Fri. May 29 -- Cosmosquad crunch heavy, funky and trippy -- watta package, with guitarist Jeff Kollman, drummer Shane Gaalaas and bassist Christopher Maloney. It’s Maloney’s last gig with the band, as he’s moving to Florida, so buy him a sarsaparilla. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615.
Fri.-Sat. May 29-30 -- Only in America (California even) could the soil have generated a composer like Harry Partch, who wrote his own rules and built his own microtonal instruments -- some of which remain in use with the Partch ensemble directed by John Schneider. Films and stuff, too, in a program called “Partch Dark/Partch Light.” At REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown 90012; 8:30pm; $25; www.redcat.org.
Fri.-Sat. May 29-30 -- Top-call bassist Scott Colley gets to take his own intelligent, thoughtful, original trip with terrific bandmates: trumpeter Ralph Alessi, drummer Brian Blade and pianist Kevin Hays. At Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., West L.A. 90034; 8 & 9:30pm; $30; (310) 271-9039; www.jazzbakery.org.
Sat. May 30 -- Charles Owens leads the all-star Luckman Jazz Orchestra’s Tribute to Freddie Hubbard, who died in December. The great trumpeter lived in L.A. for quite a while and made a substantial impact on the musicians here, including trombonist Phil Ranelin, who’s in the Orchestra and toured with Hubbard. Also: Blue Note has just released “Without a Song: Live in Europe 1969,” a concert featuring a sparky Hubbard entourage -- pianist Roland Hanna, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Louis Hayes. Auditing it blind, I thought at first it was Miles on meth. But take a listen to Hubbard’s languid note bends on “Body and Soul.” At Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Fine Arts Complex, 5151 State University Drive, L.A. 90032; 8:30pm; $40; (323) 343-6600; www.luckmanarts.org.
Sat. May 30 -- Ben Wendel is one of our more forward-thinking younger saxists, and he always has a topflight band. At Café Metropol, 923 E. Third St., downtown 90013; 8pm; $10 cover, $10 minimum; (213) 613-1537.
Sat. May 30 -- Trumpeter Elliott Caine leads a bop-oriented quintet; make him do some of his trippy originals. At Jax, 339 Brand Blvd., Glendale 91203; 9pm-1am; no cover; (818) 500-1604.
Sat.-Sun. May 30-31 -- On Saturday, guitar saturator Michael Landau leads a fusionistic quartet featuring drummer Gary Novak, bassist Cris Chaney and keyboardist Deron Johnson. On Sunday, Michael and Karen Landau celebrate the release of their record as Hazy Jane. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615.
Sun. May 31 -- Featuring vocalist Alex Isley, this is The Last Night of the Jazz Bakery at this location, where I have heard Cecil Taylor, Randy Weston, Charles Lloyd, Horace Tapscott, Frank Morgan, Sonny Simmons, Dave Douglas, Vijay Iyer, and so many more, I can’t remember. At Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., West L.A. 90034; 8 & 9:30pm; $25; (310) 271-9039; www.jazzbakery.org.
Tues. June 2 -- A very lordly lineup for Blackened Fest: Norwegian black-metal founders Mayhem, super-rad Swedish Christ killers Marduk (pictured), Colorado metaljazz stoners Cephalic Carnage, San Diego death vegans Cattle Decapitation, and Atlanta doomsters Withered. Gotta see ‘em all. At House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; 7pm; $22.50; (323) 848-5800; www.ticketmaster.com.
Wed. June 3 -- Elliott Caine quintet. At Spazio, 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks 91403; $5; (818) 728-8400; www.spazio.la.
Thurs. June 4 -- Upsilon Acrux (celebrating the release of a new record) spin spectacularly complex twin-guitar nerve-busters, well complemented on this bill by the guitar abstractions of Polar Goldie Cats. At the Smell, through the alley behind 247 S. Main St., downtown 90012; www.thesmell.org.
Read Brick’s Picks in LA Weekly here and Don Heckman’s picks here.
It’s okay to start getting excited about this year’s Angel City Jazz Fest, September 9 at the John Anson Ford Theater. Check the great lineup and listen to clips of the artists here.