Jazz is the only purely American music and the one genre that has embraced elements of all musical forms. This is why it is always exciting to find young artists who push the boundaries to create their own unique style, and Kareem Kandi is one musician who does just that. The Tacoma-based sax player performs a style of jazz that incorporates blues, funk and rock. Kandi, who lists his influences from such renowned jazz greats as Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane, plays in a free-style manner that sounds improvised. Even though Kandi is the leader, the rest of the band is encouraged to take solos, and each band member is an intricate part of the overall outcome of each and ever tune they play. The Kareem Kandi Band performs classic standards, but it's their original material that has won them accolades from jazz enthusiasts throughout the Northwest (including multiple "Best of Tacoma" awards over the years from the Volcano and Volcano readers). 

[Uncle Thurm’s Finger Lickin’ Chicken and Ribs, 8 p.m., no cover, 3709 South G St., Tacoma, 253.475.1881]