There’s a hint of chill in the air, pumpkin spice on the menu, and the Phillies in the playoffs: yep, feels like the start of fall in Philadelphia. And as we told you last week with our Fall Preview, there’s a lot going on in the club and concert scene. Buckle up for a big week! Remember, you can get this guide to your inbox for free; sign up here!
Spotlight: Branford Marsalis Quartet — Sept. 28, Zellerbach Theater
Branford Marsalis, the eldest scion of an illustrious jazz clan, recently turned 65 — edging up to what many would consider retirement age, or at least a time to start slowing down. Of course, the tenor and soprano saxophonist is doing nothing of the sort. This year alone, he has performed the music of Milhaud and John Williams with symphony orchestras, and released a new studio album on Blue Note, which led to a barnstorming cross-country tour.
The album, Belonging, is a track-by-track reinterpretation of a 1974 release by the Keith Jarrett Quartet, which Marsalis has long held in highest regard. “The songs are really great,” he recently told DownBeat magazine. “Everybody can learn from listening to them. Every one is singable. You can take the melody home and put it in your pocket, even the avant-garde stuff.”
Marsalis and his deeply expressive working band — with Joey Calderazzo on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Justin Faulkner on drums — bring their own mindfulness and muscle to the assignment, turning Jarrett’s music into a point of departure. The last time they performed a Penn Live Arts concert, they blew the roof off with their take on “‘Long As You Know You’re Living Yours.” Why would this time be any different?
Sept. 28 at 7 p.m., Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street, $73-$119; tickets and information.
Andrew Lamb Trio — Sunday, Community Education Center
Short notice, but if you’re seeing this dispatch on Sunday, you still have time to catch tenor saxophonist and flutist Andrew Lamb, a robust voice in the avant-garde, during the twelfth John Coltrane Festival presented by the Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia. Lamb is among the many heirs to Coltrane’s legacy, and it should be a spirit-filled concert.
Sept. 21 at 4 p.m., Community Education Center, 3500 Lancaster Avenue, $40; purchase tickets.
Bobby Zankel Wonderful Sound 3 — Tuesday, Black Squirrel Club
Alto saxophonist, composer and local luminary Bobby Zankel convenes a special edition of his Warriors of the Wonderful Sound — a trio, hence Wonderful Sound 3 — with a couple of distinguished partners well equipped to match his instinct for exploratory fire. They are pianist and multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore and drummer Chad Taylor, who join him here for a memorial tribute to John Coltrane, on what would have been his 99th birthday.
Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m., Black Squirrel Club, 1049 Sarah Street, $15-$25; tickets and information.
Lucas Brown Organ Quartet — Thursday, Temple Performing Arts Center
Lucas Brown is an organist whose Philly pedigree includes a formative apprenticeship with the late Bootie Barnes. He’s never stopped exploring new angles on the soul-jazz tradition, as you may recall from his NPR Live Sessions hit at WRTI. For this installment of the Rite of Swing Jazz Cafe, he’ll lead a quartet with Mike Cemprola on saxophone, Elijah Cole on guitar and Doug Hirlinger on drums.
Sept. 25 at 4:30 p.m., Temple Performing Arts Center, 1837 North Broad Street, free; more information.
Benny Benack III & Anaïs Reno Sextet — Friday and Saturday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
For its 36th anniversary celebration, Chris’ Jazz Cafe convenes a band with two engaging singers out front: Anaïs Reno, a club favorite with a warmly assured style beyond her years, and Benny Benack III, whose extroverted style extends to his other instrument, the trumpet. They’ll perform with a group that features saxophonist Daniel Cohen, pianist Tyler Henderson, bassist Dave Brodie and drummer Wayne Smith, Jr.
Sept. 26 and 27 at 7:30 and 9:30, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $35, $105 and $125, with dinner packages; purchase tickets.
Anthony Tidd’s Quite Sane — Saturday, The Fallser Club
Bassist and bandleader Anthony Tidd foregrounds social commentary and stylistic convergence in his group Quite Sane, which has been mobilizing behind a new double album, To Kill a Child of Troubled Times. The ensemble has spent the last three weeks in residence at Atelier Harlem in New York, so it will be loose and limber for this concert — part of Satellite Sound at The Fallser Club, which is co-curated by WRTI’s J. Michael Harrison. (Arrive early for a preshow panel discussion and listening session.)
Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m., The Fallser Club, 3721 Midvale Avenue, $20 online, $25 at door; tickets and information.
