Santa Monica College's long-running Friday Night Jazz Series returns in October and November with two concerts, including a 40th-anniversary benefit featuring an all-star lineup.

The series opens Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. with the Marvin "Smitty" Smith Octet. Smith is a jazz drummer and composer who played in the Tonight Show with Jay Leno band for about 15 years, according to Santa Monica Next, which published the college's announcement. He has recorded 200 albums over a career spanning more than four decades. Smith has performed with Steve Coleman, the late Sonny Rollins, Dave Holland and Sting, among others. A Berklee College of Music graduate, he is also a founding member of the M-Base collective.

Tickets for the Oct. 16 show are $10 general admission plus a service charge. Students with any valid ID get in free.

The second concert, Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m., is a benefit titled "Some of My Best Musicians are Friends." The SMC Music Department described it as a celebration honoring the series' more-than-40-year history. The lineup includes Eric Scott Reed, Ralph Moore, Ira Nepus, Edwin Livingston, Smith, Gilbert Castellanos, Clay Jenkins and special surprise guests. The college said the evening will mix small-ensemble and big-band material before evolving into a jam session.

Benefit tickets are $30 general admission and $10 for students, plus a service charge.

Over the decades, the Friday Night Jazz Series has hosted musicians including John, Jeff and Gerald Clayton, Bob Mintzer, Peter Erskine, Justo Almario and Oscar Brashear.

Both concerts take place in the Music Hall at the SMC Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. at Santa Monica Boulevard. Tickets are available at smc.edu/tickets or at The Broad Stage Box Office starting 45 minutes before each show. Parking is free. Seating is first-come, first-served.

Brian Driscoll chairs the SMC Music Department, which also ran a three-concert spring jazz series in March, April and May at the same venue with the same $10 ticket price, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.

For more information, visit smc.edu/events.