We abide the Thanksgiving holiday week with many visitors and homecomings in Pittsburgh - and a visit with saxophonist Gary Bartz - performing at the New Hazlett Theater for the Kente Arts Alliance on Saturday, December 3rd.

Gary Bartz grew up in Baltimore, studied music in New York and even played quite a bit at the Crawford grill as a young musician in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. His career included work with Abby Lincoln and Max Roach, Charles Mingus (alongside Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner) and time with Art Blakey as a Jazz Messenger, plus Miles Davis and a veritable “who’s who” of modern jazz artists - and he won a couple of Grammy Awards along the way, too.

As Gary Bartz notes in our latest conversation, the NTU Troop “Blues Chronicles” is related to the early 1970’s project Andy Bey, Ron Carter and more but with a twist from his final project for Atlantic Records that included Russell Malone, Jon Hendricks, Cyrus Chestnut and more in the mid 1990’s.

We also listen to meaningful sounds from the latest release “Fade to Black” by composer and vocalist (and multi-instrumentalist) Carmen Lundy; Something beautiful from violinist Regina Carter - coming for the Uhuru Jazz Sessions at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center Wednesday December 14.

This is also the weekend of music, dance and more at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater with a celebration of the influence of the Pittsburgh Native Namesakes for the theater, Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn.

More musical homecomes this week, with guitarist Shawn Purcell in at Con Alma on Friday, Tony DePaolis on Saturday and much more in the jazz central calendar. Find out where and when at WZUM dot org!

The Scene - an hourlong radio show - Thursday night at 6, Friday and Saturday at noon, Sunday at 5 on WZUM