* indicates entries in the Angel City Jazz Fest, which rages through Sept. 28. Get the full schedule for this progressive infestation, including next weekend with Anthony Braxton, Toshiko Akiyoshi and a tribute to Arthur Blythe, here.
* Fri. Sept. 19 -- Roberto Miranda really makes the heart race with his Spanish-tinged attack on the upright bass; he leads a supersympathetic trio with drummer Fritz Wise (I saw both play with Horace Tapscott many times) and pianist Theo Saunders (a brilliant ally to Azar Lawrence, Henry Franklin and many more). You want the spirit of '70s South L.A. aspiration, get it here. Plus: Angel City Young Artist Competion winner The Interstellar Quintet (Eddie Pimentel, Shai Golan, Adam Hersh, Andy McAuley, Athan Gousios), out of CalArts' inspirational Jazz Program. At LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90036; 6-8pm; FREE; Friday summer jazz schedule here.
Fri. Sept. 19 -- The fusionary Webb All-Stars (saxist Doug Webb, bassist Jimmy Earl, keyboardist Mitch Forman and guitarist John Ziegler) welcome special guest star Alphonse Mouzon on typhoon drums. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Fri. Sept. 19 -- The unstoppable Glenn Danzig celebrates the 30th bloody anniversary of Samhain, the doom-punk band that built the bridge between the hooky Misfits and the more metallory Danzig band; in addition to mid-'80s members Steve Zing and London May, this version enlists Baroness/Valkyrie guitarist Peter Adams. With Kyng, Goatwhore (for the hardcore death crowd), Night Demon. At Riot Fest on Sept. 14, they played the whole first Samhain album, "Initium," so you'll probably get more of that unusual murk. At the Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90010; 7pm; $34-$47; (213) 388-1400; www.livenation.com.
Fri. Sept. 19 - Sun. Oct. 5 -- Sometimes you just gotta go to Pasadena if you want weird art, and AxS Festival 2014 sticks it on ya every which way, with sound/atmosphere installations by Steve Roden and many more in an inflatable dome, video collages and mechanical birds in the historic Gamble House, a nighttime flashlight architecture tour, modern archaeology, edible-art workshops, Carole Kim's spatial projections, astronomy, chorus, lectures, and lessons in interspecies dating (I made one of those up). Grok the whole mess here.
Fri. Sept. 19 -- "Keep On Keepin' On," an Alan Hicks documentary about trumpet great Clark Terry and his blind protégé, Justin Kauflin, premieres today with several screenings at the Hollywood Arclight and West L.A.'s Landmark. Some evening screenings are even accompanied by performances by Kauflin's trio. Check here for tickets and times.
* Sat. Sept. 20 -- Angel City vocal night: Bippity singer & extended-technique acoustic guitarist Young Sun Nah & Ulf Wakenius (dig their gritty take on "Ghost Riders in the Sky") meet boundless wailer & piano mastermind Dwight Trible & John Beasley. At Aratani/Japan America Theater, 244 S. San Pedro St., downtown 90012; 8pm; $35; (310) 271-9039; www.angelcityjazz.com.
* Sun. Sept. 21 -- Drummer Allison Miller's Boom Tic Boom slaps a plate of clean modern melodic jazz on yer table; pianist & trumpeter Satoko Fujii & Kappa Maki get way abstract and jarringly emotional. A well balanced event. At REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown 90012; 8:30pm; $25 (students $15); www.angelcityjazz.com.
Sun. Sept. 21 -- Joey Sellers Jazz Aggregation opens up the format so you can hear the compositional brains and harmonic subtlety of the trombonist's compositions. At the Blue Whale on the third level 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; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
* Mon. Sept. 22 -- This septet edition of the Vinny Golia Ensemble offers the multiwind voyager's students an opportunity to navigate his compositional eddies (sorry); Golia also performs in old pal and former Ornette Coleman cornetist Bobby Bradford's quartet; plus, the Steve Adams Duo features the ingenious ROVA Saxophone Quartet wind player and the ever-involving bassist Scott Walton. Flip your wig. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $20; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Tues. Sept. 23 -- No band works harder than Ohio dual-guitar metalmen Skeletonwitch, and no band writes tighter, more concise explosions of listenable energy. Masked thrashers Ghoul feature secret members of secret bands who secrete their secrets in secret places. New York's Black Anvil (on Relapse Records) churn out some of the finest sludge riffs in a competitive slacker field. The opening band is Doesn't Matter, a name I advise them to change. At the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; doors 7pm; $17; (310) 278-9457; www.theroxy.com.
Wed. Sept. 24 -- An honest-t'-gawd rock songwriter from fabled late-'60s England, Terry Reid has always had the goods if not the breaks; Cheap Trick don't cover many songs, so the fact that they put Reid's "Speak Now" on their first album says something. London songwriter Brandy Row opens. At Molly Malone’s, 575 S. Fairfax Ave., LA 90036; 9pm; $10; www.mollymalonesla.com; (323) 935-1577.
* Thurs. Sept. 25 -- Matana Roberts' Anthem make their L.A. debut as far as I know, after the avant-plus saxist spent a decade making a dent in NYC's tough scene; she can groove you and splatter you and make you glad you dig jazz. L.A.'s Slumgum have a similar appeal, improvisers not too proud to keep you tagging along with their relaxed yet magnetic excursions. A very appropriate Angel City inclusion. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $20; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.