Jazz is expansive: it’s always branching out into new areas, even as its center holds. This would be a great week to explore both sides of that equation, as our area brings shows by gayageum virtuoso DoYeon Kim and the post-rock band Tortoise alongside more straight-ahead fare. Hope to see you out there!
Tortoise — Friday, Upper Merion Township Building Park
No, we’re not making the argument that Tortoise is a jazz ensemble. More than 35 years after it first formed in Chicago, the band is still synonymous with “post-rock,” an ironically named subgenre that it helped establish and then hazily define. There are traces of Ennio Morricone, Neu! and Lee “Scratch” Perry in the Tortoise sound-world, which runs atmospheric but assertive, with rhythm, timbre and texture all vibrating on a spectrum.
Touch, released last year on the International Anthem label, captures all of this in vivid relief — and bolsters the notion that Tortoise really does belong in our jazz listings, despite the disclaimers above. For one thing, there’s the vital presence of guitarist Jeff Parker, who’s been a member of the band for some 30 years. Parker’s influence on the current jazz scene runs deep both in his own bands, like the ETA IVtet, and through conceptual inheritors like SML.
In this outdoor show — part of the 40th Annual Upper Merion Concerts Under The Stars, produced by Rising Sun Presents — Parker will show another side, working within the Tortoise matrix. The band also includes Dan Bitney, John Herndon, Douglas McCombs and John McEntire, all of whom play multiple instruments, shifting gears constantly throughout a set. It’s captivating in much the same way as a great jazz performance, which is just one reason among many to seek it out.
June 26 at 7 p.m., Upper Merion Township Building Park, 149 West Valley Forge Rd, Upper Merion Twp, PA, $42-$86; tickets and information.
DoYeon Kim Quartet — Wednesday, Solar Myth
DoYeon Kim has played Solar Myth a couple of times before, as a member of other people’s bands. She returns with her gayageum, a traditional Korean zither, and the intricate book of music from Wellspring, her spellbinding recent debut. She’ll lead a deeply attuned quartet featuring flutist Laura Cocks, bassist Henry Fraser and drummer Tom Rainey. Before the concert, at 6:30 p.m., Kim will sit for an onstage interview with Nate Chinen (that’s me) that will be recorded for a future episode of The Late Set.
June 24 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S Broad Street, $30; tickets and information.
An Evening With Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonio Sánchez Trio — Thursday, Upper Merion Township Building Park
Brethren in breezy virtuosity, the American banjoist Béla Fleck, Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda and Mexican drummer Antonio Sánchez recently formed a collective, releasing an album titled BEATrio. As they’ve already proven on tour, they know how to deliver staggering displays of dynamic precision — and how to make that look as natural as breathing. (They appear as part of the 40th Annual Upper Merion Concerts Under The Stars, produced by Rising Sun Presents.)
June 25 at 7 p.m., Upper Merion Township Building Park, 149 West Valley Forge Rd, Upper Merion Township, PA, $50.20, $96.77 premium; tickets and information.
Julian Lee Quintet — Thursday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
The up-and-coming vibraphonist Julian Lee — not to be confused with a saxophonist by the same name — is a teenaged member of the Philadelphia Youth Jazz Orchestra, and a student of Tony Miceli, who calls him “the most talented musician I have taught in 40 years.” This engagement will feature him alongside more young talent: saxophonist Reid Justeson, pianist Jonas Ballantyne, bassist Esteban Ruiz and drummer John Stana.
June 25 at 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $20, with dinner packages; tickets and information.
Allan Harris: Harlem After Dark — Friday through June 28, South Jazz Kitchen
A jazz-cabaret singer whose voice resides halfway between gravel and silk, Allan Harris developed his Harlem After Dark show around a nostalgic vision of uptown chic. The program, which typically features fellow travelers like the singer Maya Azucena and pianist John Di Martino, should feel right at home during this weekend engagement at South.
June 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., June 28 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., South Jazz Kitchen, 600 N Broad Street, $40; tickets and information.
Tim Brey Quintet — Saturday, Chris’ Jazz Cafe
When pianist Tim Brey was asked to organize a centennial tribute to John Coltrane, he got to work assembling a team: tenor saxophonist Jonathan Ragonese, alto saxophonist Chris Coles, bassist Dave Brodie, and drummer Wayne Smith Jr. “We’ll be featuring compositions representative of different eras of Coltrane’s career and spiritual journey through the late ‘50s/’60s,” he tells WRTI, “as well as a few compositions of mine inspired by his legacy and creative process.”
June 27 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $30, with dinner packages; tickets and information.
Teiku — Sunday, June 28, Solar Myth
Passover music finds elastic new properties in Teiku, a group formed by pianist Josh Harlow and percussionist Jonathan Barahal Taylor. Together with excellent musicians from their respective hometowns — bass clarinetist Jason Stein, a Chicagoan, and bassist Jaribu Shahid, a Detroiter — they explore and expand a range of traditional themes on a new album, Klang. There’s no question that these musicians will unlock even more potential in performance.
June 28 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 S Broad Street, $30; tickets and information.
