Jazz Refractions: Fremakajo + DoYeon Kim's Quartet

Two bands that sit well outside the standard jazz club set share one bill this Saturday at REDCAT, the black-box theater tucked inside Walt Disney Concert Hall. It is part of Jazz Refractions, the autumn series that keeps turning up unusual rooms around town, and it is a good pick if you are scanning for live music los angeles has on offer this weekend that you will not find anywhere else.

When: Saturday, October 17, 2026, 8 PM Where: REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., Los Angeles Price: Not listed on the source page; check the ticket link before you go

The lineup

The first act is Fremakajo, a quartet built around the composer and guitarist Fred Frith. Marié Abe plays accordion, Frith plays bass and viola, Jordan Glenn is on drums and percussion, and Kasey Knudsen handles saxophones. The group draws on Frith's long history writing songs and song forms, and the result sits somewhere between adventurous improvisation and dance music for dark times.

The second act is DoYeon Kim's Quartet. Kim plays the gayageum, the Korean zither with twelve silk strings, joined by Lauren Elizabeth Baba on viola, Miller Wren on bass and Alex Cline on drums. The program is centered on Wellspring and mixes original compositions with improvisation, bringing together gayageum, voice and ensemble. Kim's own description calls it a first greeting to the world and an exploration of human connection through sound.

What to expect

This is not background music. Expect two sets of mostly improvised, texture-forward playing, with a lot of room for quiet and for sudden turns. The instrumentation alone (accordion, viola, gayageum, saxophones) tells you the evening leans more toward chamber experiment than swing standards. If you have been looking for LA concerts that reward close listening, this one fits.

REDCAT is a small, intimate theater, so the sound is clear and the sightlines are good from nearly anywhere. That suits instruments like the gayageum, which carry plenty of detail at low volume.

Getting there

REDCAT sits on the corner of Second Street and Grand Avenue in Bunker Hill. The Metro B and D lines stop at Civic Center/Grand Park, a short walk away, and the Grand Avenue Arts station on the A, E and K lines is close too. Parking is available in the Walt Disney Concert Hall garage and several nearby lots, though event nights fill up, so arrive early.

Because the lobby and the performance space are close together, it is easy to pair the show with dinner in Little Tokyo or a stroll through Grand Park beforehand. Browse our concerts page for more shows this month, or see what else is happening downtown.