7:30pm / Movies
As part of UCLA’s Duke Ellington Centennial Celebration (the great jazz pianist and composer was born on April 29, 1899), the UCLA Film and Television Archive will present a two-day Film Tribute to Duke Ellington, which kicks off with the 1934 film “Murder at the Vanities.” The movie, a murder mystery that involves Ellington’s orchestra, winks at many risque subjects--including the notorious production number “Sweet Marijuana,” which was censored by the Hays Office but has been reinstated in the archive’s restored print. Several short films will also be screened, including the 1935 “Symphony in Black” (1935), which features the music of Ellington and a then-unknown young singer named Billie Holiday. Kenny Burrell, UCLA professor of music and ethnomusicology, will introduce the program.
* Film Tribute to Duke Ellington, James Bridges Theater, northeast corner of UCLA campus, near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue, West Los Angeles. Saturday: “Murder at the Vanities” and several short films, 7:30 p.m. Sunday: “Paris Blues” and the short “Kreisler Bandstand,” 7 p.m. $4-$6. (310) 206-FILM. Other events in the UCLA Duke Ellington Centennial Celebration include an all-star concert April 29 in Royce Hall; UCLA Philharmonia concert on April 30 in Royce Hall; a free two-day symposium on Ellington’s music April 30 and May 1 in Schoenberg Hall; a photo exhibit at Royce Hall; unveiling of a statue of Ellington by noted local sculptor Robert Graham. For information on all non-film events in the Ellington celebration, call (310) 825-2101.
8pm / Dance
The local premiere of Moses Pendleton’s “Baseball” last year in Glendale earned a rave Calendar review (“a supremely audience-friendly, high-concept vehicle”) and, eventually, a place high on our Top 10 dance list for 1998. Then and now, this full-evening extravaganza uses Pendleton’s irreverent, hyper-gymnastic Momix company to explore the myth and lore of the national pastime. And when there’s not enough myth and lore to suit him, Pendleton invents them: He begins with a Stone Age batter swinging a tree to wallop a rock and finishes, 16 scenes later, with a slightly altered image from the Sistine Chapel ceiling: God stretching his hand toward Adam--to pass the ball.
* Momix in “Baseball,” Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. 8 p.m. $35. (310) 456-4522.
11am / Art
“Patssi Valdez: A Precarious Comfort,” the first retrospective exhibition devoted to a contemporary Los Angeles Chicana artist, opens Saturday at the Laguna Art Museum. Organized by San Francisco’s Mexican Museum, the exhibition features 50 of the artist’s often highly personal works--vibrantly colored paintings, prints, mixed-media works on paper and a large-scale installation. In addition, an installation titled “Living Room” will open at Patricia Correia Gallery at Bergamot Station. The room will be decorated with drapery, furniture and a mantel and will be adorned with new paintings by the artist.
* “Patssi Valdez: A Precarious Comfort,” Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach. Ends July 11. Tuesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Admission: adults, $5; seniors and students, $4; children under 12, free. (949) 494-6531. “Patssi Valdez: Living Room.” Patricia Correia Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave., E-2, Santa Monica. Ends May 30. Tuesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission is free. (310) 264-1760.
10am / Walking Tour
The Art Deco Society of Los Angeles leads the first of its monthly walking tours of the Miracle Mile on Saturday. The stretch of Wilshire Boulevard was a dirt road in 1920, but A.W. Ross had a grander vision, and within 25 years the area went from barley fields to million-dollar properties. The Miracle Mile contains Los Angeles’ largest concentration of Art Deco buildings.
* Miracle Mile Walking Tour. 10 a.m. $10. $5 for Art Deco Society members. Call (310) 659-DECO for reservations and starting location.
8pm / Pop Music
“The Arising” is the name of the tour that brings the Smashing Pumpkins to the unusually close quarters of the Roxy. It’s a welcome back for Jimmy Chamberlin, restored to the band’s drummer position.
* The Smashing Pumpkins, with Queens of the Stone Age, the Roxy, 9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. 8 p.m. Sold out. (310) 278-9457.
8pm / Pop Music
Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik team to headline the West Coast Freedom Jam, an act-packed hip-hop party.
* Snoop Dogg, DJ Quik, others, Orange Pavilion, San Bernardino Fairgrounds, 689 South E St., San Bernardino. 8 p.m. $25 in advance, $30 at door. (800) 561-2361.
Freebies
The Mark Taper Forum’s youth program presents the musical play “A Village Fable: In the Suicide Mountains,” Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Ave., Culver City. 11 a.m. (310) 253-6630.
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The 20th Mission West Arts & Crafts Festival will have crafts, music and food, Mission Street in South Pasadena. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Also Sunday. (818) 248-7478.