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When the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge named Lincoln Center jazz director Derek Gordon its new executive director last fall, certain expectations came with him. Gordon at first shied away from making any promises to 225 about bringing marquee names to the city. But now the Arts Council and the newly-formed River City Jazz Coalition, along with a host of sponsors, are delivering a slate of concerts that shows a lot of promise for what Gordon can offer the city’s lovers of traditional and modern jazz. The series offers a wide swathe of jazz styles and will be for many Baton Rougeans a chance for education as much as appreciation of the genre.

“We hope over time to engender a strong and vocal jazz audience that will be able to tell us who and what they would like to hear, but who will also be adventurous enough to trust us when we bring something new,” Gordon says. “I hope that this year’s series will appeal to the aficionados and to the casual listener.”

Future Arts Council series on other genres like country or rock are not out of the realm of possibility. According to Gordon, jazz was considered a risky venture in terms of box-office receipts, but collaborating with the Baton Rouge Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Baton Rouge Area Foundation and other organizations helped pull the slate together.

“As you can see from the schedule, we try to avoid LSU and Southern football as well as significant dates for other cultural institutions in the community,” Gordon says. “It was sort of a Rubik’s Cube process, but I think it worked out.”

Branford Marsalis - Friday, Sept. 21, 7 and 9 p.m.

Born the first son of renowned pianist Ellis Marsalis, Breaux Bridge native and gifted saxophonist Branford Marsalis has had one of the more unique and diverse careers of any living jazz musician. From collaborations with Miles Davis and The Grateful Dead to appearing as bandleader on the Tonight Show and establishing Habitat for Humanity’s Musicians’ Village in post-Katrina New Orleans, Marsalis’ fingerprints are all over the modern musical and cultural map. The Branford Marsalis Quartet’s latest album, Braggtown, offers up Marsalis’ love and mastery of “burn out” jazz like a sacrifice to the spirit of the late, great John Coltrane. The quartet features pianist Joey Calderazzo, whom Zia “the Cat” calls one of the hidden gems of modern jazz.

Poncho Sanchez - Thursday, Oct. 25, 7 and 9 p.m.

Perhaps no other congas are as world-renowned at the moment as those pounded and rattled by the hands of Southern California’s famous “Chicano conguero.” That is to say, Latin jazz maestro Poncho Sanchez knows a thing or two about tubs and skins. Sanchez’s catalogue of albums produced and performed for Concord Records is nearly unmatched in Cuban rhythm music. He leads his eight-piece band to Baton Rouge for two shows on the heels of their groovy, pop-smart new album Raise Your Hand. Alongside stacks of Cuban rhythms and improvisational interplay, the album showcases Sanchez’s spin on soul classics like the title track and Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood.”

The River City series at Manship Theatre continues in 2008. Philadelphia’s piano-heavy Kenny Barron Trio performs on Feb. 28, and jazz vocalist and Billie Holliday acolyte Nnenna Freelon appears May 1. manshiptheatre.org