Fri. June 22 -- Bassist Jeff Littleton has the best of South L.A.'s improvisers at his call; his quintet will swing the deep roots. At LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., LA 90036; 6-8pm; FREE; Friday summer jazz schedule here.
Fri.-Sun. June 22-24 -- Get metal up your A, as Metallica intended to call its first album: It's Los Angeles Strikefest, three days of omnigenre hardnuss from Nasty Savage, Exciter, Morbid Saint and a buttload more. At the Regent Theater, 448 S. Main St., downtown 90013; 5pm; $30 and up; all ages; www.ticketfly.com.
Sat. June 23 -- Bassist Nedra Wheeler does "Mingus, Monk and More" with a certified ensemble featuring master violist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, brilliant young pianist Jamael Dean, bop-educated saxist Dale Fielder and drummer Thomas White. You can trust 'em. At the World Stage, 4321 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park 90008; 9pm (two sets); $20; www.theworldstage.org.
Sat. June 23-24 -- If you're with grandpa at Arroyo Seco Weekend to absorb Neil Young, Jack White, The Pretenders, Dwight Twilley and all them, might as well git Out with the soul-expanding jazz of '60s touchstone Pharoah Sanders (2pm) and new-gen conceptualist Kamasi Washington (4pm). Brookside at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena; $154; www.arroyosecoweekend.com.
Sun. June 24 -- Chemo benefit for local bassist Chris Stein: Mars (5pm), Joe Baiza's twisted Mecolodiacs (6), Carnage Asada (7), Black Widows (8), Golden Rulers (9), Bubble Chamber Serenaders (10). At Café NELA, 1906 Cypress Ave., Glassell Park 90065; 5pm; $10; beer only; 21+; www.cafenela.net.
Sun. June 24 -- Dinggg! This year's Vibe Summit features vibraphonists Bob Leatherbarrow, Nick Mancini, Paul Kreibich and lots more. At the Elks Lodge, 20925 Osborne St., Canoga Park 91304; 2-6pm; $20; www.lajazz.org.
Tues. June 26 -- Hard to pass up Elliott Levin's freebo unit EL & the LA Eclectic Electric Elders of Improvisation, featuring the Cecil Taylor saxist plus Mothers keyboardist Don Preston, Ornette cornetist Bobby Bradford, bassist Anders Swanson and GrandeMotherly drummer Christopher Garcia. At Zebulon, 2478 Fletcher Drive, Frogtown 90039; 9pm; FREE; 21+; www.zebulon.la.
Wed. June 27 -- Sometimes you just need your metal without the vocals you can't understand anyway, and tonight caters with instrumental bands Thrailkill, Goliathan, the highly recommended Zinngeschrei, Alizarin, and Mind Meld. At the Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; 8pm; $10; (310) 652-7869; www.viperroom.com.
Wed. June 27 -- Joe Berardi, Carey Fosse, Ted Taforo & Darryl Tewes improvise the drums, guitar, sax and bass with experience and sensitivity. At The Battery Books & Music, 26 S. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena 91101; 8pm; $5 suggested donation; (626) 376-9913.
Wed. June 27 -- Hear Daryl Sherman sing the classics of lyricist & melodist Carl Sigman ("It's All in the Game," "Ebb Tide," "My Heart Cries for You"), hang with his son, former L.A. Weekly publisher Michael, and relax if you still know how. At the Gardenia, 7066 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 90038; dinner 7-9pm, show 9pm; $12 plus two drinks or buy dinner; reserve at (323) 467-7444.
Thurs. June 28 -- Westsiders get to hear three of the same free-jazz masters who played at Zebulon on Tuesday (Levin, Preston, Bradford), also for free! At the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica 90401; 7:30pm; free; smpl.org; (310) 458-8600.
Thurs. June 28 -- Guitarists Jason Finkelman and Nick Rudd join electromorphing vocalist Kaoru and involving percussionist Brad Dutz for journeys in outer orbits. At Sunspace, 9683 Sunland Blvd., Shadow Hills 91040; 8-10pm; $10.
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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.