MUSIC

The Ellis Hall Group is at Sandy's in Beverly this week, and our North Shore bureau just called us long-distance especially to rave about them and Sandy's. Apparently Sandy's is trying to compete with the Performance Center and is working its way up to big-name groups. Hall is a protege of Stevie Wonder and was supposedly being groomed to take Stevie's place after his auto accident last winter. Stevie's better now, so Ellis has to make it on his own, but his sound is probably similar to Wonder's. Beverly is about a half-hour drive. Through July 20.

Bobby Blue Bland is a middle-aged veteran electric bluesman whose music veers toward the syrupy at times; he's no B.B. King, but he should still give a good show. At Paul's Mall in Boston, through Sunday.

Roy Haynes and the Hip Ensemble are next door at the Jazz Workshop. Haynes is a superb jazz drummer who has played with all sorts of greats (John Coltrane, for example), but we must confess we have our doubts about how interesting it can be to listen to somebody play drums for two hours. If you think drums can work as a lead instrument, by all means go; if anyone can pull it off it's Haynes. Though Sunday.

Spider John Koerner is making a longawaited return to Cambridge at Passim's this week. Spider John, so named because he's so long and thin, is a superb guitarist who plays all kinds of folk and acoustic blues. He's a local boy who got his start here and has been away of late. It should be a good show; Spider John is a real crowd-pleaser. Through Sunday.

Jebriath is, one of our correspondents tells us, "just like David Bowie, only more so." He's at the Performance Center until Sunday, and is being touted all over the place as a great act. Don't believe it. He's cashing in on the Bowe-Alice Cooper craze and has a very elaborate style with lots of props and strange sexuality but musically he's all show and no go. If you don't believe us listen to his new single, "Scumbag," and decide for yourself. Stay home and watch Highway Patrol instead of Jebriath.

The Johnny Otis Show, also at the Performance Center until Sunday, is, however, a different story. He has a fairly big R&B revue, good and slick and definitely worth a trip.

Cambridge Common Concerts on Sundays are starting up again, except they're not at Cambridge Common any more but at Herter Park on the Charles instead. They're usually very low-key and pleasant, with a band and some arts exhibits and crafts stands.

Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie, two of the all-time greats of jazz, are down at the Cape Cod Coliseum in South Yarmouth (a little over an hour's drive) tonight. Fitzgerald is particularly amazing; the venerable singer still has what may well be the best female voice in the world.

Bach in the Basin is the Metropolitan District Commission's Summer Bach festival at the Hatch Memorial Shell in the Charles River Esplanade. There's a concert Sunday at 8:30 p.m., and although it's officially a Bach festival the music will be Haydn and Mozart, played by the 35-member Esplanade Mozart Orchestra.