7 & 8 Snoqualmie Valley Festival of Music
The hills will be alive with music during the first Snoqualmie Valley Festival of Music on Saturday, August 7 and Sunday, August 8. Nestled in at the foot of Mt Si, outdoors at Mountain Meadows Farm, 10106 422nd Lane SE, North Bend, the festival will feature the anticipated debut of The Vardi Chamber Players, the Cascade Jazz Quintet, and a 60-strong Voices of the Valley chorus. Food and drink will be plentiful, so spend the afternoon and evening (gates open at 3:30pm) enjoying fine music in this beautiful environment.

12 & 19 Jovino Santos Neto and Marc Seales at Olym
In lieu of the standard Art of Jazz programming at the Seattle Art Museum Downtown, August sees the Jovino Santos Neto Quintet and the Marc Seales Group perform outdoors at the Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave, at 5:30pm on Thursday, August 12 and 19. The Olympic Sculpture Park summer concert series brings together art, environment, and community like never before as it welcomes its own Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market. Arranged along the Olympic Sculpture Park's signature Z-path, the farmers market will feature more than 30 local farmers and vendors and opens at 3:30pm. The afternoon is capped with free musical performances, here featuring Jovino Santos Neto's hot Brazilian jazz (12) and the Marc Seales Group fascinating approach to the American Song Book (19).

27 Ruth Serrão
An acknowledged authority on Brazilian music, pianist Ruth Serrão has presented lectures and concerts in the United States, Europe, and her native country. She has premiered the works of contemporary composers such as Guerra-Peixe, Maria Helena Rosas Fernandes, Guilherme Bauer, Gilberto Mendes, Antonio Guerreiro and Dawid Korechendler, many of whom have also dedicated their works to Ms. Serrão. She has worked with young musicians at the preparatory and college levels, given Master classes and participated in juries and music festivals. This concert offers Seattle audiences a rare opportunity to hear music by Claudia Caldeira, Maria Helena Rosas Fernandes, Elaine Agnew, and Cesar Guerra-Peixe. Presented on Friday, August 27 at 8pm by Nonsequitur as part of the ongoing Wayward Music Series in the Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Wallingford (4649 Sunnyside Ave N).

27 & 28 Dave Peck Trio
Pacific Northwest pianist Dave Peck returns to Tula's Restaurant and Nightclub for his second annual birthday bash on Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28 at 7:30pm. Peck is known for his deeply introspective and passionate piano style and his many trio recordings, including the recent Modern Romance, have been praised by critics and peers alike. Joining Dave on this set is longtime collaborator and bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer Eric Eagle. Both rhythmic and romantic, the trio uses the standard repertoire as a framework for new composition and form. Their work is rich, intuitive, and harmonically complex. One of the treasures of Seattle jazz.

29 Zoo Tunes with Herbie Hancock's Imagine Project
A giant of modern music, Herbie Hancock has transcended the limitations of genre while maintaining his unmistakable voice as a performer. With an illustrious career spanning five decades and 12 Grammy Awards, Hancock continues to amaze jazz and pop audiences around the world. Set for release in 2010, Herbie Hancock's new album, The Imagine Project, is a major international recording and film project featuring collaborations between Hancock and musical stars from every region of the planet. Utilizing the universal language of music to express its central themes of peace and global responsibility, the collaborations combine Hancock's personalized musical vision with the “local” musical identity of cultures from around the world. Hancock performs as part of the Woodland Park Zoo's enormous Zoo Tunes series on Sunday, August 29 at 5pm. The Woodland Park Zoo is located at 601 N 59th St. Come early and meet a baby tapir. Tickets are now on sale at select Metropolitan Market locations and through Brown Paper Tickets.