MetalJazz

Select chronological listings.


* ETA, a bar in Highland Park, brings top local (etc.) jazz and beyond. Check in anytime here, as the club often books on short notice. Fri. Dec. 29: a terrific sax-drums-bass trio with the right kind of players to fill the air, Chris Speed, Tina Raymond & Billy Mohler.
* The Baked Potato in Universal City presents fusion (etc.) concerts at 8 & 10pm nightly. Fri. & Sat. Dec. 29 & 30: Grammy-loaded keyboardist Billy Childs leads an electric quartet. Thurs. & Fri. Jan. 18 & 19: Mike Keneally. Tues. Jan. 23: Cosmosquad. Full schedule here.
* The LAX-area bar Sam First offers 7:30pm and 9pm jazz shows, in person and sometimes STREAMING. Fri. & Sat. Dec. 29 & 30: fine mainstream drummer Roy McCurdy Quartet with saxist Rickey Woodard. Fri. & Sat. Jan. 5 & 6: first-class post-bop pianist Eric Reed Trio. Tuesday Happenings feature jams led by top local artists. Thurs. Jan. 11: guitarists Larry Koonse & David Roitstein. Fri. Jan. 12: beyond fusion with electric bassist Tim Lefebvre featuring saxist David Binney, pianist John Escreet and drummer Gary Novak. Fri. & Sat. Jan. 19 & 20: the piano & bass duo of Alan Pasqua & Darek Oles. Look here for full schedule and options.
* Catalina's Jazz Club in Hollywood hosts mostly mainstream jazz and singers, but there are exceptions. Fri.-Sun. Dec. 29-31: Latin-jazz maestro Poncho Sanchez. Fri. Jan. 19: veteran fusion bassist (CAB) Bunny Brunel & Friends. Sun. Jan. 21: Stanley Jordan. Sat. & Sun. Jan. 27 & 28: Simon Phillips Protocol V. Full calendar here.
* Atwater's adventurous avant/modern/world club Zebulon offers surprises from the present and past. Sat. Dec. 30: '70s Latino pop-punxters The Zeros. Thurs. Jan. 18: Inventive drummer Mark Guiliana's residency continues. Tues. Jan. 23: Dave Harrington's Pranksters West featuring Nels Cline & more, Stuart Bogie (solo), Yuka Honda (solo). Sun. Feb. 18: Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog. Thurs. Feb. 22: Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble. Full calendar here.
* The Whisky on Sunset Strip books metal etc. Sun. Dec. 31: the rockinest rock on the strip with classic guitarist & singer Tracii & Phil, L.A. Guns. Tues. Jan. 16: Robby Krieger. Fri. Feb. 2: Glenn Hughes. Fri. Feb. 23: Lizzy Borden. Sat. Feb. 24: Brazilian deathsters Crypta. Sat. March 2: Thredge. Calendar here.
* The new-music and avant-jazz series Soundwaves presents regular Saturday 3:30pm concerts at Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica 90401; FREE. Sat. Jan. 6: Isaura String Quartet, which appears on David T. Little's currently Grammy-nommed opera recording Black Lodge. Sat. Feb. 3: violinist-violist-vocalist Wendy Richman. Sat. March. 2: saxophonist Chris Jonas. Sat. Apr. 6: Cold Blue Music Night. Sat. May 4: guitarist Joe Baiza Quartet with vocalist Jessika Kenney, bassist David O. Jones and drummer Brian Christopherson. Sat. June 1: bassist Steuart Liebig's Minim with oboeist Breana Gilcher, cellist Maggie Parkins and pianist Vicki Ray. Sat. July 6: The Present Quartet with bassist Jeff Schwartz, flutist Ellen Burr, harpist Anne LeBaron and windman Charles Sharp.
* The Jazz Bakery has resumed sponsoring live shows; view its calendar here. Sat. Jan. 6: Joseph Wiggan & Joseph Turner at Westwood's The Nimoy. Sun. Jan. 7: pianist Alan Broadbent at Westwood's The Nimoy. Sun. Jan. 20: saxist Miguel Zenón Quartet at Santa Monica's Moss Theater.
* Open Gate Theater has moved its long-running and invaluable avant concert series to the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Ave., Pasadena. Sun. Jan. 7: the fantastic piano-drums duo of Joshua White & Alex Cline plus Five Skins Interdisciplinary (Daniel Goldblum and Dominyka Šeibok with Will Salmon and Garth Powell). More here.
* 2220 Arts + Archives (Beverly Blvd. near Alvarado) hosts a variety of cultural presentations including jazz & electronic. Sun. Jan. 7: deep-listening pianist Gerald Clayton. Listings here.
* 1720 (east of downtown, south of the 10 freeway) books metal etc. Sun. Jan. 7: Behold the Monolith, Destroy Judas, more (free with RSVP). Mon. Jan. 22: Gorod. Sat. Feb. 24: Polish death metal from Vader. Fri. March 8: Ov Sulfur. Tues. Apr. 16: Tyr. Sat. Apr. 27: Korpiklaani. Sat. May 11: Born of Osiris. Full calendar here.
* The World Stage in Leimert Park has Friday 8pm PT (and sometimes other days) in-person presentations with occasional simultaneous live streams of righteous jazz; keep up with the schedule here. Concerts resume in the new year. Donations encouraged here.
* Downtown's Belasco Theater stages some rock & metal shows. Sat. Jan. 20: Zakk Sabbath. Sun. March 24: KMFDM. Calendar & tix here.
* JustJazzTV is a great resource for live jazz. Tues. Jan. 23: bassist Linda May Han Oh at the Town House in Venice.
* The Mint (Pico & Crescent Heights) has mostly Sunday jazz shows anchored by pianist Sam Hirsh Trio. (Not on New Year's Eve, though.) Fri. Jan. 26: The Azar Lawrence Experience. Check listings here.
* El Rey Theater on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile books yer occasional metal show. Sat. Jan. 27: From Rob Halford to Marilyn Manson to Motley Crue to his own wild solo records, John 5 plays the hell out of a guitar. Calendar here.
* Teragram Ballroom downtown mixes in metal and jazz. Sat. Jan. 27: Joey Dosik. Tues. March 5: Municipal Waste.
* Highland Park's Lodge Room occasionally books jazz, metal, heft and influential obscurities. Sun. Feb. 4: Jazz Is Dead blowout with Gerald Clayton, Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, Matt Brewer; two shows; early show sold out. Thurs. Feb. 22: Bassekou Kouyate. Full schedule here.
* REDCAT (beneath downtown's Disney Hall) presents some experimental music and jazz along with its culturally edgy programming. Sat. Feb. 17: Sans Soleil (Chris Williams & Patrick Shiroishi) with William Parker & Lesley Mok. Sat. Feb. 24: Delbert Anderson & Mali Obomsawin. Fri. & Sat. June 14 & 15: Partch Ensemble. Calendar here.
* Santa Monica's Jacaranda music series presents a great selection of forward-looking modern classical and world music. Sun. Feb. 25: Kahil El'Zabar directs the Lyris Quartet and his Ethnic Heritage Ensemble in exploring the influence of Arnold Schoenberg's 12-tone music upon John Coltrane. Full listings here.
* The Canyon in Agoura Hills books its share of metal, fusion and original good stuff. Fri. March 8: Gene Loves Jezebel. Sat. March 30: Lynch Mob. Fri. Apr. 5: Tom Keifer. Calendar here.
* The Fonda Theater in Hollywood has occasional metal & world. Sun. Mar. 10: Voivod, Prong. Calendar here.
* The Saban Theater in Beverly Hills occasionally melts faces or brings in an outside master. Sat. Apr. 6: Tom Keifer, L.A. Guns. Calendar here.
* Downtown's Disney Hall presents some jazz and events of note beyond classical. Sat. Apr. 20: Herbie Hancock. Tickets here.
* The Kia Forum in Inglewood gets heavy now and then. Oct. 8: Iron Maiden. Listings here.
* Piano Spheres always has topflight outward programming from the classically trained world at venues around town. Calendar here.
* Keep up with L.A. Jazz Society events, including its Young Musician Showcases, here.
* The Jazz Salon presents top singers on Thursdays and sometimes Sundays at downtown's Los Angeles Athletic Club. Check in here.
* Vibrato, a luxurious restaurant high up in Bel Air, books mostly mainstream jazz singers. Full schedule here.
* The Mayan downtown has jazz and rock sometimes. Calendar here.
* Inglewood's midsize YouTube Theater brings variety programming. Calendar here.
* The Orpheum downtown rocks and jazzes at times. Tickets here.
* Downtown's Peacock Theater (formerly Microsoft Theater) occasionally books heavy music. Lineup here.