CSU East Bay's jazz ensemble is opening its Tuesday-night rehearsals to adult community members — free, no college registration, first downbeat Aug. 18 in Hayward. This one's for players, not spectators.

Most of what runs on this beat is something to go watch. This one's different: it's something to go play.

Cal State East Bay's jazz ensemble is opening its Tuesday-night rehearsals to adult community members, alongside the college students who already fill the chairs. The first rehearsal is Tuesday, Aug. 18, 5:00–6:50 p.m., in the Music Building on the Hayward campus (E Loop Road, off Carlos Bee Boulevard). There's no cost, and no college registration required, according to the call put out by the program's director.

Any instrument is welcome — saxes, trumpets, trombones, a rhythm section, plus flute and clarinet — and so are most experience levels. The pitch is that arrangements are custom and flexible, so no transposition is needed on your part, and the book runs from Ellington to Snarky Puppy. Soloing gets coached without anyone putting you on the spot, and free tutoring is offered if you're rusty. Two optional concerts land around December — one on campus, one at a jazz club.

The person running it is Jason Eckl, a CSUEB alum ('01) and the school's Jazz Orchestra director, who's played around the Bay with the Jazz Mafia. To sign up, email jason.eckl@csueastbay.edu; placement is sorted from there.

One logistic worth knowing before you show up: the department's own page says campus parking permits are required Monday through Thursday until 11 p.m., at $2 an hour from the kiosk in Lot K (the free-after-5 window is a Friday-and-weekend thing). Budget a few bucks and get there by 4:45 so you're tuned up, not scrambling, when the downbeat hits at five.