MetalJazz

Select chronological listings.


* The World Stage in Leimert Park has Friday 8:30pm PT (and sometimes other days) in-person presentations with occasional simultaneous live streams of righteous jazz; keep up with the schedule here. Donations encouraged here. Fri. March 22: saxophonist & trumpeter Kescha Potter & Tatiana Tate. Fri. March 29: multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Maia. Fri. April 5:  Brian Hargrove's Chamber Ensemble. Fri. April 12: sitarist Paul  Livingstone. Sat. April 13:  Robert Carmack Review. Fri. April 19: percussionist Munyungo Jackson. Fri. April 26:  World Stage Big Band.
* Fri. March 22: Cuban-born pianist Alfredo Rodriguez plays Westwood's The Nimoy. A CAP-UCLA presentation; tickets/info here.
* The Baked Potato in Universal City presents fusion (etc.) concerts at 8 & 10pm nightly. Fri. & Sat. March 22 & 23: heavy fusion from guitarist Michael Landau Group. Fri. & Sat. March 29 & 30: bassist Alphonso Johnson All-Stars with Simon Phillips on drums. Thurs. April 4: Danny Janklow. Thurs. April 11: Chris Poland and Ohm. Sun. April 14: L.A. Jazz Quartet. Fri.-Sun. May 3-5: Steve Smith & Vital Information. Fri. May 17: Jeff Lorber Fusion. Full schedule here.
* Downtown's Belasco Theater stages some rock & metal shows. Sun. March 24: KMFDM''s new "Let Go" album meets or exceeds all previous standards of heavy tech beat and especially songcraft. Tues. April 30: Insomnium. Fri. May 24: Cattle Decapitation, Carnifex. Tues. Aug. 30: Tinariwen. Calendar & tix here.
* The Mint (Pico & Crescent Heights) usually has Sunday jazz shows anchored by pianist Sam Hirsh Trio. Check listings here.
* Wed. March 27, 8pm: Electronics from Alexandra Spence, Sally Duke & Samantha Simmons. A presentation of the Unwrinkled Ear at Heavy Manners Library, 1200 N. Alvarado St., Echo Park 90026.
* The LAX-area bar Sam First offers 7:30pm and 9pm jazz shows, in person and sometimes STREAMING. Tuesday Happenings feature jams led by top local artists. Fri. March 29: Burnished tenor man Ralph Moore pays tribute to Dexter Gordon. Sat. March 30: wild alto man Steve Lehman fronts a trio. Fri. & Sat. April 5 & 6: Bad Plus pianist Ethan Iverson leads a dream trio with bassist Darek Oles and drummer Peter Erskine. Thurs. & Fri. April 11 & 12: keyboardist Larry Goldings Trio. Sat. April 13: Jeff Babko-Tim Lefebvre-Mark Guiliana's Clam City. Wed. & Thurs. April 17 & 18: guitarist Anthony Wilson with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (viola), Josh Nelson (piano), Paul Bryan (bass) and Jay Bellerose (drums). Fri. & Sat. April 26 & 27: drummer Joe LaBarbera Quintet. Thurs. May 16: pianist Joshua White Quintet with Nicole McCabe, Chris Speed, Billy Mohler & Anthony Fung. Sat. May 25: Andy Milne & Unison. Look here for full schedule and options.
* Alva's Showroom in San Pedro brings in some intriguing music from the edges in addition to tributes and stuff. Fri. & Sat. March 29 & 30: Mike Keneally & Beer for Dolphins. Full lineup here.
* The Canyon in Agoura Hills books its share of metal, fusion and original good stuff. Sat. March 30: Lynch Mob. Fri. April 5: Tom Keifer. Sat. Sept. 28: Glenn Hughes. Calendar here.
* Frogtown's adventurous avant/modern/world club Zebulon offers surprises from the present and past. Sun. March 31: Dave Harrington & the Pictures Band. Wed. April 10: Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick Shiroishi record-release show. Fri. April 19: Deathchant, Danava. Sun. May 5: Setting, Jeff Parker. Wed. June 19: Saccharine Trust performs "Paganicons." Full calendar here.
* The Whisky on Sunset Strip books metal etc. Tues. April 2: Raven. Wed. April 3: Uli Jon Roth. Sat. April 27: Firewind. Tues. April 30: Doyle, Otep. Fri. July 19: Robby Krieger. Calendar here.
* The new-music and avant-jazz series Soundwaves presents monthly Saturday 3:30pm concerts at Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica 90401; FREE. Sat. April 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 Saban Theater in Beverly Hills occasionally melts faces or hosts an outside master. Sat. April 6: Cinderella's hard-rocking Tom Keifer, L.A. Guns. Calendar here.
* 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. April 7: Cassia Streb with Special Guests; Elliot Menard. Sun. May 5: operatics from Anne LaBaron; Will Salmon. Sun. June 16: Steuart Liebig/Minim; new mixed-media works by Mikaela Elson. More here.
* Sun. April 7: Guitar great John Scofield fronts a trio with bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Bill Stewart at West L.A.'s Theatre Raymond Kabbaz. Tickets here.
* Catalina's Jazz Club in Hollywood hosts mostly mainstream jazz and singers, but there are exceptions. Sun. April 7: Omar Sosa. Fri. & Sat. April 19 & 20: Billy Childs Trio. Fri. & Sat. May 3 & 4: Stanley Jordan. Fri.-Sun. June 14-16: Poncho Sanchez. Full calendar here.
* The Jazz Bakery sponsors live shows at mostly Westside venues; view its calendar here. Sun. April 7: saxist Donald Harrison at Santa Monica's Moss Theater. Sat. April 20: trumpeter-singer Keyon Harrold at Westwood's Nimoy. Sat. April 27: pianist Fred Hersch at Little Tokyo's Aratani Theater. Sun. May 5: explosive pianist Jacky Terrasson at Santa Monica's Moss Theater. Sun. May 19: big event with abstract piano great Vijay Iyar Trio at Santa Monica's Moss Theater. Sat. June 8: Steve Lehman Trio featuring Mark Turner at Westwood's Nimoy. Sat. June 29: saxist Chris Potter at Westwood's Nimoy.
* 1720 (east of downtown, south of the 10 freeway) books metal etc. Mon. April 8: Flotsam & Jetsam. Sun. April 14: Crematorium. Tues. April 16: Tyr. Sat. April 27: Korpiklaani. Sat. May 11: Born of Osiris. Sun. May 19: Decapitated. Wed. July 24: Fallujah. Full calendar here.
* Midtown's The Wiltern hosts eclectic acts within its classic Art Deco halls. Thurs. April 11: Chris Botti. Lineup here.
* Sun. April 14, 7:30pm: Vibesman Nick Mancini rolls back into town to pick up another topnotch band (guitarist Larry Koonse, pianist Vardan Ovsepian, bassist Francis Ojeda, drummer Christian Euman) and play his melodic yet challenging compositions. At the Sierra Madre Playhouse; tickets/info here.
* Sun. April 14, 1pm: Sebastian Bach, Faster Pussycat and more rock the parking lot of the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the Sunset Strip to celebrate its 52nd anniversary. FREE tickets here.
* McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica has jazzy stuff now and then. Fri. April 19: guitar master Albert Lee. Sat. May 18: Scott Amendola & Sticklerphonics. Calendar here.
* Downtown's Disney Hall presents some jazz and events of note beyond classical. Sat. April 20: Herbie Hancock. Fri. Oct. 11: Jason Moran. Tickets here.
* Knucklehead in Hollywood has metal DJs and live music. Sun. April 21: Atoll, Nest, Xoth, Atrae Billis. Sun. April 28: Ulthar. Sun. May 5: Bewitcher, Deathspell, Haunter. Thurs. June 20: Forn, Guck, Holy Death. Sign in here.
* 2220 Arts + Archives (Beverly Blvd. near Alvarado) hosts a variety of cultural presentations including jazz & electronic. Wed. & Thurs. April 24 & 25: Hear Now festival of new music. Listings here.
* The Fonda Theater in Hollywood has occasional metal & world. Sat. April 27: Thy Art Is Murder. Calendar here.
* JustJazzTV is a great resource for live jazz. Thurs. May 2: trumpeter Etienne Charles at the Town House Venice.
* Gold-Diggers Bar in East Hollywood has DJs and live music. Wed. May 22: Avant trumpeter Steph Richards?? Calendar here.
* REDCAT (beneath downtown's Disney Hall) presents some experimental music and jazz along with its culturally edgy programming. Fri. & Sat. June 14 & 15: Partch Ensemble. Calendar here.
* The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival runs Sat. June 15 (Charles LLoyd, Christian McBride et al.) and Sun. June 16 (Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper et al.). Sun. Aug. 4 is the Bowl's Reggae Night. Calendar here.
* You say The Regent downtown has bits o' metal? Fri. June 28: Cryptopsy, Death to All (drummer Gene Hoglan & co. celebrating the music of Chuck Schuldiner's band Death). Calendar here.
* The Greek Theater in Griffith Park has outdoor shows. Sat. July 13: Slash, Warren Haynes Band, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales. Calendar here.
* Downtown's Bellwether rocks a fair amount. Sat. July 20: Ziggy Marley. Calendar here.
* The Orpheum downtown rocks and jazzes at times. Sat. Aug. 3: Dweezil Zappa. Tickets here.
* Highland Park's Lodge Room occasionally books jazz, metal, heft and influential obscurities. Mon. Aug. 5: The Melvins' Buzz Osborne is Buzzo of King Buzzo & Trevor Dunn; Dunn is a fantastically adaptable bassist. Full schedule here.
* The Kia Forum in Inglewood gets heavy now and then. Wed. Aug. 21: Lamb of God, Mastodon. Tues. Oct. 8: Iron Maiden. Listings here.
* Sat. Aug. 31: Leimert Park Jazz Festival at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza rooftop, 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Details eventually 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 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.
* El Rey Theater on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile books yer occasional metal show. Calendar here.
* Downtown's Peacock Theater (formerly Microsoft Theater) occasionally books heavy music. Lineup here.