Billy Childs/Ying Quartet

Sat., Jan. 24, 8 p.m., $22, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, 215-641-6518, mc3.edu.

by Shaun Brady

JAZZ/CLASSICAL

It used to be that jazz-classical fusions were all about respectability; these days, both genres are relegated to the same concert halls and museum-piece perception, so they can at least meet on more common ground. Unlike many composers who cross that boundary, pianist Billy Childs strikes a fairly even balance between the jazz and chamber sides of his output, swaying from impressionistic through composed-string pieces to Chick Corea-influenced fusion-lite workouts. His basic ensemble interiorizes the chamber influence, mixing piano trio with harp and acoustic guitar for a folklike feel, as on Childs' arrangement of "Scarborough Faire." The Ying Quartet are no strangers to such hybrids; the Chinese-American siblings have presented programs of Americana with Mike Seeger. The combination may err on the side of elegance, but Childs' emotional compositions ensure that neither half is compromised.

Sat., Jan. 24, 8 p.m., $22, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, 215-641-6518, mc3.edu.