Going North

* Jazz--Tenor saxophone great Charles Lloyd and his quartet will kick off the Lobero Jazz Series in Santa Barbara on Friday at 8 p.m. Lloyd’s career passed through decades of wave-like appearances and disappearances after his major jazz hit in the mid-’60s, “Forest Flower.” Times jazz critic Don Heckman recently said of Lloyd: “Despite the occasional absences, his live performances over the past year or so, especially when working with guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Billy Higgins, have been extraordinary.” The series will be held at Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. The rest of the schedule: Nov. 13, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock; Feb. 15, Billy Taylor Trio; April 13, Shirley Horn. Series tickets, $125 and $96. Call for single ticket availability. 963-0761.

* Theater--Seaside Theatre Company in Carpinteria will open Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” Friday. Show times: Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Through Nov. 5. $10 general, $7 seniors and students. The theater is at 5315 Foothill Road. 684-6380.

* Theater--Santa Barbara City College Theatre Group will open Moises Kaufman’s new play, “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde,” Friday at Garvin Theatre. The play chronicles Wilde’s precipitous descent from being the 19th century’s most celebrated English-language playwright to an object of almost universal scorn. Show times: Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Through Oct. 28. The theater is on the college’s West Campus, 800 block of Cliff Drive. $14-$16 general; discounts for seniors, students and groups. 965-5935.

* Cultural--Santa Barbara’s first African American Festival will be held this weekend at Oak Park. Highlights: ethnic food, cultural exhibits and activities, games, crafts and live entertainment. The singer Chaka Khan is scheduled to perform Sunday afternoon. Hours: Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The park is at Junipero Street and Calle Real. Free. 564-4487.

* Orchestra--Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will perform Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Lobero Theatre. Special guest pianist David Golub will join the orchestra for Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and Liszt’s Concerto for Piano No. 2 in A. The orchestra will also perform Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” and Strauss’ “Fledermaus Overture.” $30, $35. The theater is at 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. 963-0761.

* Buddhist--Korean Buddhist Monks, a touring ensemble of seven monks, will perform their “Sound of Ecstasy, the Nectar of Enlightenment” Tuesday at 8 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara’s Campbell Hall. The program will feature excerpts from “Young San Jae,” the largest of all Buddhist ceremonies, unique to Korea. The ensemble will present offerings of flowers, fragrances, music and sacred dance in honor of Buddha. $13-$19. 893-3096.