JOHN COLTRANE MEMORIAL CONCERT | October 22 | One of the signature events of the fall, the John Coltrane Memorial Concert this year presents a double celebration of sorts. Aside from remembering Coltrane's birth (85 years ago September 23), they'll also be honoring one of the cornerstones of Boston's music-radio scene, José Massó, whose Con Salsa on WBUR has been bringing Afro-Latin music to Boston audiences for 36 years. Fittingly, the JCMC will be exploring Coltrane's music "in contemporary interpretations illustrating influences from Afro-Caribbean music cultures." The 13-piece ensemble for this 34th edition of the JCMC will include Leonard Brown, Jeff Galindo, Jason Palmer, Bill Pierce, Stan Strickland, and Gary Valente. | Blackman Theatre, Northeastern University, Boston | 7:30 pm | $25 | 617.373.4700 or www.jcmc.neu.edu
RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA | November 3 | Manhanthappa's reverse engineering of his Indo-American heritage (going back to Indian classical music after absorbing the Afro-American jazz tradition) is only one element that has distinguished his growing prominence over the last few years. The other is his breathtaking sound and inventiveness as an alto saxophonist. Though usually acoustic, he comes to the Regattabar this time with an electric band — guitarist David Gilmore, bassist Rich Brown, drummer Damion Reed, and Mahanthappa playing laptop in addition to sax. | Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 7:30 pm | $20 | 617.395.7757 or regattabarjazz.com
PONCHO SANCHEZ WITH TERENCE BLANCHARD | November 6 | You could say that the big bang ignited by the fusion of Afro-Cuban music and jazz began in earnest at Carnegie Hall in 1947, when the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and percussionist Chano Pozo played composer George Russell's Cubano Be/Cubano Bop. Mexican-American percussionist Poncho Sanchez and his band celebrate that union with New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard. | Berklee Performance Center | 136 Mass Ave, Boston | 7 pm | $40-$54 | 617.482.6661 or celebrityseries.org
JOE LOVANO AND DAVE DOUGLAS | November 29-30 | Speaking of player-conceptualizers, two of the heaviest join forces for Thanksgiving weekend. Lovano and Douglas have been on the forefront of players, composers, and bandleaders for the past two decades. They've worked together most recently in the SF Jazz Collective — specifically to play Douglas's long-form big-band piece, Letter from America. | Scullers, DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel, 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston | 8 pm + 10 pm | $25 | 671.562.4111 or scullersjazz.com
VIJAY IYER AND MIGUEL ZENÓN | December 9 | Pianist Iyer and alto saxophonist Zenón have been exploring separate streams of jazz — Iyer in the deep currents of modernism and the avant-garde and extending into explorations of Indian classical music (with, among other, Rudresh Mahanthappa), post-bop adept Zenón digging into the folk musics of his native Puerto Rico. Who knows what this new fusion will bring? | Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass Ave, Boston | 8 pm | $40-$50 | 617.482.6661 or celebrityseries.org
For more, check out our concert listings.