9 pm: Pop Music

The tango is a definitively Argentine art form, but it doesn’t do badly in the reverent but inventive hands of the three Americans and one Parisian who make up the group Tango No. 9. The San Francisco ensemble makes its L.A. debut on the heels of the release of a new album, “All Them Cats in Recoleta, Vintage Piazzolla.”

* Tango No. 9, with Octavio Figueroa, at the Conga Room, 5364 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 9 p.m. $15 to $35. (323) 938-1696.

7:30 pm: Music

“Thanks for the Memories” is the title of the program closing Paul Salamunovich’s 10 years as music director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Salamunovich’s pre-retirement agenda includes favorite works of his by Verdi, Morten Lauridsen, Gustav Holst and Carl Nielsen. Before the performance, Salamunovich will reminisce with composer Lauridsen; following it, there will be a gala dinner in the Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

* The L.A. Master Chorale, with conductor Paul Salamunovich, soloists and the St. Charles Borromeo Choir perform in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown. 7:30 p.m. $10 to $52. Gala, post-concert dinner: $150. (213) 972-7282.

8 pm: Jazz

LA Jazz 2001--the annual USC Jazz Festival--has a number of highlights, including the contemporary-crossover-style ensemble Steps Ahead, featuring Mike Mainieri, Bob Berg, Dave Kikoski, Ed Howard and Peter Erskine.

* Steps Ahead at LA Jazz 2001, USC Bovard Auditorium, Vermont Avenue and 36th Place, L.A. 8 p.m. Free for USC students with valid ID, $10 for seniors and USC faculty and staff, $15 for general public. (213) 740-2167.

all day: Movies

Antonio Banderas and Olivia Williams star in “The Body,” a drama about a historic discovery in Jerusalem with religious, cultural and political implications. Banderas plays a Vatican-appointed priest sent to investigate, who makes a tenuous alliance with Israeli archeologist Williams. Written and directed by Jonas McCord. Photographed by Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond (“Close Encounters of the Third Kind”).

* “The Body,” rated PG-13 for some violent sequences and brief language; opens Friday in limited release.

8 pm: Theater

Jessica Kubzansky directs Buffalo Nights’ production of “Anatol,” Arthur Schnitzler’s 19th century drama about one man’s struggle to find the perfect woman. Translated by Michael Robinson, the play stars Kevin Weisman in the title role.

* “Anatol,” Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 2nd St., Santa Monica, Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. $15. (310) 289-2999.

8 pm: Theater

The renowned Acting Company, the national touring classical repertory theater founded by Margot Harley and John Houseman in 1972, presents the West Coast premiere of Darrah Cloud’s drama, “O Pioneers!,” adapted from the classic 1913 novel by Willa Cather about a Swedish immigrant and her family in 1890s Nebraska. Richard Corley is directing the production.

* “O Pioneers!,” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. Friday, 8 p.m. $27 to $37. (800) 300-4345, (562) 916-8500.

8 pm: Theater

Playwright Mark Medoff and actress Phyllis Frelich, both Tony Award winners for Medoff’s “Children of a Lesser God,” collaborate again in Deaf West Theatre’s world premiere of Medoff’s “Road to a Revolution,” based on the 1988 student uprising at Gallaudet University protesting the school’s appointment of yet another non-deaf president.

* “Road to a Revolution,” Deaf West Theatre, 5112 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends May 27. $20. (818) 762-2773; (818) 762-2782 (TTY).

*

FREEBIE

In “Refugees,” Stephanie Satie reprises her theater work exploring the lives of new immigrants in America at the San Pedro Branch Library, 931 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro, 7 p.m. (310) 548-7779.