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M O N D A Y

Chick Corea is an odd bird. During his three-decade career, the 54-year-old pianist has been associated with free music in Circle, the blandest of funk in Return to Forever, classical sextets, and the pioneering fusion of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. Corea is exceedingly prolific—which is just as well, since his playing is flimsy and brittle as often as it is adventurous and assured. On last year’s Expressions, a mostly standards solo collection, his buoyant playing only occasionally lapses into chirpiness. Corea takes a break from his full band to perform solo in celebration of Memorial Day at 7 & 9 p.m. at the Museum of Natural History’s Baird Auditorium, 10th & Constitution Ave. NW. $24. (202) 357-3030. (Christopher Porter)