7pmArchitectureIt’s one thing to understand calculus in...

7pm

Architecture

It’s one thing to understand calculus in college, but imagine trying to figure out Los Angeles. That’s what UCLA architecture and urban design students in Thom Mayne’s class did. The result is seven proposals for downtown, compiled in a book and the exhibition “L.A. Now: Shaping a New Vision for Downtown Los Angeles.” A panel discussion, “L.A. Now: The Culture of Flux” at the Hammer Museum, should provide a taste of the topics on the table. Mayne, principal architect at the L.A. firm Morphosis, and other contributors to the project--including artist Sam Durant, public radio producer Frances Anderton and writer Dennis Hensley--will discuss L.A.’s urban condition.

“L.A. Now: The Culture of Flux,” panel, 7 p.m. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. Free. (310) 443-7000. “L.A. Now: Shaping a New Vision for Downtown Los Angeles,” exhibition on view through March 22 at the Perloff Gallery, 1318 Perloff Hall,

UCLA. (310) 825-7857.

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8pm

Pop Music

Even if she hadn’t been a central presence in this week’s Grammy swirl, Alicia Keys would be a major attention-getter in town. The singer-songwriter’s two Wiltern Theatre concerts mark her biggest L.A. engagement to date, and serve as a punctuation to the pop-music breakthrough story of the past year.

Alicia Keys, Wiltern Theatre, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 8 p.m. Also Friday. Sold out. (213) 380-5005.

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7:30pm

Pop Music

Former Pixie Kim Deal and her twin sister, Kelley, lead their band the Breeders out of hibernation, paving the way for their first album since 1993. The record, due in May, was produced by alt-rock fixture Steve Albini.

The Breeders, House of Blues Anaheim, 1530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, 7:30 p.m. $16. (714) 778-2583.

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8 & 9:30pm

Jazz

His sound has been described as big, bold, brawny, arrogant and yet silky smooth. Texas-born sax man David “Fathead” Newman has influenced the generation of sax men following him, including Ronnie Laws and David Sanborn, to name just two. He’s performed with a wide variety of artists--T-Bone Walker, Dr. John, Aretha Franklin, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Mann and, most notably, Ray Charles. Newman leads his quartet in two shows a night through Sunday at the Jazz Bakery.

David “Fathead” Newman Quartet, the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, 8 and 9:30 p.m. Today to Sunday. $22 to $25. (310) 271-9039.

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8pm

Theater

Theatre West presents “Bradbury X 2,” a double bill by science-fiction master Ray Bradbury. “To the Chicago Abyss” is a post-apocalyptic tale about a man who remembers the way things were, to his peril. “Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby Is a Friend of Mine” is a whimsical piece of Americana about a small Midwestern town that receives two odd visitations: Charles Dickens and a woman who appears to be Emily Dickinson--for Dickens, it’s love at first sight.

“Bradbury X 2,” Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, L.A., Thursdays to Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends March 30. $25. (323) 851-7977.