Fri. Jan. 27 -- Tenor man Chuck Manning rides that inside/outside borderline with supple skill; he's fronting the house gang with pianist Theo Saunders, bassist Pat Senatore and drummer Jimmy Branly from 9pm onward. Joe Bagg warms up the room with an organ duo from 6:30 to 8:30. At Vibrato Grill, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, way up the canyon in Bel Air 90077; (310) 474-9400; www.vibratogrilljazz.com.
Fri.-Sun. Jan. 27-29 -- Trumpeter Roy Hargrove is a slippery son, knocking from traditional bop to hip-hop at a momen't notice. Although he broke in a couple decades back as a trad revivalist, and maybe he sounds best plowing that furrow, give him credit for tuning in to his own generation. Bet he won't rock the beatbox much for the posh oldsters here. At Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 90028; 8 & 10pm; $25-$35; (323) 466-2210; www.catalinajazzclub.com.
Sat. Jan. 28 -- A surprise hit with the kidz: the rough-hewn retro slackery of Sweden's Graveyard. Read my record review here. With Radio Moscow and The Shrine. At the Fold at Bootleg Theater, 2220 Beverly Blvd. near Alvarado, LA 90057; 9pm; $10; 21+; www.ticketfly.com. Sold out, but they're saying some tix might be released if you show up at 8:30.
Sat. Jan. 28 -- California's Ana Kefr bring a rare originality to their orchestral growl-metal. A band to watch. Plus a bunch more groups. At the Whisky, 8901 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood 90069; doors 6:45pm, Ana Kefr around midnight; $15; www.whiskyagogo.com; (310) 652-4202. They're not selling advance tickets for this one; you gotta just show up.
Sat. Jan. 28 -- Jeff Gauthier, Motoko Honda & Michael Dessen perform their outward-leaning compositions for violin-piano-trombone. High proficiency, insidious subtlety. At Beyond Baroque, 681 Venice Blvd., Venice 90291; 9pm; $10; (310) 822-3006.
Sat. Jan. 28 -- Cool out to the electrobeat atmo-jazz of Simplexity, featuring the star lineup of pianist John Beasley, windman Steve Tav, DJ Jon Margulies, bassist John Von and drummer Gary Novak. At the Blue Whale on the third floor of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9:30 & 11pm; $10; validated parking underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Sat. Jan. 28 -- The Los Angeles Free Music Society is getting a retrospective through Feb. 25. From the 1970s onward, LAFMS members have been disrupting conceptions of music via their intelligently primitive electronic/trash-heap excretions, and many of them, including Airway, Artificial Art Ensemble, Doo-Dooettes, Le Forte Four and The Tenses, are reuniting for performances today. Also see Sunday's SASSAS event immediately below. At the Box, 805 Traction Ave., downtown 90013; noon-7pm; free I'm guessing.
Sun. Jan. 29 -- SASSAS presents a great Pacific Standard Time event: A ton of modern outmusic performed in a motel! Continuously in multiple guest rooms or on the balcony, experience interpretations of Schoenberg by the Calder Quartet; tributes to Ornette Coleman, John Cage, Anita Pace, James Tenney, Pauline Oliveros and more; plus the LAFMS's re-creation of its 1976 "Pyramid Headphones." Oh yeah. L.A. can be a pretty wonderful place sometimes. At the Welcome Inn, 1840 W. Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 4-10pm; FREE.
Thurs. Feb. 2 -- Gotta like the alliance of melodic peyote jazzbos Slumgum with the African incantations of singer Dwight Trible. At the Blue Whale on the third floor of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; validated parking underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. Feb. 2 -- You don't often see rockers describing themselves on their MySpace page as "black metal, powerpop, progressive" the way Sweden's Ghost do, but the tags fit. From their artwork, I glean that they think the pope is scary, and I agree with that. From their lyrics, I glean that they worship Satan, which means they're idiots. Ghost's music is both crunchy and funny, though, so I kind of like them, even if they're dumb enough to be serious about it. With "occult bands" Blood Ceremony and Ancient Wisdom. At the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; doors 7:30pm; call for price; (310) 278-9457; www.ticketweb.com.
Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.