Top San Diego concerts

The Jazz Lounge Third Anniversary Weekend

Paul Simon and Pat Metheny have not performed at The Jazz Lounge, the intimate San Diego music venue that celebrates its third anniversary this weekend with two talent-packed concerts. But their presence has been felt at the all-ages club.

Simon has traded emails with award-winning vocalist Leonard Patton, The Jazz Lounge’s founder/owner, to suggest songs for Patton’s annual Paul Simon tribute concerts. And Metheny, whose music Patton has also performed annually at The Jazz Lounge, is such an ardent admirer that he had the versatile singer-songwriter join him for a 2022 Orange County concert that also featured San Diego guitar great Peter Sprague.

So, don’t be surprised if Patton and Sprague include a Metheny favorite or two when they perform Saturday on the second night of the venue’s third anniversary weekend concerts. It will be preceded by tonight’s show by a band co-led by Patton and ex-San Diego trumpet dynamo Curtis Taylor.

As for Simon, his music will be saluted at a pair of July 30 Jazz Lounge concerts at which Patton will celebrate the release of the first album by his Paul Simon Project group.

“I like the way you play,” Simon wrote to Patton. “A lot.”

All told, the Jazz Lounge will host 21 concerts in July. They include a July 16-20 residency by the superb pianist and composer Joshua White, a former San Diegan.

Other likely highlights include a July 16 gig by Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sara Gazarek and two July 24 shows saluting the pioneering jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross that will team Patton with Maggie Roberston and Santino Sgambelluri.

And there’s more.

From 8 a.m. Aug. 7 to midnight Aug. 11, The Jazz Lounge will host dozens of artists as Patton tries for a new Guinness World Records mark in the Longest Acoustic Livestream category.

The current record, set in London in February, is 26 hours, 18 minutes and 57 seconds. The Jazz Lounge is shooting for 100 hours.

“If you’re going to break a record, really go for it,” said Patton, who in 2017 set a Guinness Record when he and his band performed in 70 San Diego County venues in 24 hours.

The Jazz Lounge Third Anniversary Weekend, with Leonard Patton & Curtis Taylor, 6:15 p.m. today, and Leonard Patton & Peter Sprague, 6:15 p.m. Saturday. The Jazz Lounge, 6618 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego. $65 with dinner, $40 without. thejazzlounge.live

Harry Connick Jr.

Triple Grammy Award-winner Harry Connick Jr. and his band will perform at The Shell following a three-night stand at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Since the New Orleans native’s performance here will be orchestra-free, expect a more swinging and freewheeling affair. And to see him in a very different light, you can catch the debonair jazz, big band, Dixieland and pop crooner and pianist playing a brooding, tattooed rock star in “Find Me Falling,” the new rom-com film he stars in, which debuts July 19 on Netflix.

7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Shell, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $46-$225. theshell.org

The Aristocrats

Dazzling musicianship, pinpoint dynamic control and quirky humor have long been the hallmarks of The Aristocrats, whose concerts often inspire smiles and awe.

Featuring English guitarist Guthrie Govan, American bassist Bryan Beller and German drum wiz Marco Minnemann, this rock-and-way-beyond power trio achieves musical velocity and nuance in equal measure.

Their latest release, “Duck,” is a concept album about “a web-footed Antarctic Island native fleeing a penguin policeman all the way to New York City.” The fact that The Aristocrats are an all-instrumental band makes this concept even more intriguing.

7 p.m. Thursday. Ramona Mainstage, 626 Main Street, Ramona. $28. (760) 789-7008, ramonamainstage.com