$7. 7pm Balkan dance lesson. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com
8pm, Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo
1st Set
Jim Ryan solo
Scott R. Looney solo
Rent Romus / C.J. Borosque duo
Tim Orr / Eric Marshall duo
2nd Set
Forward Energy
C.J. Borosque - trumpet
Jim Ryan - reeds
Rent Romus - reeds
Scott Looney - piano
Eric Marshall - bass
Timothy Orr - drums
Forward Energy was founded in 1998 and had it's first gig at Radio Valencia in San Francisco that year. The group has gone through several incarnations employing top Bay Area musicians including: Eddie Gale of Cecil Taylor's Unit Structures fame, Alicia Mangan an extraordinarily advanced tenor player, and Scott R. Looney. Forward Energy has played up and down the West Coast as well as in the Midwest and New York City. The current formation has played monthly throughout 2011 in various venues, not so much in 2012. It includes founder Jim Ryan (who played on Steve Lacy's weekly jam sessions in Paris during the early 70's) on flute, saxes, and trumpet, and original member Scott R. Looney on piano. Scott received his BA in music from Coe College, Iowa and an MFA from Cal Arts. He has been a pillar of the experimental music community since the late 90's. The group also includes Rent Romus on alto, soprano, and c-melody saxes. He studied with Stan Getz and is a power both on his horn and as an organizer and promoter of the Bay Area experimental music community.
8pm to 10pm, 2133 University
$16.50 advance / $18.50 at door. 644-2020. www.thefreight.org
8pm, Freight and Salvage Coffee House, 2020 Addison