Fri. Aug. 20 -- From Ornette Coleman through John Carter through collaborations with every L.A. avantist, cornetist Bobby Bradford represents all that is rooted and righteous about outward-thinking music. His funky Mo'tet collaborates here with visual artist George Herms. At LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90036; 6-8pm; FREE; Friday summer jazz schedule here.
Fri.-Sun. Aug. 20-22 -- Drummer Lenny White (Miles Davis, Return to Forever) ain't shying away from his fusion roots; bound to have a tiptop ensemble. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8 & 10pm; $20-$25; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Sat. Aug. 21 -- Bass stalwart (and painter) John Heard? Smooth & smart saxist Chuck Manning? With drummer Roy McCurdy and pianist Andy Langham? That'll do 'er. At Charlie O's, 13725 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys 91401; 8pm onward; no cover; (818) 989-3110; www.charlieos.com.
Sat. Aug. 21 -- Even if Al Green can't reach the falsettos quite the same, half his thing was always phrasing. Let's stay together. And The Pointer Sisters ("Yes We Can Can," "He's So Shy") open. Booty and Bible blend all night. At the Greek Theater, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz 90027; 7:30pm; $40.90-$125; www.greektheatrela.com.
Sun. Aug. 22 -- Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland locked in with bassist Robert Pagliari and soul-acid drummer Kofi Baker (son of Ginger), and behold, they did groove and funk together as OHM. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Sun. Aug. 22 -- Dean Chamberlain, a.k.a. The Honorable DHC, plays guitar and sangs the dirty white blues & folk -- all by himself he says, but he's rarely serious about that. At Cinema Bar, 3967 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City 90036; 9pm; pass the hat.
Sun. Aug. 22 -- Nutso reggae shaman legend Lee "Scratch" Perry holds down the Sanborn Stage at 8pm following Meshell Ndgeocello. He could be nothin', could be awesome, you can never tell. But light up. At the Sunset Junction Street Festival on the very pavement of Sunset Boulevard around Sanborn Ave., Silver Lake; $20; park a mile away and teleport; www.sunsetjunction.org.
Tues. Aug. 24 -- Terrific trombonist-composer Phil Ranelin and downreal blues/jazz singer Barbara Morrison are among those festivating to support the scholarship program of the late beloved trombonist Thurman Green, whom I used to see with Tapscott all the time. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8 & 10pm; $15; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Tues. Aug. 24 -- Pianist Otmaro Ruiz's quartet includes vibesman Nick Mancini, so watch out, cuz when these two sticks rub together, conflagration occurs. At Charlie O's, 13725 Victory Blvd., Van Nuys 91401; 8pm onward; no cover; (818) 989-3110; www.charlieos.com.
Tues. Aug. 24 -- De De Troit's UXA scare up some of the scariest of early-'80s L.A. punk-rock memories. At the Redwood Bar & Grill, 316 W. Second St., downtown; (310) 245-0273; www.theredwoodbar.com.
Wed. Aug. 25 -- John von's Vibration Institute Orchestra featuring Matt Piper, Steve Tavaglione and Laura Escude will carry you off this grungy planet to a realm of fluffy clouds. Evidence (Stephan Moore & Scott Smallwood) continue the electronifications thereafter. At Royal-T, 8910 Washington Blvd., Culver City 90232; 8pm (come early and eat/drink the exotic Japanese way); $10; $5 students; (310) 559-6300; www.royal-t.org.
Thurs. Aug. 26 -- I dunno why the Hammer calls this jazzpop, as I've never heard flutist/singer Nicole Mitchell do anything that would not cause Christina Aguilera fans to flee in terror. Mitchell is a rigorous, high-concept composer and an inventive combiner of instruments; she's gathered universal respect; and she's based in Chicago and doesn't come here often. Keeping the AACM alive, see. So hit it, what's it gonna cost ya? At the Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., West L.A. 90024; 8pm; FREE; (310) 443-7000; www.hammer.ucla.edu.
Read Brick Wahl’s jazz picks in LA Weekly here, Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.