ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

TELEVISION

Fox Series Going After Terrorists Cited by Bush

At the request of the FBI, John Walsh will host a special edition of Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted” at 9 tonight that focuses on the 22 “most wanted” terrorists unveiled by President Bush on Wednesday.

The show, which preempts an episode of the drama “Pasadena,” will investigate terrorists known to have ties to Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network. The “Pasadena” installment will be broadcast Oct. 26.

“This special is about getting justice for innocent victims,” Walsh said. “ .... Citizens from around the world can do the right thing and identify the cowards that have killed so many.”

Now in its 15th season, “America’s Most Wanted” has helped capture 683 criminals, including 14 from the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List.

THE ARTS

Salonen Criticized for London Cancellation

“We cannot allow mass murder to disrupt civilization,” cautioned Norman Lebrecht, a classical music columnist for London’s Telegraph, before lashing into a host of artists who canceled international engagements after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

One of his prime examples was Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who called off a Sept. 25 appearance with London’s Philharmonia for “logistic reasons,” according to published reports. Lebrecht said the decision caused a “logistical nightmare” and financial hardship for the musicians. A press conference launching a festival of music by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg had to be canceled and a Sony recording of his music was put on hold, the columnist wrote.

That’s totally off base, Los Angeles Philharmonic managing director Deborah Borda said Thursday. Long before Lebrecht’s story was written, an amicable resolution had been reached, she maintained. The press conference and recording sessions have been rescheduled for November, with Salonen in attendance.

“It wasn’t ‘logistic reasons’ but a sense of commitment to our orchestra and community that led Esa-Pekka to make that choice--a tough one because he’s a close friend of Lind-berg’s,” Borda said. “The musicians--and everyone else--were very shaken, and he felt his place was here. We had to make music for people.”

POP/ROCK

Something Fishy About Country Joe’s Song?

Is Country Joe McDonald’s 1965 protest song “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die-Rag” (“One, two, three, what are we fighting for?”) a rip-off of the 1926 Kid Ory song “Muskrat Ramble”?

Yes, says Babette Ory, daughter of the famed jazz trombonist. She has filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles arguing that McDonald’s infringement was intentional.

What took so long for her to register her complaint? According to her lawyer, Neville Johnson, heirs can recapture the rights from the original publisher, and she did in the last few months.

“Damage for intentional infringement can be up to $150,000 for every time the song has been performed over the past three years--the statute of limitations under the copyright act,” Johnson told The Times. “McDonald released it on a record, sang it on a TV series, ‘Tales of the City’--it’s hard to tell how much that will amount to. His song is an American classic--it’s just too bad that it infringed on another one.”

McDonald, head of one of the leading psychedelic political bands of the 1960s and a solo artist since 1970, conceded that he’s been a fan of Kid Ory but denied he copped the tune--which he said he pulled together in 20 minutes.

The similar parts make up only a few measures of both songs, he told sonicnet.com, and consist of chord patterns, which can’t be copyrighted. “The amount they’re demanding is over the top,” he said. “They haven’t struck gold, I can tell you that.”

Latinos to Perform Post-Terrorism Song

If all goes as planned, the U.S. debut of the song “El Ultimo Adios” (“The Last Goodbye”) will take place at the White House today. Written by Emilio Estefan with Gian Marco and performed by a host of Latin stars, it will benefit victims of last month’s terrorist attacks.

The famed Miami-based producer and his wife, singer Gloria Estefan, along with jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer Jon Secada, are among those scheduled to perform the song during a Hispanic Heritage Month ceremony hosted by President Bush.

The recording, initially made on Sept. 27, is also being released today to radio stations nationwide.

Among the artists who participated were Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernandez in Mexico City, Thalia in New York and actor Andy Garcia and singer Jaci Velasquez in Los Angeles. The voices of such performers as Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez were later added to the track, in locations from Milan, Italy, to Rio de Janeiro.

All proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross and the United Way to assist the families of victims.

The video of the song will air this weekend on “Sabado Gigante,” the Univision television variety show hosted by Don Francisco. The English version, “The Last Goodbye,” was co-written and recorded by Secada and will be included on the CD.

QUICK TAKES

Ed Asner will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award during the eighth annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, to be telecast by TNT on March 10.... Don Imus has signed a multiyear deal to continue simulcasts of his syndicated morning radio show on MSNBC.... And you thought the World Wrestling Federation had no taste? After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, the organization has decided the title of its Dec. 9 pay-per-view event was inappropriate and has changed it--from “Armageddon” to “Vengeance.”