Fri. Oct. 14 -- Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project step into the jump-swing-jungle-blues of the 1930s with proficiency and affection, as exemplified on their new CD: Duke, Hawk, Rodgers & Hart, happy Depression music for the latest recession. Making this at least a double wham is songwriter Moris Tepper, who rocks raw, dark, strange and poetic, a most intriguing local legend and sometime PJ Harvey crony. Also Frank Fairfield, The Cottontails. At the Redwood Bar & Grill, 316 W. Second St., downtown; kinda late; very cheap; decent eats; (310) 245-0273; www.theredwoodbar.com.
Fri.-Sun. Oct. 14-16 -- Grooving with unpretentious intellectuality and just enuf noise, Kneebody have established themselves as national and even international faves of postjazz knowers in the know. Talking about saxist Ben Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Ensley, bassist Kaveh Rastegar and drummer Nate Wood, who settle in for the whole weekend here the way groups used to in days of yore. At the Blue Whale on the third floor of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; validated parking underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Fri.-Sun. Oct. 14-16 -- Renowned saxist James Carter gets unfrivolous about the goodtime blues with his new "At the Crossroads." Pretty perfect that he's fronting an organ trio. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8 & 10pm; $22-$30; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Sat. Oct. 15 -- Why not tool down to Long Beach and dig the poetry festival they've got cranking? Our own poet Dottie Grossman will be doing her call & response thing with trombonist Michael Vlatkovich at 4:30, just in time for you to take advantage of the free wine & snacks that start at 4:00, but the event goes on all day. At 2nd City Counci lArt Gallery, 435 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, 10am-8:30pm; FREE; full schedule here.
Sat. Oct. 15 -- The Dogs and The Gears? I'm rubbing my eyes. What year is this, 1978? But yeah, it's Deetroit Loren (sans shag) and his proto-punk pack, along with the early L.A. punkabilly crew apparently still featuring crater-faced singer Axxel G. Reese and speedy axman Kidd Spike. Plus a couple more bands. At the Redwood Bar & Grill, 316 W. Second St., downtown; cheap; (310) 245-0273; www.theredwoodbar.com.
Sun. Oct. 16 -- Take a gander at this swell blend of location and music presented by SASSAS. The idea is to celebrate the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook (which I'd never heard of) with commissioned works performed by three ensembles comprising 30-plus musicians. You get new works by drummer-percussionist Alex Cline, field-holler fanfare extrapolations from tuba dude William Roper, and airsound adventure from Lady Noise, spread out in different areas of the park. Sounds like a darned enjoyable 90 minutes. At 6300 Hetzler Road, Culver City 90232; 3pm; FREE, but I'm sure you can donate to SASSAS if you want to; park on Jefferson Boulevard and make the steep climb, or park at the top and pay $6 for the privilege.
Sun. Oct. 16 -- Mojave Trio (violinist Sara Parkins, cellist Maggie Parkins, pianist Genevieve Feiwen Lee) wail on the Schubert and Ives. At the South Pasadena Public Library, 1100 Oxley St., South Pasadena 91030; 4pm; FREE; (626) 403-7330.
Tues. Oct. 18 -- I've been waiting for an opportunity to say something about this summer's remaster of Megadeth's 1986 thrash-metal classic "Peace Sells . . . But Who's Buying?" So since Ohm guitarist Chris Poland shredded on that and on the accompanying 1987 live concert, now I'll take a sec. Considering that the recording of "Peace Sells" went raggedly due to everybody's junked-out condition, it's shocking to get reminded of how together and definitive the thing still sounds, especially with this clean, strong mastering. The engergy just JUMPS outa the speakers, and it's easy to hear why the alb holds a prime spot in metal fans' hearts. Poland's fluid diddling, spiced with twisted out-of-scale note choices, sets off Dave Mustaine's fierce riffery just right, with (the late) drummer Gar Samuelson's blunt-force pound leaving plenty of space for the musicality to breathe through. Great chemistry, great record, great new product. I doubt Poland will play any Megadeth with his trio Ohm (with bassist Rob Pagliari and new drummer David Eagle); he'll probably stick to the wonderful spacy fusion they usually spiel. But a tip of the hat for the history, all the same. Read my 2008 interview with Poland (a good one, I think) here. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $15; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Tues.-Thurs. Oct. 18-20 -- Jazz-blues guitar mainman John Scofield heads a quartet featuring keyboardist Michael Eckroth, bassist Ben Street and drummer Greg Hutchinson. He's in a reflective, quiet mood on his current "A Moment's Peace." At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8 & 10pm; $30-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Wed. Oct. 19 -- If you feel like epic, depressive modern metal, look no further than Sweden's Opeth, world leaders in that field. Their new "Heritage," though, starts out with sadsack acoustic piano and continues mostly in the vein of meditative tunes, melodic vox and acoustic textures, making this their most widely accessible work whilst nettling many a longtime rage slave. Good for Opeth, say I. Doomy Swedes Katatonia open. At the Mayan Theater, 1038 S. Hill St., downtown 90015; 8pm; $28.50; www.livenation.com.
Thurs. Oct. 20 -- Walk the avantageous side of the street with the excellent ensembles of windman Brian Walsh and trumpeter Kris Tiner. At the Blue Whale on the third floor of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; validated parking underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. Oct. 20 -- LATE ADD: For the funky grooves, for the grabby melodies, for the psychedelic head trips, get down with Israeli postjazz peaceniks Maetar. I like the early showtime at this coffeehouse/art gallery/store. Att the Talking Stick, 1411 Lincoln Blvd. Venice 90291; 7-10pm; all ages; no cover; www.thetalkingstick.net.
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.