The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, with The Hector Penalosa Gang
On paper, the teaming of James Brandon Lewis and The Messthetics makes little sense.
So little, in fact, that some might well wonder what the 41-year-old Lewis — one of the most acclaimed jazz saxophonists, composers and band leaders of his generation — is doing with The Messthetics, a trio whose bassist and drummer, Joe Lally and Brandon Canty, rose to prominence in the late 1980s as members of the highly influential post-hardcore punk band Fugazi.
And how does cutting-edge electric guitarist Anthony Pirog, the Messthetics’ third member, fit into the picture? Very well, fortunately, as do Lewis, Lally and Canty.
Jazz, rock, funk, reggae and more are all qualitative equals for these four musicians, whose enthusiasm for performing together is palpable throughout their terrific recent debut album, “The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis.”
It was released, significantly, by Impulse! Records, the same label that was once home to such jazz-and-beyond giants as Charles Mingus, Pharoah Sanders Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane.
By turns charged and contemplative, carefully arranged and freewheeling, Lewis and The Messthetics’ eight-song album is an all-too-rare collaboration that should appeal to jazz and adventuresome rock fans alike. The group’s music uses familiar components in fresh and unfamiliar ways, creating an inviting blend that never quite goes where you might expect but often lands somewhere even better.
One can only imagine what happens when this band ignites on a concert stage, even (and especially) in an indie-rock-oriented venue like Soda Bar. The Messthetics last performed at this earthy City Heights nightspot in 2019. The chance to hear them here with Lewis, whose San Diego appearances are rare at best, may confer bragging rights on anyone savvy enough to attend.
7:30 p.m. Thursday. Soda Bar, 3615 University Ave., City Heights. $24.21 (you must be 21 or older to attend). sodabar.com
Nathan & Noah East
On Oct. 8, San Diego-bred bass guitar great Nathan East will perform at Pechanga Arena San Diego with Eric Clapton, whose band he has been a mainstay in since 1986.
On Saturday, you can see East perform in a far more intimate setting when he and his musician son, singer and keyboardist Noah East, headline the opening day of the 13th annual Jazz at the Creek festival on the south lawn of San Diego’s Educational Cultural Complex.
Noah has been working on a duo album with his acclaimed father, Nathan, whose many musical collaborators over the years have ranged from B.B. King, Daft Punk, Barbra Streisand and The Weeknd to Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr, Michael Jackson, Joe Satriani and Donna Summer.
A 2022 UC Berkley graduate, Noah is now a member of The Cream of Clapton, a band that teams him with Eric Clapton’s guitar-playing nephew, Will Johns. Nathan memorably joined his son on stage during Cream of Clapton’s concert last year at the Balboa Theater.
Saturday will provide the welcome opportunity to hear this talent-rich father-and-son musical team perform their own music at what, at least for Nathan, should be a celebratory homecoming gig. Sunday’s Jazz at the Creek lineup includes Jonathan Butler and Poncho Sanchez.
13th annual Jazz at the Creek festival. 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. South lawn of the Educational Cultural Complex, 4343 Ocean View Blvd., San Diego. $74.61 per day (general admission), $214.99 per day (VIP dinner package); must be 21 or older to attend. eventbrite.com
Tower of Power
Oakland’s Tower of Power is on a new roll.
Two years after teaming up with the San Diego Symphony for the first orchestral concert in its six-decade history, the Bay Area-bred funk and soul band is returning with what is — depending on who is counting — either the 50th or 51st lineup to date.
Now on board is new drummer Pete Antunes and new lead singer Jordan John, who was all of 16 when he played at a jam session with Prince. Antunes has especially big shoes to fill. He replaces Tower of Power co-founder David Garibaldi, whose propulsive funk chops and jazzy syncopations set a very high bar.
Is he up to the task? You can soon find out.
7:30 p.m. Friday.. Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island. $70. ticketmaster.com
Sylvie Simmons
Folk Arts Rare Records is a not-so-missing link between former San Diego singer-songwriter Tom Waits and acclaimed music scribe and best-selling author Sylvie Simmons, who has written about Waits (and interviewed him) with impressive skill and insight.
A top contributor to England’s Mojo magazine — and, in prior years, the weekly Sounds — Simmons is the author of such memorable books as 2012’s “I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen” and 2001’s “Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes.” She is also a singer-songwriter with several softly inviting albums to her credit.
It is in her capacity as a lilting troubadour that Simmons will be featured Saturday afternoon at Folk Arts, the fabled record store where the young Tom Waits often hung out and was mentored by Folk Arts founder Lou Curtiss, who died here in 2018.
“Folk Arts is a soul-food library and seed bank, much like the Library of Congress, where you go to light your torch,” Waits told the Union-Tribune in 2003. “All the secrets of the universe are there…” This weekend, Simmons will light that torch anew.
5 p.m. Saturday, Folk Arts Rare Records, 3610 University Ave. North Park. Free. (619) 282-7833
The BellRays, with Scary Pierre and River Mouse
Tenacity and unfaltering aural combustion are the twin hallmarks of The BellRays, the Riverside-bred band that next year celebrates its 35th anniversary.
The one-woman, three-man group’s longevity is all the more impressive in light of the fact that, its music has yet to catch on with a broader audience.
Led by the husband-and-wife team of vocal powerhouse Lisa Kekula and guitarist Bob Vennum, the BellRays hail from Southern California, but their heart clearly resides in the music of Detroit circa 1969 and 1970.
This, after all, is a band that has sounded equally at home covering songs by The Temptations (“Ball of Confusion”) and proto-punk-rock pioneers MC5 (whose 2005 iteration included Kekula on vocals).
The BellRays’ own, proudly no-frills songs may not rise to that level, but few do. And when this band gets cooking on stage, its raw, high-octane songs create considerable combustion.
8:30 p.m. Thursday. The Casbah, Kettner Blvd., Miiddletown. $15 (you must be 21 or older to attend). casbahmusic.com
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