Did you know that spring’s wondrous bounty isn’t just a matter of daffodils and baseball training? Allow me to submit this week’s calendar, which yields amazing jazz offerings of all kinds. We’re not even listing the Nels Cline Consentrik Quartet, which sold out its Saturday show at Solar Myth in advance. Look at what we do have and see if you can’t find a good fit.
Spotlight: The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis — Friday, Solar Myth
The Messthetics are a rugged jazz-rock trio that includes bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty — two-thirds of the pioneering punk band Fugazi — along with the versatile guitarist and effects maestro Anthony Pirog. For the last several years, they’ve had a productive collaboration with tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, whose burly, vaulting sound is a force unto itself.
The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, a studio album released last year, captures their intensity well. But on this occasion, as part of Ars Nova Workshop’s 25th anniversary season, these musicians will be paying a special tribute: they’re playing Ask The Ages, a 1991 classic by the visionary free-jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock, who died a few years later. That album featured Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone and Elvin Jones on drums, and struck a tone of spiritual abandon that will surely resurface here.
April 11 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 South Broad Street, $35 advance, $40 day-of-show; purchase tickets.
Marshall Allen and the New Dawn — Wednesday, World Cafe Live
Two days after he turned 100 last May, Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader Marshall Allen entered a recording studio and created New Dawn — an evocative musical offering, full not only of Allen’s signature saxophone skronk but also a tender and searching spirit. (With its release this year, he earned the Guinness World Record for “Oldest person to release a debut album.”) This album-release show will feature Allen with fellow travelers like baritone saxophonist Knoel Scott.
April 9 at 8 p.m., World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street, $25 advance, $30 day-of-show; tickets and information.
Jenny Scheinman All Species Parade — Wednesday, Solar Myth
All Species Parade, released last year, confirmed Jenny Scheinman’s special knack for balancing rusticity and sophistication. Her violin is the lead voice on the project, but operates more from the center of a stir that includes Carmen Staaf on piano, Tony Scherr on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums, with as many as three excellent guitarists. At the Winter Jazzfest earlier this year, it was Steve Cardenas, and the music positively sang. (Be sure to arrive early, at 6:30 p.m., for a conversation between Jenny Scheinman and WRTI’s Josh Jackson, which will be recorded for The Late Set podcast. It’s free and open to all.)
April 9 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 South Broad Street, $35 advance, $40 day-of-show; purchase tickets.
Alphonso Horne & Gotham Kings — Friday through Sunday, South Jazz Kitchen
With the Gotham Kings, virtuoso trumpeter Alphonso Horne borrows a page from early New Orleans icons like King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band. The group’s high-stepping rhythms, bustling polyphony and vocal hijinks never fail to raise spirits, even as they hit their mark.
April 11 and 12 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., April 13 at 6 and 8:30 p.m., South Jazz Kitchen, 600 North Broad Street, $30; tickets and information.
Minas - 40th Anniversary Show — Friday, World Cafe Live
A hardworking Brazilian jazz outfit jointly led by partners Orlando Haddad and Patricia King Haddad, Minas is celebrating four decades as a band, and a Philly institution. They’ll draw from across their eight albums in this special show, featuring a sextet with the stalwart front line of John Swana on trumpet and EVI and Andrew Neu on saxophones and flute.
April 11 at 8 p.m., World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street, $30 advance, $35 day-of-show; tickets and information.
Anaïs Reno & the Chris Byars Quartet — Saturday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
A jazz singer with a warmly assured style beyond her years, Anaïs Reno has been steadily gaining ground on the scene. Her most recent album, At PizzaExpress Live - in London, finds her backed by a top-shelf trio; this weekend she’ll have the resources of a quartet led by tenor saxophonist Chris Byars, with pianist Adam Birnbaum, bassist Sameer Shankar, and drummer Aaron Seeber.
April 12 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $30, $100 and $120, with dinner packages; purchase tickets.
