Fri.-Sat. April 10-11 -- Saxist Steve Coleman still represents the forward edge of jazz abstraction and mythology, which gives you an idea of where he was at 20 years back. His Five Elements this time include trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, vocalist Jen Shyu, bassist Thomas Morgan and longtime drummer Marcus Gilmore. At Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., West L.A. 90034; 8 & 9:30pm; $30; (310) 271-9039; www.jazzbakery.org.
Fri.-Sat. April 10-11 -- The words of the Sibyl and the voice of the caverns, Leonard Cohen. Read my 2006 LA Weekly interview with him here. At Nokia Theater Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown 90015; 8pm; www.ticketmaster.com. Looks like it’s sold out, but you can lie in wait in surrounding alleys and mug ticketholders.
Sat. April 11 -- Cosmosquad bring the very heavy, very trippy, very funky fusionistic goods with guitarist Jeff Kollman, drummer Shane Gaalaas and bassist Christopher Maloney. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615.
Sun. April 12 -- It’s great that vocalist Dwight Trible has this tradition of performing on Easter, because his melismatic soul wail is sure gonna make you rise. At Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., West L.A. 90034; 8 & 9:30pm; $25; (310) 271-9039; www.jazzbakery.org.
Mon.-Wed. April 13-15 -- I saw Chris Potter play with Dave Holland, and he made me realize that it’s still possible to find new intellectual and tonal approaches to the tenor sax all these 42 years since Coltrane died. (Kicks on a bunch of other woodwinds as well.) His Underground band are excellent: bassist Scott Colley, guitarist Adam Rogers and drummer Nate Smith. At Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., West L.A. 90034; 8 & 9:30pm; $30; (310) 271-9039; www.jazzbakery.org.
Mon. April 13 -- The metal parody band Steel Panther and the 10-member Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees are funny, and good musically. I’m not proud of saying that. They just are. Check them out here and here. At the Key Club, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; doors 8:30pm; $20; www.keyclub.com; (310) 274-5800.
Tues. April 14 -- Nick Mancini Collective hits the second of an every-Tuesday-in-April residency. The vibesman brings saxist-flutist Katisse, bassist Hamilton Price and drummer Zach Harmon. Read my review of a recent show here.. At Pasadena Jazz Institute, 260 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 206, Pasadena 91101; 8-11pm; FREE; (626) 398-3344; www.pasjazz.org.
Wed. April 15 -- Good-lookin’ bill: The electric sextet of the king of L.A. avant, multiwindman Vinny Golia, plus spacious, sometimes beautiful abstractions from Slumgum (saxist Jon Armstrong, pianist Rory Cowal, bassist David Tranchina, drummer Trevor Anderies), and gentle, universally informed post-jazz from Axis Trio (pianist Amino Belyamani, bassist Sam Minaie and drummer Qasim Naqvi). At Mr. T’s Bowl, 5621 1/2 Figueroa St., Highland Park 90042; 9pm; (323) 256-7561; http://mrtsbowl.tripod.com.
Thurs. April 16 -- This month’s Hans Fjellestad curations are New Zealand multimediamen Parasitic Fantasy Band, multi-instrumentalist Eric Glick Rieman, audio-visualist VJ Fader and percussionist Corey Fogel. Always the edgiest at ResBox at Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood 90027; 8pm; $10; BYO.
Thurs. April 16 -- Tool drummer Danny Carey fuses & trips it up with Volto, featuring Tribal Tech keyboardist (etc.) Kirk Covington, bassist Lance Morrison and Pigmy Love Circus guitarist John Ziegler. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615.
Read Brick’s Picks in LA Weekly here and Don Heckman’s picks here.