November is here, and as we fully commit to sweater weather, it’s a good time to take stock: have you been getting your recommended weekly allowance of live music? Moment’s Notice is here to help make sure you do. Head down the shore, or just down the block, for a groove near you.
Spotlight: Exit Zero Jazz Festival — Friday through Nov. 9, Cape May Convention Hall, NJ
If you’ve been listening to The Late Set podcast in recent weeks, you heard a few terrific artist conversations from the spring 2025 edition of the Exit Zero Jazz Festival (most recently, a lively episode with the breakout trumpet star Brandon Woody). It’s hard to believe it, but we’re now on the cusp of Exit Zero’s fall edition, with another great lineup that features headlining legends and up-and-comers alike.
The “legendary” category would certainly include NEA Jazz Master, bass phenom and Philadelphia native Stanley Clarke, who performs on Friday night with his sharp young band. You’d also do well to include the Cuban pianist Omar Sosa, leading his Quarteto Americanos on Friday (just before Clarke). Also in that exalted tier is the jazz singer and troubadour Cassandra Wilson, celebrating the 30th anniversary of her influential album New Moon Daughter on Sunday afternoon.
Elsewhere on the festival bill, you’ll find dynamos like jazz vocalist and new Blue Note artist Gabrielle Cavassa; New Orleans pianist Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen; the dynamic legacy band Roy Hargrove’s Crisol; and bassist Endea Owens with The Cookout. Circulate among the five festival stages, and you’ll also get a chance to hear the bright young guitar hero (and former WRTI Young Artist Spotlight) Marel Hidalgo, who had Exit Zero audiences eating out of his hand the last time around.
Nov. 7-9, Cape May Convention Hall, 714 Beach Avenue, Cape May, NJ; pass pricing and more information.
Gabriel Meyer Sextet — Thursday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
A trombonist studying at Temple’s Boyer College of Music and Dance, Gabriel Meyer has lately been accruing steady mileage as a bandleader and arranger — often with a tether to maverick composers like Anthony Braxton and Carla Bley. This one-nighter by his sextet will feature a notable guest soloist, Caleb Wheeler Curtis, on sopranino saxophone, stritch and trumpet.
Nov. 6 at 7:30 and 9 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $15, $70 and $90, with dinner packages; purchase tickets.
Josh Lee & the Extended Family — Friday, Community Education Center
Josh Lee is the living embodiment of a moving target. You may know him as the host of Jazz Through the Night on WRTI, but he travels the world as the baritone saxophonist in the Count Basie Orchestra — and features the music of swing-era big bands in his primary group, Josh Lee & the Extended Family. They’ll perform a First Friday Dance under the auspices of the Producer’s Guild in West Philly, with a free swing lesson; bring your dancing shoes.
Nov. 7 at 7 p.m., Community Education Center, 3500 Lancaster Avenue, $30; tickets and information.
Donald Harrison — Saturday, Philadelphia Clef Club
Big Chief Donald Harrison, Jr. has a wide-lens vantage on the jazz tradition, encompassing the Afro-New Orleans roots music of his family heritage, the advanced hard-bop on which he cut his teeth, and the R&B-conversant hybrid he calls Nouveau Swing. A worthy recipient of the 2022 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy, Harrison performs this weekend under the auspices of the Jazz Cultural Voices series at the Clef Club.
Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m., Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, 736 South Broad Street, $45; tickets and information.
Andromeda Turre — Saturday and Sunday, South Jazz Kitchen
A vocalist of farsighted vision and flexible execution, Andromeda Turre has continued to deepen her reputation as an artist, while putting into practice the lessons she’s gleaned from her parents, the master trombonist Steve Turre and visionary cellist Akua Dixon. Her most recent album, From the Earth, is a suite inspired by our environmental plight; she’ll draw from it here.
Nov. 8 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., Nov. 9 at 6 and 8:30 p.m., South Jazz Kitchen, 600 North Broad Street, $37; tickets and information.
