There is some remarkable live music lined up for October, even if we have to wait a couple of weeks to get to the more high-profile names.
Jim Hall Quartet: Oct. 20-21, Dazzle. Hall stands as one of the creative constants in the jazz world. His restraint and melodic gifts have served as inspiration for legions of guitarists. You can imagine the young Denverite Bill Frisell absorbing Hall’s ’60s album of duets with pianist Bill Evans, “Undercurrent,” and taking note of the inventive use of space employed by both of the artists.
Hall has quietly become one of the most respected of music’s elder statesmen in the ensuing decades, recording at will and receiving the NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship award in 2004. At 80, he appears to be as prolific as ever, and since Hall’s current quartet includes sometimes-edgy saxophonist Greg Osby, don’t expect his Dazzle shows to be particularly laid-back.
But they won’t be fearsome, either; the creative tension should be ideal for a couple of truly amiable evenings. $40. Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge, 930 Lincoln St. 303-839-5100.
We Four: Celebrating John Coltrane. Oct. 20, Mount Vernon Country Club The only surviving member of the group on Miles Davis’ immortal 1959 album “Kind of Blue” is drummer Jimmy Cobb. He played alongside saxophonist Coltrane on those sessions and presses on as a tireless booster for the mid-’50s to early-’60s era of Hard Bop.
One of Hard Bop’s other expert drummer-practitioners was Art Blakey, and Cobb will be joined by three Blakey alumni: pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Peter Washington and Denver native Javon Jackson. Jackson will channel Coltrane’s fire, but expect the show to also serve as a tribute to Blakey, Davis and ultimately Cobb himself, who has been present at many a historic date and deserves a great deal of credit in the music’s evolution. $16, $46.95 for dinner and concert. 24933 Clubhouse Circle in Golden. 303-526-0616.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Oct. 28, Boulder Theater. Saxophonist Denson has always straddled the line, for those who care to draw one, between jazz, soul, funk and rock. He recorded and toured with Lenny Kravitz earlier in his career and has teamed up with supreme improvisers Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. His credentials are essentially in order to play any style of music that he desires.
This time around, Denson is paying tribute to the Rolling Stones with a live interpretation of their 1971 album “Sticky Fingers.” New Orleans’ Anders Osborne will share vocal responsibilities with Denson. It will be fun to hear what Denson does with arrangements of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and “Wild Horses.” I’ve never imagined an extended saxophone solo on that one. $36, 2032 14th St. Boulder. 303-786-7030.
Don’t get me wrong — there’s much to take in this week too, like a free tribute to Charlie Parker, “Bird Lives,” at the Broomfield Auditorium on Wednesday. The CU-Boulder Jazz Faculty, including Brad Goode, John Gunther and Paul Romaine, will pay tribute to Parker. . . . Trumpeter Chris Botti plays the Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs on Thursday. . . . The Denver collective Convergence (also featuring saxophonist Gunther and drummer Romaine) welcomes innovative trombonist Conrad Herwig to their ranks at Dazzle on Thursday and Friday. . . . And Pianist Henry Butler, formerly of New Orleans and Denver in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, returns to Colorado for an evening at Cherokee Ranch & Castle on Saturday.
