Fri. Oct. 23 -- Flutist-vocalist Dawn Norfleet (Kamasi Washington, Vijay Iyer) brings a wide-ranging intelligence and a strong melodic sense to the party. At LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90036; 6-8pm; FREE; Friday summer jazz schedule here.
Sat. Oct. 24 -- Tool drummer Danny Carey and Volto abstractify the heavy groove rock. Plus With Our Arms to the Sun, MAL. At the Mint, 6010 Pico Blvd., LA 90035; 10pm; $20; (323) 954-9400; www.themintla.com.
Sat. Oct. 24 -- Rock bassist Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake, Black Star Riders) revives his fusionable El Trio, featuring drummer Joey Heredia and keyboardist Renato Neto. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Sat. Oct. 24 -- Penetrating alto saxist Dave Binney walks on the electric side with keyboardist Jeff Babko, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Louis Cole. 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.
Sat. Oct. 24 -- Long Charlie Haden's go-to pianist, easy-flowing Alan Broadbent leads a big-league trio with bassist Darek Oles and drummer Kendall Kay. A presentation of the Jazz Bakery's Movable Feasts at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown 90012; one show 8:30pm; $30 (add $25 for each student); www.jazzbakery.org.
Sat.-Sun. Oct. 24-25 -- Slipknot presents Knotfest, which stages a lot of major bands this year, including Judas Priest, Mastodon (pictured), Korn, CoC, Cannibal Corpse and Helmet. If you're insane, you can even camp out starting on Friday night. At San Manuel Amphitheater, 2575 Glen Helen Parkway, San Bernardino 92407; noon to late; $50-$200; (909) 880-6500; www.knotfest.com.
Sun. Oct. 25 -- Arty Swedish deathmen Opeth have class, which is not always a bad thing. At the Orpheum Theater, 842 S. Broadway, downtown 90014; 8pm; $35-$75; all ages; (877) 677-4386; www.laorpheum.com, www.ticketmaster.com.
Sun. Oct. 25 -- Lo-fi German stoners Kadavar sludge it up Sabstyle with compatible Americans The Shrine and All Them Witches. At El Rey Theater, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; 8pm; $20; www.theelrey.com.
Sun. Oct. 25 -- Minimalist cellist Charles Curtis, a LaMonte Young ally, performs works by Carolyn Chen, Alison Knowles, Christian Wolff, Morton Feldman and Tobias Hume in an architecturally significant cement bunker. A SASSAS presentation of "Sound" at the Schindler House, 833 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood; 5pm; $18; www.sassas.org.
Tues. Oct. 27 -- Joey Sellers Jazz Aggregation deals the trombonist's modern compositions and dense harmonic acuity. 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.
Wed. Oct. 28 -- A little bit classical, a little bit jazz, not much Donny & Marie: Artyom Manukyan Project, with the cellist organizing keyboardist Vardan Ovsepian, drummer Gavin Salmon, bassist Tim Lefebvre and sound tweaker Troy Ziegler. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $20; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Wed.-Fri. Oct. 28-30 -- Jazz guitar founding father Kenny Burrell has crafted a new quintet CD, and he's celebrating it with bandmates Justo Almario, Tom Ranier, Clayton Cameron, Tony Dumas and special guest vocalist Barbara Morrison. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30pm; $25-$30; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Thurs. Oct. 29 -- Surfin', shreddin' Double Naught Spy Car (10pm) close out their residency alongside Steuart Liebig's amblin', shamblin' postjazz Tee-Tot Quartet with cornetist Dan Clucas, dobro player Scot Ray and drummer Joseph Berardi (9pm), plus Tune To Me (11pm). Speaking of Liebig and Berardi, one of my favorite things either has done was an improvelectrical band with guitarist G.E. Stinson and vocal processor Kaoru as Unique Cheerful Events. Liebig recently issued an exciting, noisy yet comprehensible recording they made back in 1996; you can and should buy it here. At Café NELA, 1906 Cypress Ave., Glassell Park 90065; doors 8pm; $5; beer only; 21+; www.cafenela.net.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.