The Jazz Scene: Herbie Hancock, The Bad Plus, Erykah Badu, and more come to town

When we think of entertainment at Pennsylvania casinos, jazz is the last thing that comes to mind. A good majority of the attractions at such venues are rock cover bands and tribute shows, like Creedence Clearwater Revisited. A refreshing exception to the cheesy norm is one of the great keyboard artists in jazz history, Herbie Hancock, who visits Bensalem’s Xcite Center at Parx Casino on Friday, February 8, at 8pm.

The Bad Plus, a jazz trio from Minneapolis consisting of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Orrin Evans, and drummer Dave King, has been seamlessly combining elements of pop music with avant-garde jazz since first coming onto the scene some 19 years ago. Because of Bad’s energy and rare ability to project and entertain, the band has managed to reach both jazz aficionados and those who may not have cared for jazz before. It was quite a piece of news when Evans, Philadelphia’s own great jazz pianist, took over Bad’s keyboard chair from Ethan Iverson last year. The "new" Bad Plus will concertize at 8pm on Saturday, February 9, at the Kimmel Center.

Trumpeter Warren Vaché, now 67 years old, has been ignoring jazz trends all of his career, which began on record in 1981 when he first recorded for Concord Jazz as a leader with the jazz trio of pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Alan Dawson. Though Vaché was well aware of Coltrane, Miles, Freddie Hubbard, and the modernists, his heart was in mainstream swing à la Bobby Hackett, Ruby Braff, and naturally, Louis Armstrong. Vaché has had a modestly successful, fad-free career, and continues to happily go his own, swinging way. He rarely visits these parts, but he’ll be here on Thursday, February 14 — in tandem with pianist Tardo Hammer and bassist Earl Sauls — at the Temple University Performing Arts Center at 4:30pm.

Singer/songwriter Erykah Badu has sold a load of records, and she’s not without jazz influences. As a youngster, she worked alongside the late and legendary jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and more than one respected music writer has compared her sound and style to Billie Holiday. The reality is that Badu is tough to pigeonhole, as she effectively utilizes elements of soul, funk, hip-hop, and jazz to form what can best be described as "experimental R&B." Whatever she’s doing is working, and Badu will hit the stage of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, February 16, at 8pm.

Philadelphia has more than its share of fine open-mic jam sessions, most of them open to instrumentalists and singers of all ages and jazz styles. Among the newer sessions are the Monday-night confabs at Square on Square restaurant (1905 Chestnut Street) under the baton of bassist Bruce Kaminsky and various guest-starring guitar players. Longer-running ones are the Tuesday night jams at SOUTH (600 North Broad Street), and the Tuesday nights at Manayunk Brewing Company (4120 Main St). One of the most popular of the Philadelphia jam sessions, Monday nights at Chris’ Jazz Café, has just started again and is hosted by reedman Sam Greenfield beginning at 8pm. These get-togethers are extraordinary for both players and participants, and jazz students from neighboring music schools are frequent visitors to the stage. Hearing these youngsters at work is ample evidence that the future for jazz here is bright and swinging.