A contrasting pair of crossover queens — the sinewy drummer Cindy Blackman Santana and the sparkly singer-songwriter Laufey — make their way to Philly this week, putting jazz-adjacency in the center spotlight. We’re cool with that. But we also want to shout out less commercial offerings, from the likes of Elio Villafranca and Byron Landham. It’s a good week all around, and there’s enough to share.
Spotlight: Cindy Blackman Santana — Thursday, City Winery
You may have noticed her in the musical montage before an NFL broadcast — and if you did, hopefully you were savvy enough to know that it was Cindy Blackman Santana on drums. If not, here’s your chance to get acquainted with this precision rhythm engine, who came up with heavy jazz tutelage, including mentorship from Art Blakey and Tony Williams.
The high visibility of Blackman’s longtime gig with Lenny Kravitz, and the well-publicized fact of her marriage to Carlos Santana, have conspired to make her seem like more of a rock musician with jazz affinities. She hasn’t always worked to disarm that perception — again, see that NFL spot — but she lets the music do it for her in her working band. It’s a fusion-esque crew stocked with killer talent: saxophonist J.D. Allen, pianist Zaccai Curtis, guitarist Aurélien Budynek, and bassist Jeremiah Kal’ab.
Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m., City Winery, 990 Filbert Street, $25-$50; tickets and information.
Elio Villafranca & The Jass Syncopators — Sunday, The Fallser Club
Local jazz observers have long known Elio Villafranca as a powerfully authentic voice for his native Afro-Cuban tradition. The Jass Syncopators is his hybrid vehicle for Latin-jazz dynamism, and in this concert — part of the Satellite Sound series presented by the Painted Bride — it features Villafranca on piano, Freddie Hendrix on trumpet, Sam Dillon on tenor saxophone, Gregg August on bass, Carlos Maldonado on percussion, and Joel de Jesus on drums.
Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., The Fallser Club, 3721 Midvale Avenue, $20; tickets and information.
Tim Brey Sextet — Friday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
Pianist and Boyer professor Tim Brey applies a high sheen to the swinging modern mainstream, with a notable assist from the futuristic timbres of John Swana’s EVI (electronic valve instrument). Rounding out the band here are Chris Coles on alto saxophone, Elijah Balbed on tenor saxophone, Madison Rast on bass, and Wayne Smith, Jr. on drums.
Oct. 24 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $25, $95 and $115, with dinner packages; purchase tickets.
Laufey: A Matter of Time Tour — Friday, Xfinity Mobile Arena
A Moment’s Notice listing for an arena show? Such is the flexible reach of Laufey, a chart-topping Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, now touring behind her third hit album, A Matter of Time. Her previous release won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, which feels like appropriate category for her — but there’s undeniable classic-jazz influence in her style, along with the sparkly wonder and indignant cheek.
Oct. 24 at 7 p.m., Xfinity Mobile Arena, 3601 South Broad Street, $111 and up; tickets and information.
Adam Rudolph Sunrise Trio — Friday, Solar Myth
Percussionist and composer Adam Rudolph has been rightly hailed as a godfather of world music, in and beyond his longtime collaboration with the late Yusef Lateef. In his exploratory Sunrise Trio, he collaborates with two members of his expansive Go: Orchestra: Alexis Marcelo, on piano and keyboards, along with percussion and kudu horn; and Kaoru Watanabe, on taiko and other Japanese percussion, noh kan and fue flutes, and electric koto.
Oct. 24 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 South Broad Street, $30 advance, $35 day of show; purchase tickets.
Byron Landham Quartet — Saturday, Cellar Dog
A humming engine of the swinging jazz mainstream for more than 30 years, drummer Byron Landham brings affable authority to the group he calls Band of Brothers, featuring several fellow Philly cats: saxophonist Victor North, organist Lucas Brown, and guitarist Elijah Cole. They’ll play a mix of originals and classic material by Wayne Shorter, Ornette Coleman and others.
Oct. 25 at 8 p.m., Cellar Dog, 258 South 15th Street, $10; more information.
