The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts is hosting two trios over the next two-plus weeks. Make that two trios and an extra five musicians and singers.

European jazz artist Re-naud Garcia-Fons is set to perform four nights, Oct. 10-13, in the Studio Theatre, converted to clublike seating. Garcia-Fons plays his customized five-string double bass with a speed and precision that have prompted critics to dub him "the Paganini of double bass," referring to the legendary violinist.

Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, accomplished in genres from straight-ahead jazz to Broadway, where she won a Tony Award for her performance as Glinda the Good Witch in The Wiz, is set to perform in Jackson Hall at 8 p.m. Oct. 20, in a concert exploring the connections between the music of Mali and the traditions of American jazz.

Earlier this week, the Mondavi Center announced a half-price offer for the Bridgewater show: a limited number of price level 1 tickets for $21 for the center's VIPs — a free program for faculty and staff.

Garcia-Fons' trio includes flamenco-influenced guitarist Kiko Ruiz and drummer Pascal Rollando. Their shows are set for 8 o'clock nightly.

Bridgewater is set to perform with her usual trio — Edsel Gomez (piano), Ira Coleman (bass) and Minino Garay (drums) — plus these Malian musicians: Lansiné Kouyaté (balafon), Baba Sissoko (n'goni, tamani, vocals), Cherif Soumanou (kora) and vocalists Mamani Kéita and Kabiné Kouyaté.

Her show explores her roots with music from her recent recording Red Earth, a percussion-driven set that she calls her "ode to Mali and to Africa … the story of a lost child finding her way home."

MUSIC SAMPLES ONLINE: Garcia-Fons, www.renaudgarciafons.com, and Bridgewater, www.deedeebridgewater.com.

TICKETS: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org.