Local fans of rock, r&b, hip-hop and pop might wonder why northeast Ohio seldom gets the big-name tours anymore. Point taken, but please forgive the region’s jazz fans for gloating a bit as two of the biggest names in their favorite genre aim high-profile tours right at Cleveland this week.
The Bad Plus at CMA
The Bad Plus has a bit of history with Cleveland and Gabe Pollack has a bit of history with The Bad Plus.
“I remember in high school going to Borders Bookstore and first listening to The Bad Plus because their album ‘These Are The Vistas’ was a staff pick,” he said. “For every ‘A’ that I earned on my report card my dad would buy me a CD and I remember that was one I picked.”
Give that man another “A.” Pollack, who has graduated to the Cleveland Museum of Art as director of performing arts, will present The Bad Plus one last time in Cleveland.
The long-running band is calling it quits and taking a victory lap on a 53-date tour of four continents. And though the current lineup of the band, with guitarist Ben Monder and Chris Speed on saxophones joining charter members bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King visited BOP STOP in February, 2025 (a concert I previewed here), the band goes back a ways with Cleveland—and with Pollack—to 2018.
“It was a big deal for me to land the band because I had to approach leadership of The Music Settlement to get the funds approved to cover the show expenses,” Pollack said. It was a big ask, but, he added, “they trusted me and allowed me to move forward. The show was a huge success and opened the door for me to book additional national headliners for the club. Because producing that show really shaped the artistic path of my tenure at BOP STOP, I really wanted to present them on their Farewell Tour so that I could thank them in person for how they have impacted my career.”
Fans of the influential–and sometimes controversial—quartet will have a chance to add their own expressions of gratitude Wednesday night at Gartner Auditorium.
The Bad Plus Wed., Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m., Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art, 11150 East Blvd. Cleveland, Tickets $26-59 available here.
Pat Metheny Side-Eye III+ at the Agora
Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye III+ concert at the Agora three days later will also mark an ending of sorts. It’s the penultimate date of a 23-city tour of the U.S. and Canada that began September 14.
With the notable exception of Song X, which is an all-time banger, Metheny’s music has always fallen a bit too easily on my ears. But who cares what I think? With 39 Grammy nominations and 20 wins, a Downbeat Hall of Fame plaque, and generations of players whom he has influenced, the Missouri-born guitarist’s place in the pantheon is secure.
He also leads great bands and to his credit, stocks them with some of the most exciting young players on the scene. To his Side-Eye project with core trio core mates Chris Fishman on piano and keyboards and Joe Dyson on drums, the guitarist has added bassist Jermaine Paul (heard here last September with pianist Paul Cornish) and vocalist and percussionist Leonard Patton.
The reviews I’ve seen have been near ecstatic and the ratio of guitar geeks to just plain fans in the audience is sure to be high—deservedly. Even at 72—and yes, that’s a current photo above—the man remains a touchstone of modern guitar technology, concept and style.
Do you have your tickets yet?
Pat Metheny Side-Eye III+ Sat., Oct. 10, 7 p.m., Agora Theatre, 5000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Tickets from $65.77 available here.
For the most complete listing of jazz and jazz-adjacent events., look to Jim Szabo’s essential, weekly Northeast Ohio jazz calendar.
