Pyrotechnic Latin jazz. Ambient spiritual jazz. Deep-in-the-pocket soul jazz. Whatever your favored groove, this week’s offerings are poised to deliver. So get out there and support live music on the scene. (Maybe even tell ‘em we sent you.)
Spotlight: Kalia Vandever — Friday, Solar Myth
Maybe you saw the images earlier this week: fluorescent fountains of lava spewing from Kilauea, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The spectacular volcanic footage is just one manifestation of mana, the Hawaiian concept of spiritual energy — and the title of a meditative new album by trombonist, composer and vocalist Kalia Vandever, releasing on International Anthem on Friday.
Vandever has a shape-shifter’s artistic profile: their previous album, Another View, featured a groove-and-texture-forward quartet, and they’ve spent serious time on the road with Japanese Breakfast and Harry Styles. But it was the collaborative influence of another singer-songwriter, fellow Filipino-American Haley Heynderickx, that nudged Vandever toward the sound-world of Mana, with its ambient glow and subtly revealing interiority.
This solo performance at Solar Myth comes on the album’s release day, in between shows in New York and Washington, D.C. Arrive early (at 6:30 p.m.) for a free pre-concert interview, which I’ll conduct for a future episode of The Late Set podcast. Among other things, we’ll talk about the role of Native Hawaiian folklore in Vandever’s new work, something they’re likely to explore further next week, during an artist residency at the Shangri La Museum in Honolulu.
June 12 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S Broad Street, $25; tickets and information.
Brandee Younger Trio — Wednesday, McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton
As a harpist rooted in the lineage of Black music, Brandee Younger has never drawn distinctions between the richness of the past and the possibilities of the future. Her working trio, with Rashaan Carter on bass and Allan Mednard on drums, has forged an elastic yet earthy group language, which tempers the celestial aspect of her instrument without diluting its appeal.
June 10 at 7:30 p.m., Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, 91 University Pl, Princeton, NJ, $45-$70; tickets and information.
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio — Thursday, Ardmore Music Hall
A grease-and-grit soul-jazz trio of the sort that used to be a lot more common, especially in these parts, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio hails from Seattle, where its namesake grew up listening to the likes of Jimmy McGriff. It has been five years since the band last released an album, but there’s a brand-new 45-rpm single called “Chicken Leg” (with a B-side, “If I Could”) that augurs another full-length on the horizon. Get a jump on it here.
Jun 11 at 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 E Lancaster Ave, Ardmore, PA, $30-$72; tickets and information.
Pablo Batista Latin Jazz Ensemble — Saturday, Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts
If you’ve seen J. Michael Harrison’s recent session with Pablo Batista, you know him to be a percussionist with deep cultural knowledge and an easygoing charisma. He brings both to this concert, part of the Jazz Cultural Voices series at the Clef Club.
June 13 at 7:30 p.m., Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, 736 S Broad Street, $35; tickets and information.
Jamaaladeen Tacuma Quartet — Saturday, South Jazz Kitchen
Two Philadelphia-based visionaries converge to honor a third, as bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma welcomes drummer and composer Tyshawn Sorey in a centennial tribute to John Coltrane. The other members of the quartet are saxophonist Yesseh Furaha-Ali and guitarist Key Hutch, and the material will draw on Tacuma’s 2010 album Coltrane Configurations. But given who’s involved, this show — presented in collaboration with the Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Series — will surely also go to uncharted territory.
June 13 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., South Jazz Kitchen, 600 N Broad Street, $45; tickets and information.
Anthony Tidd’s Mono-Stereo — Saturday, Solar Myth
Bass guitarist Anthony Tidd, a busy catalyst on the Philly jazz scene and within progressive circles in New York, has been busy rolling out a series of groove-forward, socially conscious EPs under the title To Kill a Child of Troubled Times. Mono-Stereo finds him in a different but related mode, marshaling heavy forces: alto saxophonist Steve Lehman, tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, and drummer Damion Reid. There’s bound to be a ton of insight within the churn.
June 13 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S Broad Street, $30; tickets and information.
