Blue Whales

One of Earth's largest creatures penetrates the surface amid a massive cloud of krill, its gaping mouth opening as if hinged, devouring a huge swallow of chowder. The tiny red crustaceans don't stand a chance. They're gone in a whooshing gulp that leaves passengers aboard the Condor Express spellbound. "This is unbelievable," said Ian Lloyd, 54, a visitor from London who was aboard with his wife and daughter. "I read when I was a little boy that blue whales were virtually extinct and now, 40 years later, here they are."

JAZZ Not content to simply be one of the driving forces behind the L.A. indie-jazz combo Kneebody as well as leader of his own ensemble with the knotty recent recording, "Frame," saxophonist Ben Wendel thinks small with this duo appearance with pianist Dan Tepfer. The New York-based Tepfer, who spent time paired with Lee Konitz, should be a fine foil for Wendel's genre-blind tastes given Tepfer's 2010 album "Five Pedals Deep" and last year's ambitious reworking of Bach's "Goldberg Variations.

Blue whales have changed their songs. It's the same old tune, but the pitch of the blues is mysteriously lower -- especially off the coast of California where, local researchers say, the whales' voices have dropped by more than half an octave since the 1960s. No one knows why. But one conjecture is that more baritone whales indicate healthier populations: The whales may be less shrill because they're less scarce and don't have to pipe up to be heard by neighbors. The discovery was accidental.

Music Led by Pakistani-born guitarist Abbasi, the Rez Abbasi Group is a band of heavy-hitting improvisers that includes New York City saxophonist David Binney attests to the global, genre-blind reach of jazz. The group's 2011 album "Sono Sono" was partly inspired by Pakistani Qawwali music, but the end result sounds equally informed by hard-edged fusion and even dashes of prog rock with ample room in between for Abbasi and company to cross borders of their own. The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S. Onizuka St., Suite 301. 9 p.m. Thurs.

[ BALAENOPTERA MUSCULUS ] It was someone's small joke to give the planet's largest organism the scientific name "musculus," meaning little mouse. Perhaps no other word could convey the immense proportions of an animal that grows to more than 100 feet -- longer than a jumbo jet, with a heart the size of a Hyundai -- and that requires up to four tons of food per day.

The waters near the nation's largest port complex have become a bustling feeding ground for increasing numbers of blue whales, putting the endangered animals at greater risk of being hit and killed by the enormous ships moving in and out of the harbor, according to researchers who've been tracking them for nearly two years. The whales, which migrate along the coast of California and are regularly spotted from May to December, are congregating in such numbers in the midst of this virtual freeway of ship traffic that the spot has become "the area of densest concentration close to shore in all of California," said research scientist John Calambokidis.

Unusually large numbers of blue whales dining off the Southern California coast are providing marine mammal enthusiasts a rare opportunity to see Earth's largest creatures lolling in the waves and spouting misty plumes. On Thursday, 77 amateur whale watchers on an excursion boat operated by the Aquarium of the Pacific and Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach spotted six blue whales and two fin whales in less than three hours. "Dead ahead!" a woman yelled as a massive blue whale emerged under a spout 15 feet high and then arced slowly back into the water.

"Everything is upside-down today," Jeremy told his dad. They were in the car, traveling along the San Diego Freeway. "It is?" Dad asked. "Sure. Didn't you know? Clouds floated down during the night. Our car is bumping along on their tops. And look Dad, sparkling swimming pools have jumped into the sky." Dad glanced at the bright blue sky. "Hey, you're not kidding. What a gorgeous sight. It looks tempting enough for a cool swim." Jeremy whistled, "Hey, there's a whale in the sky." "Where?"

Federal scientists have sighted a rare mammal in Alaska waters: the endangered blue whale. Sightings by researchers on board a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel means the blue whale population may be getting healthier and expanding back to traditional territories. "It's been 30 years since we had a confirmed sighting up here," Jay Barlow, chief scientist on board the McArthur II, said Friday from Kodiak. Most recent estimates show about 12,000 blue whales worldwide.

Rare sightings of blue whales -- believed to be the largest animals ever to have lived on Earth -- have been made this week a few miles off Long Beach. "There's only one whale that big, and that's a blue," Dan Salas, captain of the Christopher, a sightseeing boat based in Long Beach, said Friday. "I've been in this business 25 years, and that's what we saw today." Friday's sightings were made in the San Pedro Channel, a few miles off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

MUSIC New York City-based vocalist Kate McGarry celebrates the release of her album "Girl Talk," a tribute to the singer's "beloved jazz singer-mothers" that includes nods toward Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan and Carmen McRae. Adding to the album's distinctively contemporary spark are underlying nods toward the sexual politics of today such as on an inspired turn with Rogers and Hammerstein's "We Kiss in a Shadow. " The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St. Suite 301, L.A. 9 p.m. Sat. $10. http://www.bluewhalemusic.com .

MUSIC An L.A. native who's been a fixture around town with the likes of Peter Erskine, Anthony Wilson and veteran trumpeter-vocalist Jack Sheldon, pianist Josh Nelson sounds poised for national prominence on his fifth album as a bandleader, "Discoveries. " Though packed with nods to the vintage sci-fi of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, the album's sound feels grounded in the now, with rich ensemble playing and a gracefully ambitious compositional voice. Here he performs with a nimble quartet that features guitarist Larry Koonse.

JAZZ A fiery saxophonist who came to prominence in the unhinged downtown New York City scene in the '80s, Tim Berne performs from his latest album "Snakeoil. " A richly rewarding listen that balances lush composition and free expression, the recording should take on a new life onstage with the help of bandmates Oscar Noriega on clarinet, Matt Mitchell on piano and drummer Ches Smith. The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E.S. Onizuka St., Suite 301, L.A. 9 p.m. Sat. $10, http://www.bluewhalemusic.com .

The waters near the nation's largest port complex have become a bustling feeding ground for increasing numbers of blue whales, putting the endangered animals at greater risk of being hit and killed by the enormous ships moving in and out of the harbor, according to researchers who've been tracking them for nearly two years. The whales, which migrate along the coast of California and are regularly spotted from May to December, are congregating in such numbers in the midst of this virtual freeway of ship traffic that the spot has become "the area of densest concentration close to shore in all of California," said research scientist John Calambokidis.

Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, so did whales. A food shortage on land drove their ancestors into the ocean where whales ultimately evolved into marine mammals.  Those are among the facts I learned when I visited  Whales: Giants of the Deep at the Field Museum of History. It explores the evolution, diversity and mythology about whales from the scientific, Pacific Islander and Maori perspectives.  Among other cool facts: A whale's tongue can weigh more than an elephant.

Reporting from the Channel Islands -- Natalie Senyk and Ben Waltenberger peered out the bubble-shaped windows of the small research plane flying 1,000 feet over the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and scanned the ocean surface for signs of life. On that bright, windy day earlier this month, the federal scientists were looking, in particular, for blow holes or the gigantic, gray outline of surfacing whales. Photos: Separating whales and ships The aerial survey is part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mission to learn more about the movement of whales and to devise ways to keep them away from the container ships, fishing vessels, barges and sailboats that have been colliding with them at a rate of six a year in California.

The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary sent a necropsy team to San Miguel Island on Tuesday to try to determine what caused the death of an adult blue whale that was discovered washed up on the beach on Monday. Since whales rarely wash up on beaches after dying, and because there is a worldwide moratorium on hunting blue whales commercially, this discovery presents a rare opportunity for scientific study.

The Blue Whale Where: 123 Astronaut E. S Onizuka St., Suite 301, L.A. When: Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Sun. 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Mon. 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Price: $10 cover most nights. Beer, wine and cocktails $5 to $15; food $5 to $15 Contact: (213) 620-0908; http://www.bluewhalemusic.com