The music keeps on rolling this week with drummer Al Foster’s quartet and vibraphonist Stefon Harris’ group Blackout visiting, along with pianist Donald Brown and saxophonist Mel Martin.

            It all starts tonight when Harris and Blackout perform at the superb Mount Vernon Country Club jazz series this evening at 8 p.m. I’ve heard the 36-year-old Harris, who was born in Albany, New York, with Blackout at Mount Vernon before and he is definitely worth a little trip up I-70 to hear. While he’s played with numerous people including Max Roach and Bobby Watson, Harris has been recording under his name for more than a decade and, with as string of Blue Note CDs, he has clearly emerged as one of the leaders of the modern vibraphone pack.  

            Harris’ latest disc is Urbanus on Concord with Blackout that consists of Marc Cary on keyboards, Casey Benjamin on alto saxophone, Ben Williams on bass and Terreon Gully (who I caught last with singer Dianne Reeves) on drums. That’s the band that will be at Mount Vernon. Before the music starts at 8 p.m., there’s a buffet dinner that 6 p.m. ($45.95 the music with dinner/$16 the music alone, 303-526-0616).   

            Also tonight, pianist Brown is at Stetson’s Room in the Clarion Hotel in Greeley, 701 8^th St. Though born in Mississippi, Brown moved to Memphis at a young age and is frequently identified as one of the trio of talented modern pianists associated with that city (the others, of course, being James Williams, who was actually born in Memphis, and Mulgrew Miller, who went to Memphis State after growing up in Mississippi).

            Brown joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1981 (in between the Jazz Messenger days of Williams and Miller) but had to cut back on his playing due to arthritis. So, it’s a treat to have him performing as part of the University of Northern Colorado’s “Sunset Jazz Series.” Brown is in Greeley at 7 p.m. with Erik Applegate on bass and Jim White on drums ($10/$7 students/free for UNC students and staff).     

            Then, on Friday, drummer Foster roars into town for two nights at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, continuing the club’s amazing month of drummer madness. Born in 1944 in Virginia, Foster moved to New York as a child. He joined Hugh Masekela in 1960 and made his first appearance on record with trumpeter Blue Mitchell.

            Though much in demand, Foster decided against a life on the road for family reasons, declining offers to join, among others, “Cannonball” Adderley and Wes Montgomery. In 1972, the drummer hooked up with Miles Davis (who heard him at the Cellar in New York) and worked with the trumpeter from 1972 to 1975. When Miles returned to the scene at the start of the 1980s, Foster again was in the drum chair. I happened to catch the trumpeter’s return when the band, with Foster, played at the Kix club in Boston before a performance in New York. It was one of those nights you don’t forget.

            At Dazzle, Foster has a strong quartet that features Eli Degibri on saxophone, Adam Birnbaum on piano and Doug Weiss on bass. Degibri is part of the wave of Israeli jazz players who have had an impact on the American jazz scene. In 1997, Degibri was in Colorado as part of the Thelonious Monk Jazz Colony for students connected to Jazz Aspen Snowmass. And, before too long, he was working with Herbie Hancock. The sets at Dazzle on Friday and Saturday are at 7 and 9 p.m. ($25/$20 students for 9 p.m. shows, 303-839-5100).

            Also on Saturday, Bebop and Beyond saxophonist Martin performs at the Blue Sky Collective, 963 W. Colfax in Lakewood, with saxophonist Lynn Baker’s quartet (Jeff Jenkins, Mark Simon and Paul Romaine). The West Coast-based Martin was an artist in residence at DU’s Lamont School of Music during this past week and the doors at the Blue Sky open at 7 p.m. on Saturday ($10, 303-238-0959). On Sunday, Martin connects with pianist Art Lande at Johnny’s Cigar Bar, 1801 13^th St. in Boulder (303-449-0884).       

            On the vocal front, singer Teresa Carroll is at the Burnsley Hotel, 1000 Grant, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (303-830-1000) and vocalist Georgann Low is at Dazzle with a quintet on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ($10). Also, on Friday, crossover saxophonist Mindi Abair is at the Soiled Dove Underground, 7401 E. 1^st Ave., at 7 and 10 p.m. ($35-$40, 303-830-9214).

            Looking ahead, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s trio is at Dazzle on Oct. 22-23 at 7 and 9 p.m., pianist Marcus Roberts (who is in town with the Denver Young Artists Orchestra) performs at the King Center on the Auraria campus with his trio on Oct. 24 at 2:30 p.m. and singer Claudia Acuna is at the Mount Vernon Country Club on Oct. 28. 

            And, on a final note, when drummer Matt Wilson was in town this past week with his quartet, trumpeter Kirk Knuffke was with him. Knuffke, who now lives in Brooklyn, left Denver about four years ago and is now on the impressive list of Denver players making a name on the national scene. That’s always nice to see. 

Normanprovizer@aol.com