Fri. July 10 -- Slumgum saxist Jon Armstrong does his own chambery thing with a 10-member ensemble featuring co-windmen Gavin Templeton and Brian Walsh, plus plenty o' brass and more. The first set, featuring Indian vocalist Sheela Bringi, sets off poetry by Erin Armstrong; for the second set, Armstrong's crew teams with the live animation of Magnuzaki Labs. Talent and imagination rampant! Several of the same musicians perform on Armstrong's current "Farewell," a wonderful combination of jazzy grooves, orchestral imaginings and glowing meditations, all characterized by the composer's sophisticated yet approachable sense of harmony and rhythm. So grab it. At Art Share, 801 E. Fourth Pl., downtown 90013; 8pm; $20; free parking across the street at 321 S. Hewitt; Lebanese food available; (213) 687-4278; www.artsharela.org.
Sat. July 11 -- Heavy rock imagist Danzig tries out a few selections from his imminent "Skeletons" (morphed covers of Troggs, Sabbath, Everlys etc.), but mostly plumbs his amazingly deep vaults; I'm requesting "Tired of Being Alive," "God of Light" and "Black Angel, White Angel." With Misfits-influenced jolt punks Cancer Bats and doom sludgers Saviours. Good bill; come early. At Fox Theater, 301 S. Garey Ave., Pomona 91766; 7:30pm; $39; (909) 784-3671; www.axs.com.
Sat. July 11 -- The finest in SoCal traditional melodic metal: Holy Grail. With Exmortus, Spellcaster. At Complex, 806 E. Colorado St., Glendale 91205; 10:30pm; $10; 21+; full bar; www.complexla.com; (323) 642-7519.
Sat.-Sun. July 11-12 -- Guitarists kneel before the tasteful Tele of Albert Lee (Head, Hands and Feet; Emmylou Harris). With in-demand dobro/lap-steel exponent Cindy Cashdollar. At McCabe’s, 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica 90405; 8pm; $26.50; (310) 828-4497; www.mccabes.com.
Sun. July 12 -- Jerk to the distorted spacepunk textures of Helios Creed and Chrome, whose roots stretch back to '70s San Francisco. Chrome has a driving track on the new compilation "Bubbling Up," which I reviewed last week; say hi to Major Records chief and sometime L.A. resident Steve Fishman, who's playing bass, and preview clips from the whole album in the "music" section of his site. With High-Functioning Flesh, Terminal A. At the Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park 90023; 9pm; $12; (213) 413-8200; www.attheecho.com.
Sun. July 12 -- Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra conductor and powerful saxist Michael Session leads a brilliant septet featuring trumpeter Steve Smith, harpist Maia, bassist Trevor Ware, pianist Jamael Dean and drummer Mekala Session. An interview with Session starts at 1pm. Terrific series. At the Mayme Clayton Museum, 4130 Overland Ave., Culver City 90230; music 2pm; $20 tickets here; limited seating; (310) 202-1647.
Sun. July 12 -- Trumpeter Elliott Caine brings his bopsoulful quintet back to the York, which had no live music for over two years. Encourage the effort. At the York Bar and Restaurant, 5018 York Blvd., Highland Park 90042; 7:30-10pm; no cover; (323) 255-9675.
Wed. July 15 -- Drummer-about-town Andrew Lessman gits his name listed first, so you'll probably hear the composer side of the man along with another fine composer, pianist Richard Sears, and guitarist Greg Uhlmann, plus saxist Matt Marantz and, wouldn't ya know it, "more." 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.
Thurs. July 16 -- Acclaimed pianist John Beasley brings the melody, the flow and the multiple layers of jazz tradition; bassist Bob Sheppard, drummer Ronald Bruner Jr. and guests bring the extra dimensions. 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; $15; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. July 16 -- How many master rock drummers are also brothers? Beyond Carmine Appice & Vinny Appice, I bet not many. The two drive songs by some of the bands they've slammed with (Sabbath, Ozzy, Dio, Rod Stewart, Blue Murder), with assistance from Jim Crean, T-Bone Andersson and Phil Soussan. Dunno why the ad doesn't mention Carmine's original hitmaking monster, Vanilla Fudge, considering the awesomeness of that band's current "Spirit of '67" (covers of great songs by Procol Harum, Marvin Gaye et al. that arrived that year), which features his dynamic drums, angelic vocals and gargantuan arranging powers. At the Whisky, 8901 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; www.whiskyagogo.com; (310) 652-4202.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.