If the opening days of 2010 are any indication, the New Year is going to be a good year for jazz fans. Before you can even clean up from tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, the sounds kick in with the modern-day, Hammond B-3 whiz Joey DeFrancesco bringing his trio to Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, for a two-night stand on Friday and Saturday. Those two nights should deliver enough power to light a small city.

Son of organ player “Papa” John DeFrancesco, the Philadelphia-born Joey D seems to have been on the jazz scene forever. That’s no mean achievement for someone who just turned 38. But what do you expect from a musician who was sharing a bandstand in his hometown with drummer “Philly” Joe Jones and tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley when he was all of 10-years old.

In 1988, the teenage B-3 player was touring with Miles Davis and then picked up the trumpet to add a musical twist to his work at the keyboard. That same year he formed a trio that featured Paul Bollenback on guitar and Byron “Wookie” Landham on drums and by 1989 (at the age of 17) he had his first CD as a leader out on Columbia Records. Though he would record in a variety of contexts over the years, with various players, the hard-driving organ trio always remained close to his heart and that’s what he brings to Dazzle for his two-night stand with, you guessed it, Bollenback and Landham. The sets both evenings are at 7 and 9 p.m. ($30, 303-839-5100).

Right after DeFrancesco’s appearance in town, another fine player, pianist Kenny Werner, hits town. Werner is at the Broadway Music School, 1940 S. Broadway, on Sunday for a workshop at 4 p.m. and a solo concert at 5:20 p.m. The New York-born pianist followed a classical path into the Manhattan School of Music before shifting to Boston’s Berklee College of Music where he struck up a long lasting friendship with tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano.

For several years at the start of the 1980s, Werner worked with saxophonist Archie Shepp and also started his own trio. He also spent time, during his three decades on the scene, with Lovano, Ron Carter, Bob Brookmeyer and Joe Henderson (to name just a few). On the big-band side, the pianist worked with a number of aggregations, including the Mel Lewis Orchestra. That orchestra grew out of the famed big band co-led by Lewis and Thad Jones and later became the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra (which just happens to be in Colorado on Jan. 15 at the Newman Center at DU and on Jan. 14 at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek).

When you add on the fact that the Werner also served as singer Roseanna Vitro’s music director, you quickly understand the range and sensitivity of his piano work. The cost of the workshop/concert combination is $30/$40 day of the show/and $20 for students (303-777-0833).

Then, on Tuesday, the Fred Hess Big Band anchored by Matt Wilson’s drums and Ken Filiano’s bass takes the Dazzle stage at 7 p.m. ($15). Wilson and Filiano are on several of Hess’ small-group recordings as well as on his first big-band effort Hold On. They are back in the city because the tenor saxophonist’s big band is returning to the studio this week to record a new CD. Hess’ music manages to deeply engage your musical mind while never losing the ability to connect with listeners and to play the humor card. At this point, Wilson is among the very best drummers around and the Wilson-Filiano rhythm section is a monster.

Of course, we don’t get to 2010 until midnight tonight. On the New Year’s Eve front, the strong sextet called Convergence rings in the New Year at Dazzle with sets at 7 and 9:30 p.m. The 7 p.m. show includes a two-course dinner, while the later show has a three-course dinner and the New Year ($44 for 7 p.m./$64 for 9:30 p.m.). If you are home this evening, NPR’s Toast of the Nation on KUVO (89.3) begins at 6 p.m. with Anat Cohen in Boston. John Pizzarrelli does his “Dear Mr. Sinatra” thing from the nation’s capitol at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Bad Plus from New York at 11 p.m. Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield’s quintet wraps it up from Minneapolis at midnight.

On a final note: The end of a year always brings to mind those whose passed from the scene during the past 12 months. Among the men and women lost to the jazz world in 2009, you can find: saxophonists “Fathead” Newman, Hank Crawford, Bud Shank, Charlie Mariano, Gerry Niewood, Jack Nimitz and Pete King; drummers Louie Bellson and Rashied Ali; bassists Sirone, Leonard Gaskin, Whitey Mitchell, “Cachaito” Lopez and Wayman Tisdale; pianists Buddy Montgomery (who also played vibes),  Dick Katz and Eddie Higgins; guitarist Les Paul; singers Chris Connor and Blossom Dearie; trumpeter Stacy Rowles; composers/arrangers George Russell and Tina Marsh; and Village Gate owner Art D’Lugoff. They are gone but not their contributions to the music.

Normanprovizer@aol.com