TODAYJAZZHe doesn’t look the partThe tattooed, Radiohead-obsessed...

TODAY

JAZZ

He doesn’t look the part

The tattooed, Radiohead-obsessed pianist Brad Mehldau may look more like the bartender at your favorite jazz club than the star performer. But the ferocious young bandleader is giving jazz the populist kick in the pants it needs. His confident, volatile improvisation finds bossa-nova exuberance in the darkest dirges, and his ear for complex melodic narratives makes his technical fireworks all the more evocative. Just ask his collaborators, which have ranged from guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Wayne Shorter to Willie Nelson and Jon Brion. He brings his trio to the El Rey tonight.

Brad Mehldau Trio at the El Rey Theatre, 5155 Wilshire Blvd, L.A. 8 p.m. today. $27.50. (323) 936-6400.

FRIDAY

THEATER

More Bond than Bard

It’s match-making, meddling and mixed signals in Aquila Theatre Company’s version of Shakespeare’s romantic romp, “Much Ado About Nothing,” inspired by such 1960s espionage send-ups as “The Avengers.” Robert Richmond directs.

“Much Ado About Nothing,” La Jolla Playhouse, 2910 La Jolla Village Drive, La Jolla. Opens 8 p.m. Friday. $29-$58. (858) 550-1010. www.lajollaplayhouse.com.* Runs 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ends Feb. 19.

MOVIES

Now that’s the Spirit

Judy Marte impressed critics and audiences in her feature debut “Raising Victor Vargas,” earning the actress an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best debut performance as the beautiful teen “Juicy Judy,” who charms the title character. Marte made it 2 for 2 with her second film, picking up a Spirit Award nomination for best female lead in the gritty “On the Outs.” As Oz, Marte plays a resilient drug dealer struggling to keep her family together in an urban wasteland, one of three teenage girls in the same neighborhood forced to make difficult choices, in directors Lori Silverbush and Michael Skolnik’s drama.

“On the Outs,” rated R, opens Friday at Laemmle’s Fairfax, 7907 Beverly Blvd., (323) 655-4010; and Laemmle’s One Colorado, 42 Miller Alley, Pasadena, (626) 744-1224; and the Edwards South Gate 20, 8630 Garfield Ave. (562) 927-4432.

MUSIC

The sounds of Cambodia

Southwest Chamber Music prefaces its upcoming four-concert “Composer Portrait Series” focusing on Grawemeyer Award-winner Chinary Ung with a bonus concert at the Norton Simon Museum. The program will include the Cambodian composer’s “Gliding Wind” and “Grand Alap,” with traditional Cambodian royal court music completing the concert. The series unfolds at the Norton Simon and the Colburn School of Performing Arts in downtown Los Angeles from Jan. 20 through Feb. 6.

Southwest Chamber Music, Norton Simon Museum Theater, 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. 7 p.m. Friday. $8. (800) 726-7147. www.swmusic.org.

ART

The Otis art tradition

In 1918, Harrison Gray Otis, founder and publisher of The Times, donated his MacArthur Park property to the city of Los Angeles to further education in the arts. Years later, the Otis College of Art and Design boasts a notable faculty and an impressive roster of alumni. Some of them, including artists Robert Irwin, Billy Al Bengston, Bruce Yonemoto and Kent Twitchell, will display their works at “Otis: Nine Decades of Los Angeles Art,” a survey of the talent trained at the art school from 1926 to 2006.

“Otis: Nine Decades of Los Angeles Art,” Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. Opens Friday. (323) 644-6269.

* Hours: noon-5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Ends April 2.

DANCE

Moving

to Asian rhythms

The new Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater on the campus of UCLA presents a compilation of ancient traditions titled “Can You Hear Me? Asian Dance Voices.” The program showcases three distinguished dancer/choreographers in residence on the UCLA campus this quarter. Chey Chankethya was trained at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Bhagawan Ciptoning teaches at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts and makes dances drawing upon Javanese court idioms. Schooled in classical Indian dance as well as contemporary Western forms, Umesh Shetty is the director of the Temple of Fine Arts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All are recipients of the 2006 UCLA/Choreographers Arts Management Fellowship.

“Can You Hear Me? Asian Dance Voices,” Glorya Kaufman Dance Theater, UCLA campus, Westwood. 8 p.m. Friday. $10 (students) to $16. (310) 825-2101 or www.tickets.UCLA.edu.

SATURDAY

MUSIC

Drummers finally take center stage

Percussionists rejoice! For one night, the many jokes and good-natured barbs you’ve endured from your bandmates can be laid to rest as the Groove All Stars roll into Cerritos. Finally your craft takes center stage as drumming luminaries such as Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Matt Cameron and many others from the worlds of pop, rock and jazz take their turns laying down beats backed by a full band. Non-musicians and practiced air drummers are also welcome, of course.

Groove All Stars, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. 8:30 p.m. Saturday. $15 to $25 (800) 300-4345.

MUSEUMS

You can run, but you can’t hide

In the city of noir and sprawl, L.A. is an ideal place for an exhibition about the cultural and psychological effects of violence, urbanism and surveillance. More than 70 participating artists in “Dark Places” consider how social and private space have been invaded by satellite imaging, GPS devices and other new technologies. The series of installations and artistic pieces includes a mounted, spider-like projector by architectural collective Servo.

“Dark Places,” Santa Monica Museum, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave. G-1, Santa Monica. $3-$5. (310) 586-6488. Opens Saturday.

* Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Ends April 22.

TUESDAY

WORDS

Put Craig on your list

Java programmer and self-professed nerd Craig Newmark started Craigslist, the online compendium of classifieds and forums, in 1995 as a way to let people know about cool things happening around San Francisco. It quickly spread to other metropolises like Boston and New York and is now used by more than 10 million people every month to find a roommate, a girlfriend, an Art Deco dresser, or simply to burn away a few extra minutes at work. At this ALOUD event, Newmark discusses the future and implications of his sprawling online community with Thomas Goetz, articles editor of Wired magazine.

Craig Newmark in conversation with Thomas Goetz, ALOUD at Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, 5th and Flower Streets, L.A. 7 p.m. Tuesday. Free, but reservations recommended. (213) 228-7025.