Angel City fest to host the greats
The Angel City Jazz Festival always casts a wide net, transcending boundaries musical and generational. With performances heavily drawn from the jazz vanguard over three weekends from Santa Monica to downtown, its geographic reach continues to expand as well. Below, some Angel City highlights:
SUNDAY Pharoah Sanders, Jose Gurria-Cardenas Gurrisonic Orchestra: With contributions to John Coltrane’s late ’60s recordings as well as albums such as 1969’s “Karma,” Sanders helped forge a path into free jazz. He has a tough act to follow in the Gurrisonic Orchestra, which will deliver U.S. premieres of “Street Signs: A Love Letter to the Angel City” with clarinetist Don Byron and a tribute to Ornette Coleman’s symphonic “Skies of America.” Ford Theater, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East. 6 p.m. $35-$60.
FRIDAY David Binney Trio, Steve Lehman Trio: Binney and Lehman are saxophonists who incorporate elements of electronics into their sound. A welcome newcomer to the L.A. scene after joining the faculty at CalArts, Lehman merged jazz with global hip-hop on the arresting 2016 release “Sélébéyone” but here brings his taut alto runs to a trio with Matt Brewer and Damion Reid. The Edye at the Broad Stage, 1310 11th St., Santa Monica, 8 p.m. $35.
SATURDAY Kris Davis and Craig Taborn, Julian Lage: A pianist with a restless approach to composition and her instrument, Davis has earned comparisons to Cecil Taylor and other high-flying improvisers. Taborn was just one of the luminaries who joined her on “Duopoly,” an album split between composition and improvisation with the likes of Bill Frisell, Tim Berne and Lage, who in addition to being a deft, melodic soloist could also take a turn with Davis here. Zipper Hall, Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., $15-$25 8 p.m.
OCT. 9 David Gilmore, Samuel Blaser + Gerry Hemingway Duo: Double-check that spelling — you will not be hearing “Comfortably Numb” here, but you will hear a guitarist who has backed Wayne Shorter, Uri Caine and MacArthur grant recipient and M-Base founder Steve Coleman. Blaser and Hemingway, an evocative duo of trombone and drums, will also perform. The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St., #301, 9 p.m. $25.