If you want to wash your blues away, then the place to be on Saturday is Balistreri Vineyards, 1946 E. 66^th Ave., for a KUVO “Signature Event” featuring guitarist Sammy Mayfield and his Blues Revue. Mayfield is not only a leading bluesman on the Denver scene and the host of the All Blues show on KUVO (89.3 FM), he is also frequently on the road as the musical director for singer Solomon Burke. The event starts at 6 p.m. and runs until 10 p.m. with food from a number of restaurants and wine from the Denver vineyards. ($55/$99 for two, 303-480-9272, ext. 12 or 13).

            Also on Saturday, the Crescent City comes to Red Rocks with the Mountainside Mardi Gras Music Festival featuring Dr. John and the Lower 911, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk and six additional New Orleans groups, including George Porter Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners. You might think of the event as Beignes on the Rocks and it starts at 1 p.m. Dr. John wraps it up starting at 9 p.m. ($48.50-$62.50, 866-464-2626 and at King Sooper stores). If his potent 2005 Blue Note CD with the Lower 911, Sippiana Hericane, is any indication, it should be a potent conclusion to a day of New Orleans sounds.

            Beyond the blues and the second-line groove, Chie Imaizumi is back from a trip to Japan and pays her monthly visit to Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, on Sunday at 7 p.m. ($12, 303-839-5100). Imaizumi’s music is magical and her small big band is always a treat. Two members of that band, trombonist Scott Crump and saxophonist Ricky Sweum, are also part the U.S. Air Force Academy Band’s the Falconaires. And on Sept. 11, the Falconaires will be in Denver, with Imaizumi as the big band’s special guest, for a free concert on 9^th St. Park on the Auraria campus. The 7 p.m. outdoor event, organized by Metro State College, is called Sharing the Freedom: A Concert of Remembrance and Hope after a composition the Falconaires commissioned from Imaizumi that they premiered together at the Monterey Jazz Festival. While there is seating, you can also bring a blanket and chairs.

            In addition to Imaizumi, Dazzle this week offers guitarist Sean McGowen tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. ($8), singer Carl Dixon on Friday at 7 and 9 p.m. ($12) and trumpeter Bob Montgomery’s BAM on Saturday at 7 and 9 p.m. ($14). The smooth-voice Dixon performs with his Jazz Kats made up of Rich Chiaraluce on saxophone, Billy Wallace on piano, Fred Fuller on bass and Ron Thomas on drums. Wallace, by the way, is also getting ready to celebrate his 80^th birthday and will be back at Dazzle with his birthday band on Aug. 23.

Along with trumpeter Montgomery, BAM features trombonist Al Hermann, singer Marguerite Juenemann, guitarist Dave Corbus, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Jill Fredericksen. The frontline of Bob, Al and Marguerite, of course, provide the group with its name.   

Back in February 1966, trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis launched a tradition in jazz by bringing their big band to the Village Vanguard every Monday night (the regular off-night in the music). There’s a new entry in the big-band, Monday-night sweepstakes called the Legacy Jazz Orchestra which swings into Herb’s, 2057 Larimer, from 7 until 10 p.m. each Monday.

When I caught the band, it focused on the music of Thad Jones with a number of soloists, including the superb pianist Eric Gunnison. Gunnison tries to make the Monday-night date whenever he can because, as he puts it, “This is the music I grew up with and I love playing it.”  Listening to him, there’s no doubt on that point.

There’s also no doubt that the visit by singer Dianne Reeves to the Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. in Arvada, on Aug. 13 is something you won’t want to miss. Reeves, who lives in Denver, has not only won four Grammy Awards®, but she is without question one of the most important voices on the jazz scene today. The outdoor event is at 7:30 p.m. ($15-$44, 720-898-7200). Her band has Peter Martin on piano, Reginald Veal on bass, Terreon Gully on drums and Peter Sprague on guitar. That’s a group worth hearing all on its own.  

Normanprovizer@aol.com