Fri. Dec. 8 – Deep-breathing windman Bennie Maupin revisits his 1974 ECM fusion classic "The Jewel in the Lotus" with a crack ensemble featuring percussionist Munyungo Jackson, bassist Darek Oles, malletman David Johnson, drummer Gene Coye, alto saxist Steve Lehman, guitarist Jeff Parker, keyboardist Lindsey Hundley, violist Eyvind Kang and cellist Shana Tucker. At REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., downtown 90012; 8:30pm; $25 (students $20); www.redcat.org.
Fri. Dec. 8 – Kneel before Evelina Fernandez's spectacular yearly pageant play about the Virgin of Guadalupe. At the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, 555 W. Temple St., downtown 90012; 7:30pm; free, or get reserved seats for $40; details and tix here. Read my ponderillo about the Virgin here.
Sat. Dec. 9 – Guitarist John McLaughlin remembers his Mahavishnu music with the help of Allmans jam guitarist Jimmy Herring. Herring starts the evening with his Invisible Whip band (drummer Jeff Sipe-Apt, keyboardist Matt Slocum, keyboardist Jason Crosby, bassist Kevin Scott), then comes McLaughlin and his 4th Dimension (drummer Ranjit Barot, keysman-drummer Gary Husband, bassist Etienne M' Bappé), then everybody jams until their skulls explode. A CAP presentation at UCLA's Royce Hall; 8pm; $49-$99, but it's SOLD OUT, so beg your UCLA connex for mercy; www.cap.ucla.edu.
Sat. Dec. 9 – Eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter demonstrates his mindblowing technique and grooves with drummer Carter McLean and saxist Rob Dixon. At the Mint, 6010 Pico Blvd., LA 90035; 7:30pm (early show); $22; (323) 954-9400; www.themintla.com.
Sat. Dec. 9 – Guitar icon Albert Lee chicken-picks and puts his ax through every blues-jazz-rock-country variation with keyboardist JT Thomas, bassist Will MacGregor and drummer Jason Smith. They all sing too. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $35 & $30; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Sat. Dec. 9 – Trumpeter Elliott Caine and his band ain't forgot the jazz tradition; they also originalize in the same vein. At Colombo's Restaurant, 1833 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 9:30pm-midnight; no cover; (323) 254-9138.
Sun. Dec. 10 – Grind your core with South Carolina's Wvrm, plus Funeral Chic and more. At the Lexington, 129 E. Third St., downtown 90013; doors 8pm; cheap; 21+; (213) 291-5723.
Sun. Dec. 10 – Flutist Ellen Burr, bassist Jeff Schwartz, bassist Scott Worthington and saxist Charles Sharp are among the highly skilled and intuitive musicians participating in an open concert-workshop using graphic scores – drawings, maps, photos, etc. A fascinating experiment. At the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica 90401; 7:30pm; free; smpl.org; (310) 458-8600.
Thurs. Dec. 14 – Heavy is as metal does with melodic deathsters Darkest Hour, hardworking L.A. thrashers Warbringer and local combat thrashers Exmortus. New venue! At 1720, 1720 E. 16th St., downtown 90021; doors 7pm; $20; all ages; full bar; food; www.churchofthe8thday.com.
Thurs.-Sun. Dec. 14-17 – Superfeel funky shader and mondo fusion jammer Mike Stern puts his guitar in front of a star quartet featuring drummer Dave Weckl, trumpeter Randy Brecker and bassist Tom Kennedy. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8:30 & 10:30pm (Sun. 7:30 & 9:30); $25-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
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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.