Garage A Trois

Fri., Aug. 15, 9 p.m., $15, North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 215-787-0488, northstarbar.com.

by Shaun Brady

Jazz/Rock

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Once upon a time, the name Garage A Trois actually applied to the band that holds it. The group formed as a trio in 1999, bringing together eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, drummer Stanton Moore and saxophonist Skerik in a sort of jam-jazz supergroup. The "Trois" became moot three years later with the addition of vibraphonist Mike Dillon, and the unit became a little reminiscent of a garage rock band when Hunter left last year. But after gigging as a makeshift unit with a variety of friends filling in the titularly unnecessary fourth slot, Garage A Trois recently named keyboardist Marco Benevento as a permanent member and are in the midst of putting together a new album. Misnomer or not, it was perhaps inevitable that a group that plays this fast and loose with both jazz and rock conventions should prove unable to sustain any single identity for very long.

Fri., Aug. 15, 9 p.m., $15, North Star Bar, 2639 Poplar St., 215-787-0488, northstarbar.com.