Guitarist Jesse Cook understands that you can’t play flamenco without knowing how to properly smoulder.

March weather may have entered like a lamb, but this month's jazz has opened like a lion. You can choose from small venues and community halls, or you can plan to hit the Jack Singer. It's all happening, from CD releases to the best of out-of-town talent.

It starts on March 11, 12 and 13 at Beat Niq. Catch Calgary jazz drummer Tyler Hornby's CD release for A Road to Remember, 2010. Though he's familiar to locals through his frequent gigs here and his teaching at Mount Royal University, Hornby’s reputation far exceeds Alberta. He has toured internationally, recorded over 30 albums and played with the likes of Randy Brecker, Hugh Fraser, Campbell Ryga and Mike Murley. For the release of this CD, he'll be joined by Kodi Hutchinson (bass), Aaron Young (guitar), Chris Andrew (piano) and Bob Tildsley (trumpet). This isn't the only release for Hornby in 2010, either — watch for Able to Fly, also on Chronograph Records, later this year.

March also marks the beginning of a new jazz series sponsored by the Cliff Bungalow-Mission Community Association Social Committee. Mark your calendars for the first Wednesday of every month to hear some of the best jazz musicians and ensembles in Calgary. The gigs happen in the Cliff Bungalow Community Hall and we can look forward to the Jazz Winds composers collective (April), Sinistrio (May) and Spencer Cheyne Group (June) over the next few months.

By the middle of the month, the Jack Singer Concert Hall will feature two performances by acoustic and electric guitarist Jesse Cook. Paris-born and raised in the south of France, Cook later moved to Canada. His reputation is international and so are his influences, as he continues to fuse his flamenco guitar talents with jazz and Latin styles. Cook plays Calgary March 15 and 16.

The end of the month holds two major performances for jazz fans. Beat Niq will be your destination for two nights (March 26 and 27) as renowned Vancouver guitarist Bill Coon hits town. Coon, recently voted Guitarist of the Year in Canada at the 2009 National Jazz Awards, is here as a guest of the Jazz Is Society of Alberta. He'll perform with the Resident Artists Ensemble of the Jazz Is Society: Allistair Elliott (trumpet), Pat Belliveau (saxophone) John Hyde (bass) and John De Waal (drums).

The University of Calgary's Monday Night Jazz Series rounds out the month. Brad Turner is in town and you don't want to miss this Juno Award-winning trumpeter. Turner's quartet plays University Theatre on Monday, March 29.