The holiday weekend is looking busy for jazz fans, with excellent shows on the 5th, 6th and 7th.

Ben Schachter's Occidentia: July 5

Schachter has been turning heads ever since he arrived last year from Philadelphia with his big tone, post-'Trane chops and versatile skills. He's debuting a new group at Dizzy's (4275 Mission Bay Dr.) featuring two basses, ( Dave Marr on the upright, and Harley Magsino on the electric), along with guitarist Joey Carano and drummer Kevin Higuchi. 8 pm.

Bop Moderno July 6

This is another new group featuring an all-star San Diego line-up with Peter Sprague on guitar, Tripp Sprague on tenor saxophone, Gilbert Castellanos on trumpet, Gunnar Biggs on bass, and Duncan Moore on drums.

Pairing Castellanos with the brothers Sprague is an inspired idea, and one wonders what took so long to do it. I caught these cats a few months ago at the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, and it was 100% burning all night. They will be doing their thing at 98 Bottles, (2400 Kettner Blvd, Little Italy) 8 pm.

Night of the Cookers Vol III July 7

Every so often, trumpet master Castellanos brings in a fellow horn-man with a global reputation, usually from NYC, to team up for a bebop romp. This time it's Grammy Award winning Brian Lynch, who currently gigs with Phil Woods. Rounding out the group is pianist Mikan Zlatkovich, LA bassist Katie Thiroux and drummer Dan Schnelle. This concert is at Dizzy's and it starts at 8 pm.

Photo of Bop Moderno by Kylie Sprague