Things to do

Lest you dare be a couch potato at this time of year -- with so many options -- here are a few suggestions.

Tonight and tomorrow night at the Blue Wisp, it's Phil DeGreg and Brasilia, my favorite jazz show in this city. It's music by Brazilian composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, and Ivan Lins, and others. The music is lively and rhythmic, with styles like samba, baiao, choro, partito alto, and bossa nova. Brasilia features the remarkable Rusty Burge on the vibraphone, Steve Whipple on bass, Jake Reed on drums, and Stan Ginn on percussion. The music starts at 8:30 and there is a $10 cover charge. The Blue Wisp is at 318 E. 8th St, between Broadway and Sycamore. (513)241-9477.

You can hear some of the music at Phil's website

The symphony this weekend is pretty energized. See my review, above.

Saturday: Celebrate 2008 Chinese New Year (Year of the Rat) Concert, with Dance China NY, Qi Jiang, artistic director; Percussion Group Cincinnati; Blue Pipa Trio (pipa, bass and guitar); CCM Chamber Music Group. Presented by the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Music Society, 7:30 p.m., Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University. Tickets: $20; $10 student; $50 patron. 513-761-6397 or 513-761-0245

Sunday: Catch the grand finale of Fine Arts Fund weekend with a free performance of "Carnival of the Animals" by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, 4 p.m. (Take your tots early to get face paint and costumes.) The piano soloists for "Carnival" are Michael Chertock and Sandra Rivers, in her CSO debut (in photo with CSO violinist Eric Bates).

Tuesday -- The Blue Wisp Jazz Club presents a rare Cincinnati appearance by the world renowned organist Joey DeFrancesco and his trio in two shows - 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Admission: $20 for one show; $30 for both, with a $5 drink minimum per show.

Only 25 reservations are left, per show. Call 513-241-WISP(9477) for reservations or e-mail: reservations@thebluewisp.com Blue Wisp website: www.thebluewisp.com

Also Tuesday -- The Pridonoff Duo -- the acclaimed husband-and-wife piano team, celebrate 25 YEARS of harmony, 8 p.m. in Corbett Auditorium. Eugene and Elizabeth Pridonoff are joined by Percussion Group Cincinnati for Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Three Songs," Alexander Arensky's Suite No. 1, Op. 15, Maurice Ravel's "La Valse," and with Percussion Group Cincinnati, Ravel's "Mother Goose" and Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring."

Did you know that in 1982, they made their formal debut with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Paul Nadler? They were appointed Duo-in-Residence at CCM in 1986, shortly after they gave their debuts at New York's Alice Tully Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. They have since performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.