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Spotlight: Gregory Porter — Saturday, Dell Music Center
Uplift is paramount in the music of Gregory Porter, whose stirring baritone and sagely songwriting made him a breakout jazz-vocal star of the 2010s. So far in the 2020s, he’s on an even broader upward trajectory: Still Rising: The Collection, a recent double album, finds him not only gathering some of his best-loved material but also collaborating with a starry array of artists and producers, from Lizz Wright to Renée Fleming to a digitally summoned Buddy Holly. It’s probably safe to predict that this show at the Dell Music Center will include at least a flicker of collaboration with his two support acts, funky trombonist Jeff Bradshaw and R&B singer-songwriter Leela James.
Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., Dell Music Center, 2400 Strawberry Mansion Drive, $45 to $95; purchase tickets.
M & M Quartet featuring Mike Boone & Mekhi Boone — Sunday, South Jazz Kitchen
Even a casual observer of the Philadelphia jazz scene should need no introduction to Mike Boone, whose sturdy and assertive bass playing has been heard on countless local bandstands over the last 35 years. As on his new album, Enjoying the View, he features his son, Mekhi, on drums in the M & M Quartet.
Sept. 3 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., South Jazz Kitchen, 600 N. Broad Street, $35 and $40; purchase tickets.
Josh Lee and the Extended Family — Thursday, Temple Performing Arts Center
Perhaps you already know Josh Lee as the host of Jazz Through the Night at WRTI, Saturdays from 2 to 6 a.m. and Sundays from Midnight to 6 a.m. You should also know him as a baritone saxophonist, in the Count Basie Orchestra and elsewhere, and as the leader of the Extended Family, a little big band with pre-modern flair. The band appears Thursday afternoon on the Rite of Swing series at TPAC.
Sept. 7 at 4:30 p.m., Temple Performing Arts Center, 1837 N. Broad Street, free; more information.
Terell Stafford Quintet — Thursday through Saturday, South Jazz Kitchen
Terell Stafford’s crisply engaging new album, Between Two Worlds, derives its title from a Victor Lewis tune. But the phrase also holds layers of meaning for him — as a trumpeter whose experience straddles jazz and classical music, as a performer who’s also an educator, as a musician with a rich family life. The album features colleagues like saxophonist Tim Warfield and pianist Bruce Barth, who are likely to join him in this hometown album-release gig.
Sept. 7 at 7 and 9 p.m., Sept. 8 and 9 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., South Jazz Kitchen, 600 N. Broad Street, $35 and $40; purchase tickets.
Patrick Zimmerli’s ‘Messages’ — Friday, Solar Myth
The intricacy and coordination of Patrick Zimmerli’s writing can suggest the whir of a Swiss timepiece, or the purr of a German engine. But he also creates space for elaboration, trusting his collaborators to make their mark. In his suite Messages, that includes the members of a saxophone quartet — Zimmerli on soprano, Chris Potter on tenor, Román Filiú O’Reilly on alto and Ron Blake on baritone — as well as a rhythm section composed of pianist Ed Simon, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Timothy Angulo.
Sept. 8 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S. Broad Street, $30; purchase tickets.
Hendrik Meurkens Quartet — Saturday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
The German harmonica ace Hendrik Meurkens favors a lyrical fluency that calls the great Toots Thielemans to mind — especially in the realm of Brazilian rhythm, as on Meurkens’ most recent album, Manhattan Samba. His quartet features a versatile guest guitarist, Paul Bollenback, perhaps best recognized in these parts for his longtime affiliation with Joey DeFrancesco.
Sept. 9 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $25-$100, with dinner packages; purchase tickets.
