Best jazz concerts of the week: McCoy Tyner at the Dakota, Charlie Parker-inspired saxophone by Rudresh Mahanthappa

Must-see maestro

The last couple of times I've seen McCoy Tyner perform, ill health has sapped some of the muscular phrasing and cavernous block chords that are part of his influential style. The last surviving member of the John Coltrane Quartet, Tyner remains a must-see maestro for his harmonic conception and unmistakable approach to the ivories. His band isn't too shabby, either. (7 and 9 p.m. Thu.-Fri., Dakota, Mpls.; $35-$45, dakotacooks.com)

Horns in flight

The mellifluous, rapid-fire phrasing delivered by Rudresh Mahanthappa on alto saxophone conjures comparisons with legendary bebop altoist Charlie "Bird" Parker. Mahanthappa's 2015 "Bird Calls" album underscored the connection by using Parker tunes for inspiration and deconstruction, earning Album of the Year honors from jazz critics at NPR. Formidable trumpeter Adam O'Farrill is the lone remnant of the "Bird Calls" quintet on hand, but drummer Dan Weiss, bassist Thomas Kneeland and pianist Joshua White are able replacements. (8 p.m. Sun, Vieux Carre, St. Paul; $35, vieux-carre.com)

Gentle homecoming

It's always a treat when drummer/composer (and native of New Richmond, Wis.) Matt Slocum returns to the Midwest with a new batch of harmonically inventive tunes. This time he also has a new band, with Slocum's first significant lineup changes since 2009. Guitarist Steve Cardenas and saxophonist Dayna Stephens are his highly-regarded recruits. And over two nights they'll play material that beckons the luminous, laid-back sensibility from Slocum's appropriately titled fourth album, "Trio Pacific, Vol. 1." (8 and 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat., Studio Z, St. Paul, $18-$20, studiozstpaul.com)

In memoriam

Steve Kenny's Saturday night series at the Black Dog looks especially attractive this week: Douglas R. Ewart will stage "Sonic and Movement Paradise" with his group Quasar. The concert involves poetry, dance, laptops, gongs and a passel of other strings, keys, horns and percussion. Ewart, a veteran of Chicago-based avant-jazz collective AACM, is dedicating the performance to John Coltrane and indomitable AACM composer Ann E. Ward, who died in July. (7 p.m. Sat., Black Dog, St. Paul; donations accepted, saturdaynightjazzattheblackdog.info)

BRITT ROBSON