This is it! No more until next year. Tickets here.
* Fri. Oct. 27 at 2220 Arts and Archives, near Beverly & Alvarado: Mat Maneri makes you wonder if he doesn't scrape resin off his Xmas tree to coarsen the sound of his viola bow and enhance the sobbing, often nearly microtonal effect of his playing, which has sounded like no one else's over the course of his prolific career beginning in the '90s, when he became a mainstay of the New York progressive scene; his quartet with pianist Lucian Ban, drummer Randy Peterson and bassist Brandon Lopez will be apt accompaniment for the kinds of things you think about when you're afraid to open your eyes. Opening is the 19-piece ensemble of alto saxist Ennis Harris, whose "Images and Silhouettes" was commissioned by the L.A. Jazz Society; past commissions (among them one by ensemble member Jon Hatamiya) encourage optimism.
* Sat. Oct. 28 at REDCAT below Disney Hall downtown: Nicole Mitchell has few peers either as a flutist (penetrating, exciting) or as a composer (either charmingly direct or knottily abstract). With "JBM: Images Beyond," she's been staging presentations of her mother's poetry for over a decade, so "Images" is no whim, and Mitchell, long a fulcrum of the Chicago scene but now a light of Southern California for quite a spell, has chosen the best to interpret the words. That means Maia in the acting role, along with herself on flute, ex-Chicagoan Jeff Parker on guitar, Maggie Parkins on cello, Jeff Gauthier on violin, Anna Butterss on bass, Rajna Swaminathan on percussion and Ganavya Doraiswami on additional vocals. You'll also see Joan Beard Mitchell's visual art. Opening is New Music USA's Next Jazz Legacy Showcase, which presents an octet of female/non-binary improvisers. You already knew the women in jazz were as good as the men but fewer; now you get to see them being just as good in toto.
* Sun. Oct. 29 at REDCAT: It's a privilege to receive this visit from San Francisco pianist Todd Cochran, who began his recording career with a spacious, revolutionary 1972 hit bordering on free jazz ("Worlds Around the Sun" featuring "Free Angela") at age 20. Having played with everyone from Peter Gabriel to Aretha Franklin, Cochran has evolved into a versatile player with a light touch who brings surprising harmonies to standards; seek out this year's electronics-soaked "From the Vault: Notes From the Future," which is a trip. His TC3 with bassist John Leftwich and drummer Lyndon Rochelle is augmented tonight with the woodwinds of the awesome Bennie Maupin. Do NOT miss the opening set of the Billy Mohler Quartet; this bassist has been tearing up the scene, demonstrating his wild chops with everybody lately, but of special note is his new "Ultraviolet," whose tunes he'll be showcasing with saxist Mark Turner, trumpeter Shane Endsley and drummer Jonathan Pinson, top players all. Mohler has located just the right kind of loose, where lazy sax riffs can knock around within grooves that just make you want to leave work early and not come back. Outrageous double bill.