Curated chronological listings. * = entries in Angel City Jazz Fest.
The World Stage in Leimert Park hosts Friday 8pm PT LIVE STREAMS of righteous jazz; join in here for live concerts and here for replays of past shows on its YouTube channel. Fri. Sept. 2: Ray Armando Playground Quintet: In Memoriam features deep & free pianist Theo Saunders playing the compositions and arrangements of Playground bandmate and conguero Armando, who was struck by a vehicle a year ago while walking; Armando's student Robertito Melendez plays congas, Yayo Morales drums and Jonathan Pintoff bass. Fri. Sept. 9: Worldwide multi-instrumentalist David Ornette Cherry makes a rare and welcome appearance. Fri. Sept. 16: Ethio Cali. Fri. Sept. 23: Saxist Teodross Avery celebrates John Coltrane's birthday. Fri. Sept. 30: Justo Almario. *Sat. Oct. 23: David Murray Trio. Donations encouraged here.
LACMA on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile offers FREE outdoor jazz concerts every Friday at 6pm. Fri. Sept. 2: Black Nile. Fri. Sept. 9: Danny Janklow. Fri. Sept. 16: the annual LACMA/LAJS Jazz Treasure Award appropriately goes to cornetist and educator Bobby Bradford. Fri. Sept. 23: Dale Fielder Quartet. Fri. Oct. 28: *Jonathan Pinson's Boom Clap. Full calendar here.
The LAX-area bar Sam First offers 7:30pm and 9pm jazz shows, in person and sometimes STREAMING. Fri. Sept. 2: In-the-pocket tenor with Ralph Moore Quartet. Tues. Sept. 6: Gerald Clayton & Friends Jam Session hosted by piano maestro Clayton. Wed. Sept. 7: pianist Paul Cornish. Fri. Sept. 9: Cathlene Pineda Quartet. Look here for full schedule and options.
Atwater's adventurous avant/modern/world club Zebulon is offering everything. Mon. Sept. 5: Marc Ribot. Wed. Sept. 7: Bush Tetras, "Image Frolics," Ann Magnuson (well curated night of NYC noise & fashion c1980; buy tix now). Wed. Sept. 21: '70s West Coast punk returns with Avengers, El Vez, Tribute to the Screamers, Rugburn. Sun. Oct. 9: Lydia Lunch, Kid Congo. Full calendar here.
Wed. Sept. 7: Expand your mind with this comradely bill of veteran SoCal adventurers featuring Tune to Me (8:30), Garretson & Gorodetsky (9:30) and Wrinkling Brothers (10:30) at Offbeat, 6316 York Blvd., Highland Park, 323-739-9696; $5.
The Hollywood Bowl has some jazz etc. Wed. & Thurs. Sept. 7 & 8: Wynton Marsalis & Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Sun. Sept. 18: Reggae Night (UB40 et al.). Wed. Sept. 21: Chucho Valdes, Monk'estra. Wed. Sept. 28: Herbie Hancock. Details here.
Thurs. Sept. 8, 5pm, Clockshop presents Hindustani, Turkish and Greek music from Neelamjit Dhillon, Gaayatri Kaundinya and Dimitris Mahlis at downtown's Los Angeles State Historic Park; details/tickets here (sold out but hey, it's free and in a park).
The Baked Potato in Universal City presents fusion (etc.) concerts at 8 & 10pm. Fri. & Sat. Sept. 9 & 10: Michael Landau. Fri. & Sat. Sept. 16 & 17: Krantz/Carlock/Lefebvre. Thurs. & Fri. Sept. 22 & 23: Jeff Lorber Fusion. Fri. Sept. 30: Luis Conte Band. Full schedule here.
The Canyon in Agoura Hills books its share of metal & fusion. Sun. Sept. 11: Billy Cobham. Sun. Sept. 18: Eric Gales. Fri. Oct. 7: Poncho Sanchez. Calendar here.
The Whisky on Sunset Strip books metal etc. Sun. Sept. 11: Psycroptic, Fallujah. Thurs. Sept. 15: Otep. Fri. Sept. 16: Dokken. Thurs. Sept. 22: Possessed. Sun. & Mon. Sept. 25 & 26: Robby Krieger. Sat. Oct. 1: Warbringer. Sat. Oct. 15: Kings of Thrash with Dave Ellefson & Jeff Young. Thurs. Oct. 20: Last in Line. Fri. Nov. 4: Stryper. Fri. Nov. 25: Supersuckers. Sat. Dec. 31: L.A. Guns. Calendar here.
Sun. Sept. 11, noon-2:30pm PT, The Jazz Journalists Association's Jazzbash puts on an immersive STREAM of panels, awards, greetings and pre-recorded performances. $25 for non-members; details/register here.
The Mint (Pico & Crescent Heights) is showcasing jazz shows. Sun. Sept. 11: Jermaine Paul Group and Sam Hirsh Trio. Sun.Sept. 18: Walter Simonsen Big Band and Sam Hirsh Trio. Check listings here.
Just Jazz presents jazz at Hollywood's Mr. Music Head Gallery. Sat. Sept. 17, 11:30am-5pm: The Just Jazz Foundation hosts an all-star fundraiser at Tiny Room Studio in Inglewood. Wed. Sept. 21: magical pianist Michael Wolff & Friends. Wed. Oct. 5: Sam Barsh. Wed. Oct. 26: Anthony Fung. Wed. Nov. 16: Jonathan Pinson's Boom Clap. Wed. Dec. 14: Mark Turner. Check full lineup here.
El Rey Theater on Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile books yer occasional metal show. Sun. Sept. 18: The Contortionist, Rivers of Nihil. Full calendar here.
The Jazz Salon presents live concerts at downtown's Los Angeles Athletic Club. Sun. Sept. 18: Mary Stallings, Ken Peplowski, Bill Cunliffe, Nick Mancini, Clayton Cameron and Dave Ross. Check in here.
1720 (east of downtown, south of the 10 freeway) books metal etc. Wed. Sept. 21: Full of Hell. Thurs. Sept. 29: Revocation, Krisiun. Wed. Oct. 5: Batushka. Sat. Nov. 5: Lorna Shore, Aborted. Fri. Dec. 2: Katatonia. Full calendar here.
The Saban Theater in Beverly Hills occasionally melts faces. Thurs. Sept. 22: Anvil and the classic documentary about them. Sat. Oct. 1: Michael Schenker. Calendar here.
The Orpheum downtown rocks at times. Fri. Sept. 23: Joe Satriani. Tues. Oct. 25: Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets (early Pink Floyd). Fri. Nov. 4: Wardruna. Sun. Nov. 6: Jeff Beck. Tickets here.
The Hollywood Palladium has some metal and hard stuff. Fri. Sept. 23: Sabaton. Sun. Oct. 9: Meshuggah. Fri.-Sun. Oct. 21-23: The Mars Volta. Full schedule here.
The Broad Stage in Santa Monica holds occasional jazz presentations. Fri. Sept. 23: Ravi Coltrane. Tickets here.
2220 Arts + Archives (Beverly Blvd. near Alvarado) hosts a variety of cultural presentations including jazz & electronic. Fri. Sept. 23: David Grubbs & Carl Stone. Fri. Oct. 7: Park Jiha, Eyvind Kang, Jessika Kenney. *Sat. Oct. 29: ROVA Saxophone Quartet. *Sat. Nov. 5: Zoh Amba Quartet, Devin Daniels Quartet. Listings here.
The Greek Theater in Griffith Park has outdoor music. Tues. Sept. 27: Heilung. Full lineup here.
Tues. Oct. 4: Scorpions and Thundermother pierce Inglewood's Forum. (Whitesnake dropped out of the tour due to a Coverdale throat ailment.) Tickets here.
Wed. Oct. 5: Echo Park's EchoPlex hosts Swiss avant-metalmen Zeal & Ardor plus NYC metal abstractionists Imperial Triumphant and femme-fronted hard rockers Sylvaine. Tix here.
The Regent downtown books some heavy music. Wed. Oct. 5: Clutch, Quicksand, Helmet. Thurs. & Fri. Oct. 27 & 28: L7. Full lineup here.
Downtown's Teragram Ballroom occasionally presents heavy and improvisational music. Wed. Oct. 5: Tortoise. Sun. Oct. 23: Marco Benevento. Calendar here.
Downtown's Belasco Theater stages a few rock & metal shows. Sun. Oct. 9: GWAR. Calendar & tix here.
The Wiltern (Wilton & Western) occasionally harbors metal. Wed. Oct. 12: In This Moment. Thurs. Oct. 13: Testament, Exodus, Death Angel. Thurs. Nov. 10: Trivium. Tues. Nov. 22: Cannibal Corpse, Dark Funeral, Immolation. Sun. Dec. 11: WASP. Full calendar here.
Inglewood's midsize YouTube Theater brings variety programming. Thurs. Oct. 13: metal strongmen Lamb of God. Calendar here.
Catalina's Jazz Club in Hollywood hosts mostly mainstream jazz and singers, but there are exceptions. Thurs.-Sat. Oct. 13-15: fusion from Dave Weckl-Tom Kennedy Project. Check full calendar here.
Downtown's Disney Hall presents some jazz and events of note beyond classical. Fri. Oct. 14: Julian Lage and The Bad Plus. Sun. Oct. 30: Chaka Khan. Tickets here.
UCLA'S Center for the Art of Performance stages jazz. Sun. Oct. 16: Branford Marsalis Quartet. Thurs. Nov. 3: Antonio Sanchez. Sat. Nov. 12: Tigran Hamasyan. Thurs. Feb. 23: MVF Band. Calendar here.
REDCAT (beneath downtown's Disney Hall) presents some experimental music and jazz. *Sat. Oct. 22: Marquis Hill; John Escreet's Seismic Shift. Tickets here.
Make plans now for Angel City Jazz Festival, Oct. 22-Nov. 5 at various venues across Los Angeles, this year featuring David Murray Trio, ROVA, Myra Melford and more. Details here.
Keep up with L.A. Jazz Society events, including its Young Musician Showcases, here. Sat. Oct. 29: LAJS Jazz Tribute Concert & Awards at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood.
Highland Park's Lodge Room occasionally books jazz and metal. Sun. Oct. 30: Makaya McCraven. Full schedule here.
Sat. Dec. 3: Steve Vai plays the Ace Hotel downtown; tickets here.
Sat. Dec. 17: Amon Amarth, Carcass, Obituary and Cattle Decapitation pillage Inglewood's Forum. Tickets here.
ETA, a bar in Highland Park, sometimes books edgy jazz. Website here.