Fri. March 10 -- Music director Aaron Diehl, pianist Adam Birnbaum and vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant celebrate the music of Jelly Roll Morton and George Gershwin; pianist Jason Moran throws a funkjazz update of a Fats Waller Dance party. Moran's presence gives the potentially forced concept some cred. At Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown 90012; 8pm; $46-$117; (323) 850-2000; www.laphil.org.
Fri. March 10 -- CalArts has generated lots of musicians at the forefront of modern improv, including trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom with the noisacious Burning Ghosts, tuba player Stefan Kac's punk-jazzers Evil Genius and the extended-technique trombone duo Rage Thormbones. At REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown 90012; 8:30pm; $20 (students $16); www.redcat.org.
Fri. March 10 -- Keyboardist Brian Auger was jazzing the rock before the term fusion was coined; here he brings he steamin' Oblivion Express with drummer Karma D. Auger, bassist Travis Carlton and singer Ali Auger. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Fri. March 10 -- Not exactly prog, but howling, churning, chiming D.C. metal sojourners Darkest Hour can take grabby rhythmic turns, and Aaron Deal plays some imaginative bass lines. With Ringworm, Tombs, Rivers of Nihil. At the Regent Theater, 448 S. Main St., downtown 90013; 6pm; $15; all ages; www.ticketfly.com.
Sat. March 11 -- Around the centennial of his birth, late microtonal pioneer Lou Harrison gets celebrated by performances of his works on harpsichord, shamisen, gutar, harp and mbiras. Microfest at Villa Aurora, 520 Paseo Miramar, Pacific Palisades 90272; 8pm; $25/$15; shuttle service from Los Liones Drive & Sunset Blvd; (310) 454-4231; check out the whole micro season at www.microfest.org.
Sat.-Sun. March 11-12 -- Passion, sensitivity and improvisational chemistry meet in Endangered Blood, featuring saxist Chris Speed, clarinetist Oscar Noriega, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Jim Black, established wizards all. 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 $9 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Sun. March 12 -- Jam the light electronic with folks who know how to make strange sounds. SASSAS's open-invitation Soundshoppe at Center for the Arts, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 1pm; free; (626) 795-4989.
LATE ADD: Sun. March 12 -- Avant improv duos from the best: flute/voc & bass by Emily Hay & Steuart Liebig; drums & bass by Breeze Smith & Thomas Hamasu. At the Offbeat, 6316 York Blvd., Highland Park 90042; 6-9:00pm; free or cheap.
Mon. March 13 -- Pianist Satoko Fujii leaves spaces where cosmic vibes and ancestral voices can beam in, here with longtime collaborator Kappa Maki (trumpet) plus Yasuhiro Usui (guitar) and Takaaki Masuko (percussion), plus "percussive dancer" Mizuki. 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 $9 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Tues. March 14 -- Guitarists Larry Polansky and Giacomo Fiore microtonalize on compositions by Lou Harrison and several others. At Monk Space, 4414 W. Second St. near Western, Los Angeles 90004; 8pm; $20 ($10 students); www.monkspace.com; www.microfest.com.
Wed. March 15 -- I haven't heard composer, guitarist and CalArts prof Michael Pisaro, but I trust Jeff Schwartz's curatorship of this Soundwaves series, and I dig the title of the work he's playing: "Melody, Silence." At the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica 90401; 7:30pm; free; smpl.org; (310) 458-8600.
Thurs. March 16 -- Grooving Afro-rootsmen Ethio-Cali pay tribute to songwriter and Cannonball Adderley producer David Axelrod, who died last month. 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 $9 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. March 16 -- Those looking to get clobbered by the most practiced of U.K. hard-rock batsmen can do no better than UFO ("Lights Out") and Saxon ("Denim and Leather"). At the Belasco Theater, 1050 S. Hill St., downtown 90015; doors 7pm; $42; www.ticketmaster.com. Also at the Grove of Anaheim, Sat. 3/18.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here. Read Brick Wahl's noirish music commentaries here.