The saxophonist's new album is titled Still Casual, his fourth and a thrice-removed follow-up to his debut, Casually Introducing Walter Smith III. Smith is the epitome of casual-cool; anyone who has heard him in person knows they cannot be as cool as he is without trying too hard. But the easy fire out of his horn and the cyclical momentum of his compositions are impossible to casually absorb. It's a mere formality before Smith is casually mentioned in the same breath as other modern saxophone greats like Joshua Redman, Chris Potter and Mark Turner. Still Casual features jazz exemplars Taylor Eigsti (piano), Matt Stevens (guitar), Harish Raghavan (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums). Most of that band will be at the Blue Whale, with pianist Fabian Almazan and drummer Eric Harland as the overly capable subs. Also Saturday, Sept. 13.

Fri., Sept. 12, 9 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 13, 9 p.m., 2014
(Expired: 09/13/14)

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.