WEEKEND FORECAST

TODAY

Versatile sax man

New York City-based sax man Dave Liebman, a former associate of Miles Davis, Charles Lloyd, Elvin Jones and others, who is known for his prowess on both tenor and soprano, swings through L.A. Tonight, Liebman warms up with Yellowjackets’ keyboardist Russell Ferrante and bassist Jimmy Haslip, plus drummer Steve Hass and guitarist Jeff Richman at North Hollywood’s Baked Potato. Friday finds Liebman with bassist John Pena and percussionist Alex Acuna featured in a free concert with the Henry Mancini Institute Chamber Orchestra at Schoenberg Hall.

Dave Liebman, Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, North Hollywood. 9:30 and 11:30 tonight. $25. (818) 980-1615.

* Also, with the HMI Chamber Orchestra, Schoenberg Hall, UCLA, Westwood. 8 p.m. Friday. Free. (888) HMI-1903.

FRIDAY

Held for ransom

Writer-director Jonathan Jakubowicz sets his edgy thriller “Secuestro Express” amid the kidnapping-plagued upper classes of Caracas, Venezuela, where gangsters use hostages to try to turn a quick buck. Mia Maestro and Carlos Julio Molina play a young couple who are abducted after a night of partying and endure a horrifying few hours while waiting to see if their wealthy parents will pay the ransom. Ruben Blades costars.

“Secuestro Express,” rated R for strong violence, drug use, sexuality and language, opens Friday exclusively at the ArcLight, 6360 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 464-4226.

Passionate flamenco

Focused this year on “tradicion y familia,” the New World Flamenco Festival returns to the Irvine Barclay Theatre for 10 days of passionate Spanish music and dance. This weekend, Los Farruco showcases a dynasty of flamenco greats, including a hot 17-year-old prodigy. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a program titled “Y Una Batita de Cola” celebrates feminine grace, emphasizing how flamenco women manipulate the long train on their costumes. From Aug. 12 to 14, Compania Antonio El Pipa shows why one critic from Jerez de la Frontera (the cradle of flamenco in Spain) said that Pipa’s dancing “summons all the angels, all the devils.”

New World Flamenco Festival, Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. Los Farruco, 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. $36 to $42. (949) 854-4646 or www.thebarclay.org.

* “Y Una Batita de Cola,” 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

* Compania Antonio El Pipa, 8 p.m. Aug. 12 and 14. 6 p.m. Aug. 14.

SATURDAY

Composer’s journey

Mexican composer Carlos Chavez was largely self-taught before he entered the National Conservatory of Music, which might be why he always went his own way, even after he received a diploma in composition. Southwest Chamber Music is exploring that journey in a recorded survey of his complete chamber music. Three of four projected CDs have been released. The group plays Chavez’s Trio for Flute, Viola and Harp, arrangements of pieces by Debussy and Falla, on a program that also includes works by Debussy, Ravel, Jolivet and Ingolf Dahl.

Southwest Chamber Music, the Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. 7:30 p.m. Saturday. $25 (lawn seating); $38. (800) 726-7147. www.swmusic.org

* Also 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

SUNDAY

Follow that chariot

The 29th annual Festival of the Chariots will roll through Venice Beach on Sunday. This celebration of Indian culture features free food, Indian cultural exhibits, entertainment and children’s activities. Inspired by an Indian tradition thousands of years old, the festival was first performed in L.A. in 1976. A parade of colorful “chariots,” tall floats drawn by manpower, will depart from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium at 11 a.m. and arrive at the festival site, Venice Beach Ocean Front Walk Plaza, at 12:30 p.m. The festival is sponsored by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Festival of the Chariots; parade begins at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., and proceeds south on Main Street; turns right at Rose Avenue; turns left at Ocean Front Walk and arrives at Ocean Front Walk Plaza. Festival hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. (310) 836-2676. www.festivalofchariots.com

Laid-back reflections wash in

Competitive surfer turned singer-songwriter Jack Johnson has drifted up like a buoyant boogie board to the top levels of theater concert draws, luring his audience like an easygoing Pied Piper. Johnson’s latest album of laid-back reflections is “In Between Dreams,” but he’s been getting his airplay lately with his version of the Sublime’s “Badfish,” from the recently released tribute album to the Long Beach band.

Jack Johnson, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine. 7 p.m. Sunday. $23.50 to $40. (949) 855-8096.

* Also 7 p.m. Monday at the Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Canyon Road, L.A. $40.50. (323) 665-1927.

TUESDAY

Talking writing

Writers-at-Large presents “Writers of the Storm: Public Decency in the Age of Terror,” a panel discussion addressing the powerful and controversial roles of writers within the current political atmosphere and specifically, how contemporary ideas of decency affect the writer’s work. Former American Civil Liberties Union President Stephen F. Rohde will moderate. Panelists include writers Joseph Bosco, Paul Krassner, Deena Metzger, Jervey Tervalon and Cathrine Ann Jones. A 6:30 p.m. reception precedes the talk.

“Writers of the Storm: Public Decency in the Age of Terror,” Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. $30. (310) 477-2055, Ext. 2.