Arts Agenda: Jazz and blues

Each week, ArtsATL delivers a critic’s short list of the shows, exhibitions, concerts and events we recommend for the coming weeks within one discipline in the kaleidoscope of Atlanta arts and culture. Every week, we’ll present a different art form.

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In addition to the shows listed below, Atlanta boasts several venues where you can hear jazz and blues regularly, many of them hosting weekly jam sessions. Among those venues are Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, the Velvet Note, Blind Willie’s and Northside Tavern. At Napoleon’s in Decatur, Blue Velvet Atlanta leads an open jam every second and fourth Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Read our recent profile of Blue Velvet Atlanta.

April 18

Israeli-born New York clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen joins the Georgia State University Jazz Band at the Rialto Center for the Arts at 8 p.m. April 18. Cohen’s latest album, released last fall, is Bloom, a Latin-flavored set recorded with her Quartetinho (Portuguese for “little quartet”)

Get a cultural twofer at the High Museum of Art’s Friday Jazz series, where you’ll hear live music and get to explore the museum’s galleries. Up next is The 4 Korners, a jazz fusion band inspired by the legendary Chick Corea Elektric Band. They’ll play throughout the evening on April 18. Coming up next is pianist Madoca Kawahara on May 16.

April 23

The Jazz Legacy Project will present a Tribute to Thelonious Monk at Eddie Owen Presents at the Red Clay Music Foundry in downtown Duluth. The show starts at 7 p.m. April 23. On future dates, they’ll pay tribute to Ella Fitzgerald (May 7), Art Blakey (June 4), Charlie Parker (July 2), Cannonball Adderley (August 6) and Billy Strayhorn (September 3).

April 26

New Orleans native Terence Blanchard created his impassioned, Grammy-winning tour-de-force A Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem for Katrina in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Blanchard brings this work to Spivey Hall at 7:30 p.m. April 26. There will be a pre-concert reception at 6:45 p.m. in the lobby.

April 27

The Atlanta Blues Society’s next Gathering & Jam happens from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at Will Henry’s Rockbridge in Stone Mountain. The host band will be the Tom Hill Blues Trio. 

May 2

Atlanta native and Spelman College grad Kathleen Bertrand is a beloved local jazz institution. She’ll perform at 7 p.m. May 2 as part of the First Friday at First series of jazz concerts at the Commons at First Congregational Church. Future shows in the series include Lavahi (June 6), Wycliffe Gordon (July 11) and Jason Marsalis (August 1)

May 9

Badbadnotgood blends jazz with hip-hop and has inspired a wide array of genre tags — including nu jazz and alt jazz — though Stereogum has simply referred to the Canadian trio as “genre-fluid.” The band brings its Mid Spiral tour to the Tabernacle at 8 p.m. May 9.

May 13

Experience the smoothest of jazz as Atlanta Symphony Hall presents An Evening with Kenny G. That oft-maligned soprano saxman has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, so he must be doing something right.

May 17

Catch An Evening of Jazz with Brian Culbertson and Marcus Anderson at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre in Mableton at 7 p.m. May 17. It’s one of many jazz, R&B and funk shows on the schedule there this summer and into fall. Upcoming performers include Lalah Hathaway, Boney James, Will Downing, Jonathan Butler and Robert Glasper.

May 20

As a youngster, Austin-based blues guitarist Buffalo Nichols learned to play by emulating the Ramones and heavy metal, but these days he’s more likely to blend Delta blues traditions with modern influences. “Nobody listens to one kind of music, but still artists are expected to make only one kind of music,” he told The Good Word. He’ll play Eddie’s Attic at 7 p.m. on May 20.

May 24-26

The Atlanta Jazz Festival returns to Piedmont Park this Memorial Day weekend with a lineup packed with talent, both local and national. As always, the outdoor music celebration is free. Derrick Hodge, Dianne Reeves, Russell Gunn and Joe Gransden are among the headliners at the three-day fest, which happens May 24 through May 26.

May 23

Acclaimed and inventive pianist Robert Glasper will be joined by Atlanta vocalist Baby Rose for the Atlanta Jazz Fest’s pre-fest concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall at 8 p.m. Friday, May 23. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

May 31

Danny Dudeck, known professionally as Mudcat, will celebrate the release of a new album at Avondale Towne Cinema in downtown Avondale Estates at 7 p.m. on May 31. Dudeck’s contributions to Atlanta’s modern blues scene are legendary and include ties to such icons as Frank Edwards, Blind Willie McTell, Cootie Stark, Eddie Tigner, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Jontavious Willis and countless others.

June 21

Gerald Albright headlines the WCLK Jazz Fest at the Fayetteville Amphitheatre (aka The Ville) at 7 p.m. June 21. Kandace Springs and The Dangerfeel Newbies are also on the bill.