The jazz scene: Channeling Nina Simone, and many more

It boggles the mind to think that the late dance band leader Glenn Miller and the late, purported extra-terrestrial band leader/innovator Sun Ra have something in common, but they do. Though Miller died in 1945 and Sun Ra passed in 1993, bands carrying their names — “ghost bands,” as they are called in the trade — continue to carry on, and both are among the busiest and most popular big bands touring today. The Ra Arkestra, as it is called, now under the leadership of long-time Ra collaborator Marshall Allen, will appear at Johnny Brenda's on Halloween (appropriate timing, given the Arkestra’s wild costuming) for a 9pm show (according to Johnny Brenda’s, it’s already sold out).

The Miller aggregation is still popular enough to have several “franchises” around the world, and plays some 300 dates per year. The current stateside crew is led by vocalist Nick Hilscher, associated with the band since 1998. The “World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra,” as it is billed, will perform at the Sellersville Theater for a 1:30pm matinee on Saturday, October 29 (also already sold out, according to the website).

Jazz at Woodmere and the Annenberg

The late, legendary, innovative, and fiery jazz vocalist Nina Simone, recently the subject of a controversial and not particularly well-received Hollywood biopic, is still very much in the memory of those who love jazz singing. Our region’s Suzanne Burgess does a fine job of channeling Simone, and she will appear, with bassist Warren Oree, in a program called Nina Simone: High Priestess of Soul, presented as a part of the Friday night jazz series at Chestnut Hill’s Woodmere Art Museum, on October 7 at 6pm.

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who began his career working with legends like Lionel Hampton and Art Blakey, is one of the most swinging hard bop players on the scene today. Blanchard will bring his cutting-edge and funk-focused E-Collective to the Annenberg Center on Friday, October 21, for an 8pm show.

Jazz Bridge and Larry Carlton

Jazz Bridge, this area’s non-profit devoted to assisting jazz and blues singers and instrumentalists in crisis, has announced its lineup for season number 13. The concert season, which will begin on October 5, will present performances on five area stages in Philadelphia and New Jersey, and feature this area’s finest singers and players, including pianist Dave Posmontier, Latin percussionist Edgardo Cintron, veteran saxophonists Bootsie Barnes and Larry McKenna, swinging drummer Sherrie Maricle, guitarist Sonny Troy, and World Music maven Phyllis Chapell. The full calendar is available online.

Award-winning guitarist Larry Carlton has had a long career in jazz, fusion, and as a session musician and record producer. Carlton will make a rare visit to this area on November 2 at the Broadway Theatre in Pittman, NJ for an 8pm show.