Yes, Virginia, there are bars that are open Thanksgiving night. Skip to the Music Calendar for Alibi-verified entertainment. Whether you're out to toast your relatives or escape them is your call.

It’s hard for artists to explain where their music comes from or what they hope it achieves. Shara Worden does both with ease.

There’s nowhere to hide in a saxophone trio, and tenorist Donny McCaslin, with able assistance from bassist Han Glawischnig and drummer Jonathan Blake, never tries. In Recommended Tools, McCaslin exposes a stunning musicality and emotional buoyancy, blowing his heart out on nine originals and Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan.” He falters on only one cut, the ballad “Margins of Solitude,” where he does not take the singing freedom he’s earned. He earns every singing moment on every other track, though. On “The Champion,” bass and drums lay out for a while, but you may not realize it for a moment—McCaslin’s playing is just that riveting. (MM)

Spend Saturday, Nov. 29, with Our Years with Light, Dude Party, Dan Clucas Quartet, Milton Melvin Croissant III and dugoutcanoe at The Albuquerque Center for Peace & Justice (SE corner of Harvard and Silver). All-ages, $6. Get there by 8:30 p.m. or you’ll be a turkey. (LM)