Written by DCist contributor Sriram Gopal There is some great jazz coming up in the area. Make some time to check out these upcoming shows: >> On Thursday, guitar great John Abercrombie brings his quiet intensity to Blues Alley for 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. sets. Accompanying him are Masada alumnus Joey Baron on drums, bass maestro Marc Johnson, and Mark Feldman on violin. This is a lineup of wonderful musicians who are all band…

Past attendees of any of the F.W. Thomas Performaces, the semi-regular literary-comedic efforts of City Paper contributor Adam Mazmanian held at Warehouse, are well versed in the religion of Lowery. That’s T.M. Lowery, or Mike Lowery, or Thomas Michael Lowery, depending on who you ask, the baby-faced “artist-in-residence” of F.W. Thomas and proprietor of The Argyle Academy, a collection of neurotic cartoon animal characters. Mazmanian invited Lowery to present some of his drawings at the…

>> Avoid the mall and take advantage of the numerous venues for purchasing handmade arts and crafts here in D.C., including Gateway Georgia Avenue’s 2nd Annual Holiday ArtWalk tomorrow night in Silver Spring. Local artists will have paintings, prints, photos, quilts and more available for sale for $15-$300. Even if you’re only browsing, you can enjoy free empanadas from Los Arrieros or wine and finger food at The Graphic Workshop, Pyramid Atlantic and Kari Minnick…