Quintet

Their luck was messed up for so long that the guys of Blue October decided to call their latest album Foiled. "Every time we took a step, something pushed us two steps back," says Justin Furstenfeld, the modern-rock band's spiky-haired focal point and lead singer. "We might as well just say it: We're foiled." After a decade of personal and artistic ups and downs, after being signed, dropped, then re-signed to Universal Records, Blue October has finally arrived, so to speak. Unexpectedly, Foiled has become the Houston quintet's biggest album.

Over the course of his career, the late Miles Davis led a number of exemplary jazz bands. There was the nonet with Lee Konitz, Gerry Mulligan and J. J. Johnson he assembled for the "Birth of the Cool" sessions in 1949; the star-studded "Kind of Blue" sextet in 1959, with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans; the electrified ensemble with Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and Billy Cobham that generated "A Tribute to Jack Johnson" in 1970.But,...

As a choreographer, Doug Hamby rushes in where angels fear to tread.In his program at the Dance Place this weekend, Hamby and his University of Maryland, Baltimore County-based company will journey from the lyrical romance of "Quintet" (whose composer, Scott Pinder, suppports his musical gift by running the TelePrompTer on ABC-TV's "Nightline") to the exuberant and celebratory "Opus 98," with a percussion accompaniment, "Genderang Senga" by Ben Pasaribu, for brake drums, tom-toms and woodblocks, played live by Tom Goldstein of the UMBC faculty.

"I'm down here in Palm Beach with four women," rasps Rod Stewart over the phone. "It's not going to be that much fun."Ah, the vicissitudes of stardom. Here's Rod Stewart, a man whose career is built around such songs as "Hot Legs," "Passion" and "Tonight's the Night," a man famous for asking if we thought he was sexy (and knowing full well the answer), complaining about having to spend a perfect spring evening with four women."And they're all drop-dead gorgeous as well," he laments.It's not as if Stewart has anything against the four young lovelies, a group that includes his wife, model-turned-actress Rachel Hunter; her sister; and their two best friends.

For three years, Sharon Tiebert traveled around the world wearing nothing but black. Wearing nothing but three black shirts and three pairs of black jeans, to be exact.As a French horn player in the "Les Miserables" traveling company, she lived out of two suitcases. The orchestra pit dress code was black, pure and simple. Tiebert saved a lot of money on clothes, but that wasn't reason enough to keep circling the globe playing the same music eight shows a week.The 38-year-old Peabody Institute grad returned to Baltimore and got a job as an administrative assistant at Johns Hopkins' physics and astronomy department.

The pianist Barry Douglas has always had a natural affinity for the music of Brahms. It was merely a matter of good sense, therefore, that the Irish pianist's appearance as a soloist during the Baltimore Symphony's Summer MusicFest should have come Saturday evening in Meyerhoff Hall in an all-Brahms program.The chamber music portion of the concert was devoted to a single work -- the Piano Quintet in F Minor. This relatively early work -- Brahms was only 30 when it was published -- is famous for pains it caused its composer during its long gestation and its difficult birth.

Franz Schubert never heard his Quintet in C; he composed it in September of 1828. On November 19, he died.He would have been pleased by last night's performance in Meyerhoff Hall on the next-to-last program of the Baltimore Symphony's Summer MusicFest.The composer surely understood how the difficulties -- both technical and musical -- of the Quintet. There are moments when the five instruments -- two violins, a viola and two cellos -- must sound like 100. And there is not a single moment in this taxing, 40-minute work in which each player, whether assigned to sustained or agitated melodic lines, can afford to neglect what his partners are doing.

Strong Love AffairRay Charles (Qwest 46107)A foolish consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but a foolish inconsistency is what ends up hobbling Ray Charles' latest album, "Strong Love Affair." With most of the album given over to richly orchestrated tracks produced by Jean-Pierre Grosz, the bulk of "Strong Love Affair" hearkens back to the glory days of the late '60s, when Charles fused funky soul and mainstream pop with consummate ease. From the brassy blues of "Everybody's Handsome Child" and "The Fever" to the mannered melancholy of "Say No More" and "Angelina," these tracks recall the strengths that made Charles the most influential soul singer of his generation.

On Saturday, the Performing Arts Association of Linthicum will present the next concert in its 1994-1995 season. The Warsaw Wind Quintet with Michiko Otaki, pianist, will perform on the stage of the new North County High School auditorium at 8 p.m.The quintet was formed in Warsaw, Poland, in 1973 by major soloists from the National Philharmonic and Radio Orchestras. They have played in the former Soviet Union and throughout Europe. The quintet regularly records for the Polish RTV and West Berlin Radio.

These days, jazz is crawling with would-be prodigies, young musicians who have albums in the stores before they're even out of their teens. The trouble is that too many of them mistake proficiency for profundity, and end up trying to set their own course before they're really sure of what it is they have to say.That's one reason it's a relief to come across Ron Holloway. Because unlike so many players, who would cut an album of their own at the earliest opportunity, Holloway waited for almost two decades before recording "Slanted," his solo debut.

Such worldwide hysteria among teen girls hadn't been seen since the Beatles. In the late 1980s and early '90s, some 25 years after the Fab Four sparked mania, New Kids on the Block became a sweeping sensation. The Boston quintet of Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight and Danny Wood dominated the Top 10 with sprightly pop hits that streamlined elements of classic Philly soul and lite hip-hop. Surely you remember them: "Please Don't Go Girl," "Step By Step," "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"

While many folks will be making last-minute checks on stashes of beer and munchies Sunday, others will be spending the pre-Super Bowl hours reveling in baroque music. "SuperBach Sunday" is a long-running annual presentation by Pro Musica Rara, Baltimore's intrepid early-music organization. This year's concert features the return of two fine guests, soprano Ann Monoyios and trumpeter John Thiessen. The concert, which promises music by Bach, Handel and Purcell, will be at 3:30 p.m. at Towson University's Center for the Arts, Osler and Cross Campus drives.

Essex Coastal zoning district is topic A Lower Back River Neck community meeting will be held tonight to discuss a new coastal zoning district in the area. The 7 p.m. forum at Chesapeake High School, 1801 Turkey Point Road, Essex, will offer information about a planning process, called a charrette, being organized to develop a new zoning code for the waterfront neighborhoods. The charrette will be held Sept. 11 through Sept. 15. The first meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 13. Information: 410-887-3480, or www.baltimorecountymd.

What: 40th birthday party for Oakland Mills, the second-oldest village in Columbia. When: Friday through Sunday. Where: The Other Barn, Oakland Mills Village Center, 5851 Robert Oliver Place. Highlights: Friday - Free 1968 movie night, 8 p.m., The Graduate; Saturday - OM Fest from noon to 3 p.m. in the courtyard with bands and free food/drinks. Family disco night from 7:30 to 10:30 . Tickets are $5 for adults in advance and $8 at the door. Tickets for children 6 to 12 are less, and kids 5 and younger are free; Sunday - Farmers' Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A "Jazz in the Mills" music series will feature the Lavenia Nesmith Quintet from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.

This year, Danity Kane, the all-female quintet that came together in MTV's Making the Band 3, released its second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, which made its debut at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. As a result of Making the Band 4, P. Diddy gave singer Donnie Klang a solo recording contract and formed the all-male R&B/pop quintet Day 26. All three acts perform at Pier 6 Pavilion tomorrow for Making the Band 4 -- The Tour. The show starts at 7 p.m. The venue is at President Street and Eastern Avenue.

The 9:30 Club hosts alternative-country group Son Volt tomorrow. Started in 1994 by Jay Farrar, ex-member of the band Uncle Tupelo, the band has gone on to record seven albums and perform at Lollapalooza and on Late Show With David Letterman. Son Volt's repertoire ranges from quiet ballads to hard rock and draws comparisons to American rockers the Jayhawks and classic R.E.M. The quintet performs with Grammy-nominated roots-rocker Bare Bones Jr. Doors open at 9 p.m. The club is at 815 V St. N.W., Washington.

Just announced A Smooth Jazz Christmas -- featuring Dave Koz, Jonathan Butler, Wayman Tisdale and Kimberley Locke, Hippodrome Theatre's France-Merrick Performing Arts Center on Nov. 26. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. R. Kelly -- Verizon Center in Washington on Nov. 25. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Aaron Neville & His Quintet -- Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis on Dec. 13. 410-268-4545 or ramsheadtavern.com. Dieselboy, Charles Feelgood, Evol Intent, Scott Henry, Simply Jeff -- Sonar on Nov. 3. 410-327-8333 or ticketmaster.

The music season heated up some more over the weekend, with the help of interesting, effectively delivered repertoire. After an early-September, nonsubscription event featuring Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Shriver Hall Concert Series opened its annual classical series Sunday evening at the Johns Hopkins University with the superb Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. The program provided an immersion course in French music for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn.

Their luck was messed up for so long that the guys of Blue October decided to call their latest album Foiled. "Every time we took a step, something pushed us two steps back," says Justin Furstenfeld, the modern-rock band's spiky-haired focal point and lead singer. "We might as well just say it: We're foiled." After a decade of personal and artistic ups and downs, after being signed, dropped, then re-signed to Universal Records, Blue October has finally arrived, so to speak. Unexpectedly, Foiled has become the Houston quintet's biggest album.

Pete Mosely is loving the California sun right now. "Beautiful weather, man; clear skies. It's great," he says. "I was out jet skiing earlier, and my face is sunburned." The Yellowcard bassist, keyboardist and songwriter is calling from San Diego, where he's taking a short break from his bandmates before a performance later that evening. Lately, he's had few moments away from the studio and the stage. The punk-inspired pop quintet has been on the grind, heavily promoting its new album, the gold-selling Lights and Sounds, the follow-up to its platinum 2003 major-label debut, Ocean Avenue.