The New Mastersounds
It would be a victory if — 26 years after The New Mastersounds was formed in England — this veteran soul-jazz band was poised to celebrate a major artistic and commercial breakthrough after working largely under the radar for the past two-and-a-half decades.
Instead, the four-man group’s San Diego-bound TTFN concert trek is being billed as its “farewell to international touring” tour. (TTFN is an acronym for “Ta-Ta For Now.”)
It is unclear if that means the group will continue to play sporadic dates in Wales, the homeland of The New Mastersounds’ guitarist and founder Eddie Roberts. But since he now lives in Denver, and his bandmates reside in England and Spain, it appears like the end of the road is rapidly approaching for The New Mastersounds as an active unit.
Their legacy includes 21 albums and collaborations with everyone from Corrine Bailey Rae, Maceo Parker and Grace Potter to jazz sax great Lou Donaldson and New Orleans music mainstays Art Neville and George Porter, Jr.
In Roberts — who has also worked in a trio with former San Diego organ ace Robert Walter — The New Mastersounds boasts a nimble and tasteful guitarist. He is especially well-schooled in the supple six-string style of Grant Green, whose albums in the 1960s helped forge an enduring template for soul-jazz.
The New Mastersounds’ organist Joe Tatton, bassist Pete Shand and drummer Simon Allen provide Roberts with talented instrumental foils who can lay down one propulsive groove after another and share his penchant for crisp ensemble work.
While the group has long been regarded as a jam band, its music is thankfully free of the extended noodling too often endemic to the genre. What, if anything, the future holds for The New Mastersounds is impossible to say for sure. But the opportunity to hear them in concert one last time is a welcome one.
8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, Belly Up, 143 South Cedros Ave., Solana Beach. $30-$53 (must be 21 or older to attend). bellyup.com
Guitar and vocal dynamo Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, 26, is injecting new vitality into the blues. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, with Dylan Triplett
At 26, Mississippi native Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is one of the most electrifying blues-rock stars of his generation.
A sizzling guitarist and accomplished singer and songwriter, Kingfish has just launched his own record label, Red Zero, and recently released his new album, “Hard Road.” Its lead-off songs, “Voodoo Charm” and “Bad Like Me,” suggest the album could be his most accomplished to date.
Be sure to arrive early to hear the opening set by 25-year-old Dylan Triplett, an award-winning St. Louis blues singer.
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, North Park Observatory, 2891 University Ave., San Diego. $41.80. ticketmaster.com
The Kris Davis Trio will open the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library’s Jazz Fall Series on Wednesday, Oct. 29. (Athenaeum Music & Arts Library)
Kris Davis Trio
When Vancouver-bred pianist and band leader Kris Davis plays and composes, she draws from across the jazz spectrum, contemporary classical music, minimalism and more to create a striking synthesis.
In bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Jonathan Blake, she has an exceptionally forceful and agile rhythm section. Their musical chemistry is vividly showcased on “Run The Gauntlet,” the audacious 2024 album by The Kris Davis Trio on Pyroclastic Records. The label, founded by Davis, has also released albums by such similarly forward-looking artists as pianist Craig Taborn, guitarist Mary Halvorsen and San Diego bass innovator Mark Dresser.
Eleven songs strong, “Run The Gauntlet” is a tribute to six pianists and composers who have been especially inspirational to Davis — Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Marilyn Crispell, Angelica Sanchez, Sylvie Courvosier and Renee Rosnes. Their skill and sense of daring have been foundational for Davis, who simultaneously salutes their music and uses it as a vital launching pad for her own work.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29. Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. ljathenaeum.org/jazz
Also recommended
Friday, Oct. 24: Rocket From The Crypt, House of Blues
Friday, Oct. 24: Mitch Woods & His Rocket 88s, with special guest D.K. Harrell, Wyndham Bayside Hotel
Saturday,Oct. 25: Dionne Warwick, Pechanga Casino
Saturday, Oct. 25: Earthless, Belly Up
Sunday, Oct. 26: Tophouse, Belly Up
Tuesday, Oct. 28: Paige Fish, House of Blues Voodoo Room
Wednesday, Oct. 29: 54 Ultra, House of Blues Voodoo Room
Thursday Oct. 30: The Jonathan Cohen Trio, Room C-209, San Diego City College
Originally Published: October 23, 2025 at 6:00 AM PDT