Herb Alpert, Chick Corea and more
There’s some iconic, even comforting live music planned for the next couple of weeks in Denver’s jazz scene. Do take in the work of wizened innovators, but make some time for futurists like The Comet Is Coming as well.
First, trumpeter Herb Alpert has led one of the great American musical lives since overdubbing his own trumpet parts in a California garage in the early 1960s and presenting the results as The Tijuana Brass. After selling millions of copies of the “Whipped Cream & Other Delights” LP (available, cheap, at your local thrift store) and enjoying a long run as a record business executive, Alpert remains, at age 84, a particularly expressive trumpet stylist.
He will appear at DU’S Newman Center on Sept. 25, performing works from his upcoming album, “Over The Rainbow.” From what I’ve heard of the release, his style remains as amiable as ever, and his take on Earth Wind & Fire’s “Fantasy” is a warm handshake of a performance. The event is sold out, but if you want to check with the box office or get on the wait list, call 303-871-7720.
The inexhaustible pianist and composer Chick
Corea has been working in the acoustic trio realm (my preferred source of Corea’s music) again lately, and his excellent band, Trilogy, with bassist Christian Mcbride and
drummer Brian Blade, plays Boulder’s Macky Auditorium on Oct. 9.
There’s a new live album out on Oct. 4, titled “Trilogy 2.” It’s an energy-infused follow-up to the trio’s acclaimed debut effort from five years ago. All three artists seem to live on the road constantly with their own projects, so it’ll likely be another half decade before they pass through Colorado again. The artistry of this trio is of a very high order, so don’t miss out. Find out more at colorado.edu/ macky.
I had the chance to catch the powerhouse trio The Comet Is Coming at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tenn., earlier this year. They were as loud as they were exciting in a live setting. The British group — with saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (definitely a name to look out for), drummer Max Hallett and keyboardist Dan Leavers — overwhelmed the audience with its fusion of ’70s-style spiritual jazz and electronics. Its latest album, “Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery,” was released under the banner of Impulse! Records, so you’d be right to think this music could be heard as part of the post-john Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders continuum, with more than a little of bandleader and keyboardist Sun Ra’s influence. The Comet Is Coming ... to Denver’s Globe Hall on Oct. 10. Tickets are available through globehall.com.
And more jazz: The Marylynn Gillaspie-andreas Schmid Quintet honors singer-pianist Shirley Horn at Denver’s Nocturne on Sept. 24 . ... Drummer Brian Blade brings his Life Cycles band to Dazzle on Sept. 23-24, and free-thinking saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Speed are part of a group called Broken Shadows, paying tribute to Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman and Julius Hemphill at Dazzle Sept. 25-26 . ... Arturo O’farrill leads the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at the Newman Center Oct. 3 . ... On Oct. 4, it’s violinist Jenny Scheinmann and drummer Allison Miller’s Parlour Game at Dazzle.