Forget “Rocktober.” In Seattle, one of the heaviest concert months of the year is all about jazz.

Running Oct. 7-25, the 38th annual Earshot Jazz Festival spikes local club calendars with an array of talent ranging from modern traditionalists to avant-garde genre-busters. For the full lineup of 30-plus shows, head to earshot.org. Here’s a sliver of the good stuff. (Note: Senior, student and military discount tickets are available for many shows.)

This year’s resident artist, Seattle saxophonist Sidney Hauser, helps kick things off with this dual concert and book release party for the second edition of “Jackson Street After Hours.” For the first time since it was published in 1993, former Seattle Times jazz writer, current Times freelancer and Earshot co-founder Paul de Barros has updated his essential book chronicling the city’s former jazz nexus where artists like Quincy Jones, Ray Charles and Ernestine Anderson once performed. Connecting the past to the present, the event is fittingly held at Hillman City’s Black & Tan Hall, which takes its name from one of the dozens of after-hours clubs that once lined Jackson Street in the Central District.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 9; Black & Tan Hall, 5608 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; $44; earshot.org/festival

With 2026 marking the centennial of John Coltrane’s birth, it’s been a big year of celebrating one of the greatest jazz musicians to ever grace the bandstand. Jazz dignitaries in their own right, Branford Marsalis and vocalist Dianne Reeves teamed up for the loving new tribute album “Dedicated to You,” reinterpreting six standards featured on ‘Trane’s 1963 live album with Johnny Hartman, plus a few other Coltrane ballads.

8 p.m. Oct. 10; Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle; $50-$130; earshot.org/festival

For what was billed as his first proper studio album in a dozen years, sax giant Gary Bartz reprised his spiritual jazz-funk ensemble NTU Troop with new players, inviting a number of jazz luminaries like Kamasi Washington and Seattle’s Kassa Overall to record a batch of R&B classics. “The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control” arrived in 2025, stuffed with songs from Curtis Mayfield, Earth, Wind & Fire and others that Bartz likes to play around the house. Bartz quickly followed it with this year’s “Where Rivers Meet,” a collaborative album with London collective Your Brother’s Keeper, and reportedly has another NTU Troop album slated for next year, marking a prolific run for the 86-year-old.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 11; Triple Door, 216 Union St., Seattle; $40-$50; thetripledoor.net

More than 25 years since Julian Lage played the Grammys as a 12-year-old, this onetime child prodigy has cemented himself as one of the top guitarists in contemporary jazz. The seven-time Grammy nominee assembled a formidable quartet (including John Medeski on keys) for this year’s “Scenes from Above,” which continues Lage’s streak of critically acclaimed albums.

8 p.m. Oct. 15; Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle; tickets start at $38; stgpresents.org

Pianist and producer Kiefer Shackelford has emerged as a leading figure in Los Angeles’ dreamy fusion scene, blending traditional jazz chops with hip-hop, loungey R&B and electronic textures in contemporary groove-riding sounds. After making his Blue Note debut this year with FATHERS — a supergroup with visionary drummer Nate Smith, Carrtoons and renowned hip-hop producer Kenny Beats — Kiefer released his first solo album with the storied label last month. Shibo opens.

7 p.m. Oct. 16; Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., Seattle; 21-and-older; $31; nectarlounge.com

This blossoming San Francisco-reared talent is part of a wave of young vibraphonists making their mark across the jazz landscape. After leveling up with 2022’s “Onyx” and last year’s tantalizing “Fantome” LP, Sasha Berliner looks poised to take another step when her new electric band Arts&Sciences makes its Concord Records debut next spring. Consider this Town Hall Forum gig a sneak peek. Sidney Hauser Quartet opens.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 22; Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., Seattle; $44; earshot.org/festival

The 2020s have been a creative period for this Seattle mainstay, from debuting his “Thin Skin” film in 2020 to his latest one-man show, “The Things Around Us,” with other musical projects in between. Now, the seasoned trumpeter and multidisciplinary artist celebrates his new album, “Where Time Does Not Ache,” with an all-star band featuring avant sax rascal Skerik and D’Vonne Lewis, Oluo’s former Industrial Revelation mate, on drums.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 23; Black & Tan Hall, 5608 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; $44; earshot.org/festival

Since decamping to Los Angeles several years ago, Seattle expat Bobby Granfelt has continued his pursuits with experimental jazz-rap fusions, running around the same scene that shaped Kiefer. The drummer/producer who first made his name with High Pulp and sunking is back home to mark the release of his sophomore solo album, “TACKYY” — a 20-track double album featuring genre-fluid saxophonist Sam Gendel and experimental rapper Pink Siifu, Granfelt’s new label boss. Stas THEE Boss and DERO perform DJ sets.

9:30 p.m. Oct. 23; Clock-Out Lounge, 4864 Beacon Ave. S., Seattle; 21-and-older; $23; clockoutlounge.com