Out & About / Ventura County : classical / jazz : Heady Brew at the Grind : Coffeehouse is setting for daring players such as Two Bass Band.

Unlikely as it might seem to some outside observers, one of the West Coast’s more dependable sites for adventurous, avant-garde music--with absolutely no commercial potential but plenty to say artistically--is developing in downtown Ventura.

Call it a coffeehouse if you must, but the Daily Grind has also evolved into a semi-regular haven for musicians working on the fringes of various scenes, thanks to the efforts of folks like the Grind’s manager, Phil Taggart, and promoter Jeff Kaiser.

On Saturday night, for instance, you can catch--free of charge--an elite cadre of some of the finest free-thinking musicians from Los Angeles, led by none other than the visionary L.A.-based drummer Billy Mintz. It’s hard to come up with many regional drummers as flexible, whimsical and free-minded as Mintz, or as hard to fathom.

Mintz has been in Ventura several times recently, but tomorrow’s fare is something special: The Two Bass Band is a thick, smart bunch of players with ideas, a far cry from Hollywood slickness. As the band’s name promises, the ensemble is configured in Noah’s Ark fashion, with two bassists, Trey Henry and Gary Pratt, plus trombonists Bruce Fowler (ex-Frank Zappa and numerous other gigs) and George McMullen (currently a player and music director for Brian Setzer), trumpeters Dave Scott and Clay Jenkins, and saxophonists Kurt McKettrick, Rob Lockhart and Vinny Golia. It sounds like a must-hear-to-believe occasion.

On Sept. 10, the musical focus at the Grind turns northward and eastward. An intriguing trio of koto players--Brett Larner, currently living in Japan, Shoko Hikage of San Francisco and Bay Area-based Philip Gelb--emphasizes free improvisation over tradition, without leaving Japanese musical heritage behind.

Venturans have, in fact, heard left-of-center koto playing out of the Bay Area before, by Michiko Masaoka. She performed here as part of the Ventura Chamber Music Festival several years ago and again as part of the New West Symphony’s “Musics Alive” series in Thousand Oaks.

It’s something else again to hear the Gelb-Larner-Hikage Trio, whose first musical meeting was captured on the recently released album “Indistancing,” on the esoteric British Leo label. On the CD’s four longish tracks, the trio explores particular moods and modes, caught on the fly, with an appreciation for the fine points of space and gesture.

Japanese musicality, with its savoring of spaces and angularity, is tucked into the folds of its soundscape, even though the musical language belongs more to the realm of jazz and so-called “creative music” than any traditional Asian idiom.

No doubt, the Daily Grind show, part of a Southern California swing that includes a show at the China Arts Objects Gallery in Los Angeles the next night, will offer an extension of an ongoing experiment.

DETAILS

The Two Bass Band, Saturday, 9 p.m. at the Daily Grind, corner of Chestnut and Main streets in Ventura. Free; 641-1679. The Gelb-Larner-Hikage Trio, at the Daily Grind on Sept. 10 at 9 p.m. Call 641-1679.

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Harp Time: Harp buffs take note: Harpist Joanna Jordan, slated for her Carnegie Hall debut next June, will show up for a mixed-bag show, promising classical repertoire, jazz, rock and comic turns, at the Westlake Hyatt Plaza Hotel on Wednesday. The show is sponsored by the American Harp Society. The Toronto-based musician’s act will reportedly include Jordan’s comedic impersonation of the late, great Harpo Marx, so leave your poker face at the door.

DETAILS

Harpist Joanna Jordan, Wednesday, 8 p.m. at Westlake Hyatt Plaza Hotel, 880 Westlake Blvd., Westlake Village. Suggested donation is $8 for adults; $5 for seniors and students. (818) 707-1345.