-leader.

For more information on Herwig and Latin Side of Miles Davis visit http://www.conradherwig.com/. (RN)

Jazz Jam w/Bob Sneider, 10:30 p.m., State Street Bar & Grill

The crowd will grow larger and larger every night as festival-goers catch on to one of the RIJF's best treats. Starting at around 10:30 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza's State Street Bar and Grill, the superb Bob Sneider Trio hosts a rousing jam session. Sneider is a world-class jazz guitarist who has equally top-notch support from Mike Melito on drums and Phil Flanigan on bass. If that's not enough, you never know who will visit the bar and jam after a gig. George Benson, Chris Potter, and Eric Alexander are among the stars who have sat in with the band. So have a wide range of local musicians, from high school students to pros.

For more information on Bob Sneider, visit http://www.bobsneider.com/index.shtml. (RN)

For more information or to buy tickets, visit the Rochester International Jazz Festival website.