Free Jazz

The Thing, the Scandinavian punk-jazz trio of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, has made its name by turning songs by the likes of Led Zeppelin, PJ Harvey, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs into acoustic jazz-rock, while also covering free-jazz pioneers such as Ornette Coleman. On these new releases, the trio abandons structure and plays free jazz with no framework whatsoever. The discs are drawn from concerts performed in Tokyo in 2007 and 2008, each with a different guest guitarist.

The Brad Ellenberg Quintet will perform a free concert of original jazz compositions and classic jazz standards at 2 p.m. in the Islington Community Center, 288 Washington St. The quintet features Gary Bohan on trumpet, Corey Lareau on saxophone, Michael Ball on bass, Grant Smith on drums, and Brad Ellenberg on guitar. Ellenberg, a Westwood resident, composed the original music for the performance. Samples of the songs can be heard at http://www.bradellenberg.com. - Michele Morgan Bolton

No matter how many twists and turns Umphrey's McGee takes into prog-rock, metal, trip-hop, and, occasionally, free jazz, the group will forever be saddled with the term "jam band. " That's a dirty little label that makes most fans bristle, inviting all sorts of cliches. Can't a glassy-eyed college dude rock a Grateful Dead T-shirt and dread-locks in peace anymore? Let's get this straight. Umphrey's McGee does like to jam, sometimes noodle, over languorous songs that build to a fever pitch and then suddenly disperse in a whole new direction.

The Thing, the Scandinavian punk-jazz trio of saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, has made its name by turning songs by the likes of Led Zeppelin, PJ Harvey, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs into acoustic jazz-rock, while also covering free-jazz pioneers such as Ornette Coleman. On these new releases, the trio abandons structure and plays free jazz with no framework whatsoever. The discs are drawn from concerts performed in Tokyo in 2007 and 2008, each with a different guest guitarist.

NEW YORK -- Ornette Coleman has always kept ahead of the curve, even as a teenager back in Fort Worth when he'd play hot jazz licks on the saxophone and get a scolding from his church band leader. Today, at 76, the jazz visionary is not slowing down to let others catch up, launching his own record label with his first disc of new music in nearly a decade -- the Grammy-nominated CD "Sound Grammar . " As a largely self-taught musician who dared to be different in the late 1940s and '50s, Coleman suffered worse indignities than even the most hapless "American Idol" contestant.

NEW YORK -- My friend and I came up the steps from the basement club elated. We had seen the 14-piece Mingus Big Band from just in front of the stage, where you can feel the bass and the baritone sax, and would almost think you could reach out and grab some of the notes the trumpets were shedding. It had rained while we were inside and the lights from Times Square reflected off the misty sky and Broadway's slick surface like a scene from a film noir. We said goodnight to the fashionable Tokyo couple who had been seated next to us, then set off into the buzz and shuffle of the...

The Brad Ellenberg Quintet will perform a free concert of original jazz compositions and classic jazz standards at 2 p.m. in the Islington Community Center, 288 Washington St. The quintet features Gary Bohan on trumpet, Corey Lareau on saxophone, Michael Ball on bass, Grant Smith on drums, and Brad Ellenberg on guitar. Ellenberg, a Westwood resident, composed the original music for the performance. Samples of the songs can be heard at http://www.bradellenberg.com. - Michele Morgan Bolton

NEW YORK - Rashied Ali, a free-jazz drummer who backed John Coltrane and accompanied him in a duet album in the final months of the jazz master’s life, has died. He was 76. The Philadelphia native died Wednesday in Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital of a blood clot in his lung, said his wife, Patricia. When Coltrane decided to use two drummers at a performance at the Village Gate in November 1965, he chose Mr. Ali to back up drummer Elvin Jones. Mr. Ali recorded with both men on the 1965 album “Meditations,’’ and accompanied Coltrane alone on the duet album “Interstellar...

Charlie Haden Family and Friends Rambling Boy (Decca) ESSENTIAL "Old Joe Clark" What's this, Charlie Haden's hoedown? Haden - the bassist who took part in Ornette Coleman's pioneering free-jazz recordings, has led his own landmark groups such as the Liberation Music Orchestra and Quartet West, and produced albums of quiet beauty with the likes of Pat Metheny - has done something entirely unpredictable. His new disc, "Rambling Boy," is a collection of country songs, bluegrass, Appalachian folk, and other traditional fare, recording them with members of his...

While Laika & the Cosmonauts enjoy the irony of boasting that they are Finland's number one surf band, they push their lushly layered soundscapes far beyond the limitations of any specific genre. Such sonic daring keeps their music fresh, even on "Local Warming," which is their sixth studio album written within the limited parameters of instrumental music flavored by retro guitars and keyboards. Their influences are boundless, as they slide between a slinky spy theme and uber-gooey '70s pop on "The Key Role" while "Rikki on the Loose" bursts with a joyous classic rock riff underpinned with a reedy...

No matter how many twists and turns Umphrey's McGee takes into prog-rock, metal, trip-hop, and, occasionally, free jazz, the group will forever be saddled with the term "jam band. " That's a dirty little label that makes most fans bristle, inviting all sorts of cliches. Can't a glassy-eyed college dude rock a Grateful Dead T-shirt and dread-locks in peace anymore? Let's get this straight. Umphrey's McGee does like to jam, sometimes noodle, over languorous songs that build to a fever pitch and then suddenly disperse in a whole new direction.

NEW YORK -- Ornette Coleman has always kept ahead of the curve, even as a teenager back in Fort Worth when he'd play hot jazz licks on the saxophone and get a scolding from his church band leader. Today, at 76, the jazz visionary is not slowing down to let others catch up, launching his own record label with his first disc of new music in nearly a decade -- the Grammy-nominated CD "Sound Grammar . " As a largely self-taught musician who dared to be different in the late 1940s and '50s, Coleman suffered worse indignities than even the most hapless "American Idol" contestant.

NEW YORK -- My friend and I came up the steps from the basement club elated. We had seen the 14-piece Mingus Big Band from just in front of the stage, where you can feel the bass and the baritone sax, and would almost think you could reach out and grab some of the notes the trumpets were shedding. It had rained while we were inside and the lights from Times Square reflected off the misty sky and Broadway's slick surface like a scene from a film noir. We said goodnight to the fashionable Tokyo couple who had been seated next to us, then set off into the buzz and shuffle of the...

For detailed directions and more information on the Coastal Wine Trail of Southeastern New England, go to coastalwinetrail.com. At each vineyard, tours are free and tastings are $5. Newport Vineyards 909 East Main Road (Route 128) Middletown, R.I. 401-848-5161 newportvineyards.com Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday noon-5. Tours daily at 1 and 3 . Greenvale Vineyards 582 Wapping Road Portsmouth, R.I. 401-847-3777 greenvale.com Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday noon-5.

Floored by Four is the avant-garde punk-jazz quartet of bass guitarist Mike Watt (who’s the leader here), guitarist Nels Cline, electronic musician Yuka Honda, and drummer Dougie Bowne. You know all these folks. Watt was in the Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Cline, a leading free-jazz guitarist, is now a member of Wilco. Honda, half of the duo Cibo Matto, has credits that range from Dave Douglas to the Beastie Boys. Bowne has worked with Iggy Pop and the Lounge Lizards. In other words, these four, together, can do just about anything.