Here’s a director’s cut—some of Gilbreath’s own must-hear picks:

Robert Pinsky reading with Marc Seales and Paul Gabrielson Tonight, 7:30, at the Seattle Symphony’s Nordstrom Recital Hall: “Evidently Pinsky had proposed a collaboration. He’s done what to my mind are not particularly successful collaborations with musicians back East. Seattle Arts & Lectures came to me with this and I arranged it. Mark Seales was one of two piano players I thought about immediately, along with Wayne Horvitz.” Seales seemed to have the right light touch. “You don’t want an instrument that can step on the poetry—the music is in service to it. Pinsky is totally coming into this thing with a jazz spirit. We asked him, Do you want to do a rehearsal? ‘No, we’ll just do it on stage, it’ll be fine.’”

Chicago Underground Duo Saturday, Oct 16, 8pm, EMP Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor, on just trumpet and drums, “can make a duo work very successfully—they also add textures with electronic music. Sometimes they abandon the acoustical instruments for electronics. They’ve really laid some groundwork, done some fascinating collaborations. But they haven’t done much together in the last few years, and they’ve rarely been in Seattle. It’s an extraordinary opportunity.”

Lina Allemano Four Tuesday, Oct 19, 8pm, Good Shepherd Center Chapel “Jazz is so often perceived as a guy thing, specifically a white 50-year-old guy-with-glasses thing. But we have some great women-led instrumental ensembles I’m really proud of.” This is the Seattle debut of Toronto trumpeter Allemanno, widely hailed as a rising star.

DJ Spooky with Joshua Roman and the Odeon String Quartet Oct 23, 7 and 10pm, Triple Door “Oftentimes classical musicians can’t improvise. But Joshua Roman is brilliant and multifaceted.” And DJ Spooky, aka Paul D. Miller aka that Subliminal Kid, actually has “deep jazz connections. He’s with the same manager who works with the jazz pianist Vijay Iyer—real brainy.”

Gretchen Parlato Group and the Tia Fuller Quartet Sunday, Oct 24, 7:30pm, Triple Door Two more ensembles led by rising young women stars, inventive vocalist Parlato and saxophonist/flutist Fuller, whose career definitely does not end with backing up Beyoncé.

Matt Jorgensen’s Tattooed by Passion Oct 26, 7:30pm, Triple Door “We’re doing some special projects with Seattle artists. For this Matt Jorgenson has a larger ensemble—his quintet plus a string quartet.” They’ll premiere his new album, inspired by the paintings of his late father-in-law Dale Chisman.

Steve Lehman Octet Oct 29, 8pm, Seattle Art Museum “A special project, with support from Chamber Music America. He’s a brilliant young saxophonist who’s written some astonishing music. It captures the past, present, and future all in one heartbeat.”

Ryuichi Sakamoto Oct 30, 8pm, Moore Theatre “Really original sounds, from the sublime to the ridiculous. He does a lot of film music. He’ll perform on a stark stage with two pianos and a movie screen.”

Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio and Cuong Vu/Andrew D’Angelo: Agogic Nov 1, 8pm, Crocodile “Two groups, both in contemporary settings. The Proverb Trio is the Cuban drummer Dafnis Prieto, Jason Lindner on keyboard, and rapper Kokayi. Cuong Vu, the Seattle trumpeter, is based more in a rock vein in his new group with saxophonist Andrew DiAngelo, the Agogic Quartet. A really rocking night.”

Carmen Staaf Trio November 4 & 5, 7:30pm, Tula’s Young and gifted Staaf, a star Garfield alumna, won last year’s Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Pianist Competition. With Garfield classmate Kendall Eddy on bass and Austin McMahon, “who’s just taken off in New York,” on drums.

Gilbreath stops before he names everyone in the festival’s 55 shows. “There’s just so much,” he sighs. “So much to hear.”

Earshot Jazz Festival runs Oct 15-Nov 7. For more festival info, click here For podcasts featuring Earshot acts, go to jazznowseattle.com.