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Jazz picks: Tigran Hamasyan, Chris Speed and Regina Carter come to LA

Pianist Tigran Hamasyan with vocalist Areni Agbabian onstage at the Angel City Jazz Festival in 2011.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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A selection of jazz and jazz-adjacent shows head for Los Angeles in the coming days.

Regina Carter at the Jazz Bakery

Jazz violin isn’t a crowded field, but Regina Carter remains a standout regardless. After exploring African music with the critically acclaimed “Reverse Thread” in 2010, Carter turns toward her roots in Americana and folk on her latest album, “Southern Comfort,” and the results are just as arresting.

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Mingling swift, sawing runs with guitar and accordion, Carter delivers fresh takes on rootsy classics including “Hickory Wind,” “Honky Tonkin’” and a funky, electronics-dusted “Trampin’.” The Jazz Bakery at Zipper Concert Hall, Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Sat., 8:30 p.m. $35 https://www.jazzbakery.org.

Chris Speed, Chris Tordini and Dave King at the Blue Whale

A nimble, hard-charging saxophonist who can be heard with a full roster of forward-thinking jazz royalty that includes Dave Douglas, Jim Black and the groups Claudia Quintet and the deft quartet Endangered Blood, Brooklyn-based artist Chris Speed celebrates the release of his latest recording, “Really OK.”

Backed by bassist Chris Tordini and the Bad Plus’ Dave King on drums, Speed offers a selection of richly thoughtful music, including a gracefully off-center deconstruction of “All of Me.” The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S. Onizuka St., Ste. 301, L.A. Sat., 9 p.m. $15 https://www.bluewhalemusic.com.

Tigran Hamsayan at the Alex Theater

Winner of the Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano competition in 2006, Tigran Hamasyan melds the rich improvisational tradition of jazz with the sound and structures of the Armenian folk music of his youth. The fiery and free-wheeling combination was a show-stopper at the 2011 Angel City Jazz Festival, and here Hamasyan performs from his latest album, “Shadow Theater,” which further stretches his already expansive palette with strings, lush vocals by Areni Agbabian and textures reminiscent of modern rock. Alex Theater, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Tue., 8 p.m., $30-$50. www.alextheatre.org.

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Twitter: @chrisbarton

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