“May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.” Those are the words of a British outdoorsman named Fennel Hudson, who surely wasn’t talking about our local jazz scene. Still, the sentiment applies. Just look at the bounty up ahead this week, and try to tell me otherwise.
RECESS (Odean Pope & Immanuel Wilkins) — May 3 and 10, Power Market
The mutual exchange between tenor saxophonist Odean Pope and alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins goes back a number of years, to a time when Immanuel was a grade-school upstart. He’s 28 now, and has just released the first two volumes of a three-album “Live at the Village Vanguard” series on Blue Note Records. Pope, at 87, is one of Philadelphia’s venerable jazz elders, an avant-gardist with inside credentials, and a repository of mystic wisdom.
RECESS, which was created with support from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, finds Pope and Wilkins inhabiting a warehouse in North Philly, and activating it as a space for creative engagement. Part installation, part performance art, and described by its creators as a spark for “radical play,” it will feature Pope and Wilkins with a rhythm section that closely resembles the one in Wilkins’ working quartet: pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Ryoma Takenaga, and drummer Kweku Sumbry. (The lineup on May 10 will feature different collaborators.) Preceding the performance is a processional and history tour led by theater artist Jennifer Kidwell.
May 3 and 10 at 3 p.m., Power Market, 1835 W Oxford Street, Free, but registration is suggested. The processional and history tour begins at 1:30 p.m. at North 8th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue. Information and registration: May 3 and May 10.
Al Di Meola: The Guitarchitect Tour — Friday, Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville
The fleet-fingered guitarist Al Di Meola rocketed to stardom in the mid-1970s as a member of Return to Forever, and he has enjoyed a thriving solo career since, at the dazzling intersection of jazz fusion and world music. His Guitarchitect Tour, which kicked off in March, features a balance of material past and present, acoustic and electric, up to and including his recent album Twentyfour.
May 8 at 8 p.m., The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, PA, $57-$83; tickets and information.
Mike Lorenz Trio — Friday, Bourbon & Branch
A guitarist given to lyrical expression, Mike Lorenz has a forthcoming album, I’m Not There, that draws inspiration from the rustic byways of American music, and the singer-songwriters who illuminate those spaces. He kicks off a spring tour in support of the album, leading his trio with Sandy Eldred on bass and Matt Scarano on drums.
May 8 at 7:30 p.m., Bourbon & Branch, 705 North 2nd Street, $10 suggested donation; more information.
The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis — Friday, Solar Myth
Deface the Currency, the second album from The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis, ups the intensity and the stakes: it’s a jazz-rock album that understands the concussive mayhem of a mosh pit. Lewis’ burly tenor saxophone and Anthony Pirog’s shape-shifting guitar meet the hardcore rhythm team of bassist Joe Lally and drummer Brendan Canty, and it all coheres. (This show has been sold out for a while, but you can call and see about a waiting list.)
May 8 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S Broad Street, sold out; more information.
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble — Friday, Zellerbach Theatre
Last year, pianist and composer Arturo O'Farrill released Mundoagua: Celebrating Carla Bley — an imaginative tribute to a formative influence, featuring his flagship Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. For this Penn Live Arts performance, he leads the midsize Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, a pared-down but equally dynamic band, whose ranks include trumpeter Jim Seeley, tenor saxophonist Ivan Renta, trombonist Rafi Malkiel, and bassist Raúl Reyes.
May 8 at 7:30 p.m., Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street, $51-$101; tickets and information.
