Last year, to commemorate his 66th birthday, the jazzy guitar star put together a new group for his album “Combo 66.” He composed 12 pieces and enlisted musicians in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Scofield is touring with those players — pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Bill Stewart. (7 & 9 p.m. Wed., Dakota, Mpls., $30-$45) (Read Star Tribune Picks)
John Scofield’s Combo 66 @ Dakota
Jazz guitar virtuoso John Scofield is renowned for his eclecticism. He not only engages in jazz’s myriad permutations but also tackles material that originates in rock, country, pop, funk, and soul. He continued that methodology on 2018’s Combo 66, which coincides with his 66th birthday and features his regular drummer Bill Stewart plus bassist Vincent Archer and piano/organ ace Gerald Clayton. The quartet, working with simpatico grace, conjures agile grooves on Scofield originals, shifting among swing, bop, and fusion, adding twangy twitches to characteristically strong melodies. 7 & 9 p.m. Wed $30—$45. 1010 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis. More info here.—Rick Mason (Read City Pages’ Picks)
After a four-night run in New York’s famed Blue note club and a jaunt to Saskatoon, the vocalist extraordinaire Lisa Fischer returns to Minneapolis with her simpatico trio, Grand Baton, to deliver wonderfully imaginative, organic readings of hits by Led Zeppelin, Robert Palmer, Luther Vandross and the Rolling Stones, with whom she toured for 25 years as a backup singer. Oh, don’t forget her stunning Grammy-winning hit “How Can I Ease the Pain.” Always highly recommended (7 & 9:30 p.m. Thu., Dakota, $35-$65) (Read Star Tribune Picks)
The 2013 documentary “20 Feet From Stardom” made Fischer famous. It opened the door to her own career as an artist fronting her own excellent band. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a background singer for the Stones, but Fischer is so much more than that– as a singer of astonishing range, a brilliant interpreter of all kinds of songs, a huge talent and a woman of great charisma. If you’ve seen her, you know all this and you probably have your tickets already. 7 and 9:30 p.m. ($35-65). -Pamela Espeland (Read MinnPost Picks)