Fri.-Sat. May 9-10 -- The most wide-swinging Door, drummer John Densmore, presents his world ensemble TribalJazz. At Catalina’s; 8 & 10pm; $20-$30.
Fri.-Sat. May 9-10 -- All-time great trombonist Curtis Fuller leads a topflight local ensemble: pianist Nate Morgan, bassist Tony Dumas, drummer Fritz Wise and vocalist George Harper. At Jazz Bakery; 8 & 9:30pm; $30.
Fri. May 9 -- Pianist Steve Lockwood unveils an intelligent modern chamber trio with Ken Rosser on guitar and Ellen Burr on flute. At Café Metropol, 923 E. Third St., downtown 90013; 8pm; $10 cover, $10 minimum; (213) 613-1537.
Fri.-Sat. May 9-10 -- Sit with a bunch of fusion guitarists focusing their opera glasses on the gear and amp settings of Michael Landau, with a different group each of the two nights. At the Baked Potato.
Sat. May 10 -- Otep has gone through some personnel changes; time to check up on what metal poetess Otep Shamaya is pulling off these days. Bound to be good. At the Whisky.
Sat. May 10 -- Rethink what jazz is when bassist Steuart Liebig corrals the finest avantists in L.A. for Seconda Prattica: drummer Alex Cline, trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, saxist Bill Plake and cornetist Dan Clucas. Read this week’s record review of another Liebig project, Tee-Tot Quartet (also featuring Clucas) here. At Café Metropol, 923 E. Third St., downtown 90013; 8pm; $10 cover, $10 minimum; (213) 613-1537.
Sat. May 10 -- Richard Meltzer is 63 today. Send him some Jell-O up in Portland; he’ll provide his own dead rats.
Mon. May 12 -- My favorite world groove trio, Maetar, wraps up the four-day Global Sound Conference: “key individuals from the Music, Film and Television industries with Pioneers in the areas of Wellness, Sound Healing, and Integrative Medicine.” At the Marina del Rey Marriott, 4100 Admiralty Way 90292; 8pm; $12 advance, $20 walk-up; www.globalsoundconference.com.
Thurs. May 15 -- Hans Fjellestad has started a music series called ResBox, and this month is a stone killer: synth abuser & guitar extrapolator Hans Fjellestad & G.E. Stinson, wind & bass duo Andrew Pask & Steuart Liebig, electro composer Leticia Castaneda, and Not in the House (guitarist Carey Fosse and percussionist Eric Gardner). Not sure about the order, but every slot rocks. At Steve Allen Theater, the Center for Inquiry, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 90027; 8pm; $10; info (323) 666-4268, tickets (800) 595-4849. You can usually get beer/wine at this little auditorium. Free parking lot, even.
Thurs. May 15 -- Been awhile, but the rad instro surf stylings of Paul Lacques and Double Naught Spy Car (midnight), along with popular rockabstractionists Polar Goldie Cats (11pm), are back. At the Scene Bar, 806 E. Colorado Blvd., Glendale 91205.