NELS CLINE 4 at Le Poisson Rouge (Aug. 20, 8 p.m.). Nels Cline and Julian Lage are two omnivorous guitar players with ideas about linking the jazz tradition with American rock and folk. But they go about it differently: Cline is a pedals whiz, using electronics and effects to multiply the possibilities of his ax, whereas Lage sticks to a relatively traditional style, dazzling you more directly. In the Nels Cline 4, they lean toward the latter approach — despite the name at the top of the marquee, and even though the group’s angular original music has Cline’s identity written all over it. The band is rounded out by the bassist Jorge Roeder and the drummer Tom Rainey.

212-505-3474, lpr.com

AZAR LAWRENCE EXPERIENCE at Jazz Standard (Aug. 15-18, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). Lawrence’s long career has largely played out in the shadow of John Coltrane — and he seems to have no problem with that. Lawrence burst onto the jazz scene in the 1970s, after Coltrane’s death at age 40 had left both a spiritual and a stylistic void. Particularly in his work with McCoy Tyner, Coltrane’s former pianist, Lawrence proved himself a worthy carrier of the mantle, playing the tenor saxophone in an alabaster tone and springing from melodic runs to scorching cries — as if to unite the various periods of Coltrane’s career. This weekend Lawrence leads a septet featuring Theo Saunders on keyboards, Brian Swartz on trumpet, Julian Coryell on guitar, Edwin Livingston on bass, Yayo Morales on drums and Babatunde Lea on percussion.

212-576-2232, jazzstandard.com

JOHNNY O’NEAL TRIO at Smoke (Aug. 16-17, 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m.). A dizzyingly talented pianist with equal doses of stride and bebop in his playing, O’Neal has much in common with Oscar Peterson, the famed piano player who in the 1950s and ’60s was seen as Art Tatum’s heir apparent. (O’Neal, in turn, portrayed Tatum in “Ray,” the blockbuster 2004 film.) This weekend O’Neal will play music from Peterson’s repertoire, celebrating what would have been his 94th birthday. O’Neal will be joined by the bassist Peter Washington and the drummer Lewis Nash.

212-864-6662, smokejazz.com

MATANA ROBERTS at the Stone (Aug. 21-24, 8:30 p.m.). This alto saxophonist and multimedia artist has a deep, integrative way of pulling audiences into her head space, and into her explorations of American history and culture. Her shows often involve some mix of storytelling, free improvising and audience participation. This coming week at the Stone, for four days in a row, she will team up with a different duet partner each night; in this format, it’s likely (though not guaranteed) that she will largely stick to saxophone. She will perform with the drummer Gerald Cleaver on Wednesday, the guitarist Ava Mendoza on Thursday, the guitarist Liberty Ellman on Aug. 23, and the pianist Vijay Iyer on Aug. 24.

thestonenyc.com

MARK SHIM TRIO at Bar Bayeux (Aug. 21, 8 p.m.). If you were a jazz fan who climbed into a time capsule in the late 1990s and popped out today, one of the first questions you’d ask might be “Where’s Shim?” For those watching closely, this tenor saxophonist — who plays with a wary tone and folds bubbling rhythms into his molten improvisational flow — appeared poised for an illustrious career as a bandleader. But it never fully took off. Nowadays you usually find him in bands led by other established musicians, like Vijay Iyer or Justin Brown. Earlier this year, he was featured along with the drummer Damion Reid on “Ganymede,” the latest record by the bassist Matt Brewer. At Bar Bayeux, the same personnel will perform, but this time under Shim’s leadership.

347-533-7845, barbayeux.com

KALIA VANDEVER at the Jazz Gallery (Aug. 17, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). Slow and viscous, the original music on “In Bloom,” this young trombonist’s debut recording, moves with an unhurried, sighing attitude. She writes melodies with long, held notes, and her songs usually linger between slow and mid-tempo. The idea, it seems, is to dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there. Vandever will play music from “In Bloom,” which came out in the spring, with the band from the album: Theo Walentiny on piano, Lee Meadvin on guitar, Nick Dunston on bass and Connor Parks on drums.

646-494-3625, jazzgallery.nyc

GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO

Editor’s Pick

SLOPPY JANE at the Glove (Aug. 16, 8:30 p.m.) and at Baby’s All Right (Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m.). The materfamilias of this cacophonous clan and the 21st century’s answer to Captain Beefheart, Haley Dahl, just wants what we all want: for her band to record their next album in a cave in West Virginia. For the right price, she’ll even eat her favorite suit to fund the endeavor. This weekend, you’ll have not one but two opportunities to pay for them to play and buy some merch while you’re at it, thus helping them inch closer toward this pteropine dream. On Friday, not only can you bask in Sloppy Jane’s wonderfully warped world, you can enjoy the delightfully dimented ramblings of Sugarlife and get the chance to say goodbye to the Glove, an experimental art space in Bushwick, Brooklyn, that is closing its doors on Sept. 1. On Saturday, Sloppy Jane will share a bill with the Muckers, who churn out grooves as sparkly as the silver platform boot that graces the cover of their debut EP, “It’s Better Without You.”

theglove.nyc

718-599-5800, babysallright.com

DANIELLE DOWLING