The end of the month draws nigh and the Collective prepares to ride again at TRiP, the birthplace of this group. This month we are a fierce 7-piece with John Tegmeyer on clarinet, Adam Ratner on guitar, Cooper Appelt on bass, Chris Wabich on drums, and Peter Korpela & Scott Breadman on percussion. 2101 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica CA, just south of Pico on the East side of the street. No Cover, great beer and wine and tasty vittles.

This is such a cool venue to play. Intimate and fully focused on the music. There’s a beautiful grand piano, pristine sound system, eclectic mid-century decor, friendly staff, and a great bar with tempting nibbles … oh and let us not forget, performances by the best jazz musicians from around the world. I’m presenting a night of original music with a core group of cats from my 9-piece collective, Katisse Buckingham and John Tegmeyer on woodwinds, Cooper Appelt on bass, and Kevin van den Elzen on drums. $20 general, $15 students/seniors 21+. Sam First Bar is located at: 6171 Century Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90045

Gonna be a fun and challenging evening. “Last Tuesday of the Month” residency continues at TRiP Santa Monica. First I’ll collaborate with a LOOOOONG time friend of mine, Andy Sanesi, for a tribute to Steps Ahead; a killer group from the late 70’s/early 80’s led by vibes player Mike Mainieri and featuring Michael Brecker, Don Grolnick, Eddie Gomes and Peter Erskine. For the second and third sets I’ll take the stage with most of the members of my 9-piece, playing my original compositions. TRiP is located at: 2101 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica CA, No Cover, 21+.

It has always been a goal of mine to collaborate with as many musicians as I can; in particular those who compose their own music. Kait Dunton and I have played together on many different occasions over the years, but mostly in a duo setting. For this show, I thought it would be cool to partner with her entire trio and perform material from both of our original catalogs. I think our music is incredibly complimentary, and I am enormously fond her compositional style. Jazz Under Ground is a weekly concert series that takes place adjacent to the tasting room at Oeno Vino in Atwater Village. It’s an intimate venue, separated from the tasting room by a wall with windows, so the music remains the focal point. I hope you’ll join us. It will be the first of many collaborations with this group.

This will be my 6th or 7th consecutive year opening the Fireside concert series at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica. I love playing this venue. It’s a beautiful, old, amazing sounding theater with raked seating as well as comfy couches which surround the band who is situated in front of a crackling yule. This night I’ll be there with my 9-piece collective but will also break down the evening with a short set of original compositions in the style of Brazilian choro; think J. S. Bach if he were a samba musician. Doors open at 7:30, $10.

Is that a xylophone? How many people actually play the vibraphone? Is that from Africa? These and many other questions will be asked and answered on this night as I convene my second Vibes Hang. (Not the same event as the LA Jazz Society’s Vibe Summit). I’m counting on 20 or so of the finest players on this instrument to join us that evening to display their unique and individual approach to playing one of the stranger instruments in jazz. In addition, we’ll be taking a moment to honor a true stalwart of the jazz vibraphone, Stephen Hobbs, as he’ll be on tour in California that week. Our house trio will consist of Ahmet Turkmenoglu on bass and Steve Hass on drums, at the best jazz club in LA, the blue whale.