THREE-DAY FORECAST

POP MUSIC

Honoring the King’s birthday

The annual Elvis Birthday Bash moves to yet another site this year -- Avalon Hollywood, just around the corner from the old RCA Records studios, where he often recorded when he was in Los Angeles. That should mean plenty of good vibes in the air when host-organizer Art Fein and his cavalcade of roots rockers salute the King, reverently and ir-, tonight on what would have been his 69th birthday.

Elvis Birthday Bash, Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N. Vine St. Today, 8 p.m. $20. (323) 467-4571.

MOVIES

A matter of life and death

Director Nick Broomfield has a penchant for making films about troubled, controversial women. Heidi Fleiss, Courtney Love and Aileen Wuornos have all been the subjects of Broomfield documentaries. With “Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer,” he returns to Wuornos, the Florida woman who was convicted and executed for the murders of seven men. Broomfield’s 1992 film, “Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer,” focused on the exploitative frenzy surrounding her case. The new film tracks Wuornos’ fight to have her life ended rather than spend it in prison. “Monster,” with a deglamorized Charlize Theron in a fictional version of Wuornos’ life, is currently in theaters.

“Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer,” unrated, opens Friday at selected theaters.

MUSIC

‘About Town’ with a great guide

Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen takes the helm of the Crossroads Chamber Orchestra for this “Sounds About Town” concert. The orchestra is made up of gifted students at Crossroads School in Santa Monica. Their program will include Haydn’s Symphony No. 76, Bartok’s Divertimento and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, with violinist Robert Chen and violist Ensik Choi.

“Sounds About Town,” Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. $15 to $35. (323) 850-2000.

JAZZ

When top brass are women

Female instrumentalists, still a minority in the jazz world, crack open the brass ceiling Sunday via a rare performance by an all-distaff quintet. Saxophonist Ann Patterson (whose Maiden Voyage is one of the pioneering female jazz orchestras) leads a sterling group that also includes trumpeter and flugelhornist Stacy Rowles, pianist Linda Martinez, bassist Jennifer Leitham and drummer Megan Foley in an intimate, private home performance. Seating is limited, so reserve early.

Women in Jazz, the “A” Frame, 1821 Sunset Plaza Drive, West Hollywood. Sunday, 2 to 5 p.m. $30 donation (beer, wine and light buffet included). (310) 659-9169.

THEATER

Limits of forgiveness

Convinced that his wife has cheated on him, a previously loving husband in 17th century France leaves her to die on a deserted island; she escapes and, disguised as a man, returns to exact vengeance. Playwright John Strand took this premise from a comic play by Moliere’s contemporary, Montfleury. Writing in rhymed couplets, Strand turned it into his own work, “Lovers and Executioners,” which plays mainly for laughs but also gives serious consideration to the limits of forgiveness.

“Lovers and Executioners,” South Coast Repertory’s Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens Friday. Tuesdays to Fridays, 7:45 p.m.; Saturdays to Sundays, 2 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Ends Jan. 25. $27 to $55. (714) 708-5555.

ART

A delicate touch

Whole worlds can be imagined in Catherine Opie’s translucent

wildernesses. The

photographer renders her subjects delicately, yet

unsentimentally small in ethereal expanses. Opie fixes her subjects -- as in “Surfers” -- as barely

suggested shadows,

hanging on to a corner

of a huge abyss of a seascape.

Catherine Opie, Regen Projects, 633 N. Almont Drive, L.A. Opening reception; Saturday, 6 to 8 p.m. Hours: Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; ends Feb. 14. (310) 276-5424.

THEATER

A Rat Pack reunion, of sorts

Steve Apple, Gary Corsello and Lonnie Parlor portray Rat Packers Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., respectively, in “Direct From Vegas -- The Rat Pack,” a musical re-creation of the fabled era of 1960s entertainment, presented as part of Sunwoo Entertainment and Theatrical Arts International’s musical series.

“Direct From Vegas -- The Rat Pack,” Kodak Theatre, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Opens Wednesday. Runs Wednesdays to Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 7 p.m.; ends Jan. 18. $30 to $95. (213) 365-3500 or (714) 740-7878.

JAZZ

His future is now

Guitarist-arranger-composer Anthony Wilson is bringing his nine-piece ensemble to Fullerton. The son of big band leader Gerald Wilson, Anthony has staked out his own musical territory. He followed his Grammy-nominated debut CD with three other acclaimed albums. He won the Thelonious Monk International Composers’ Competition in 1995 and was named one of Down Beat magazine’s “25 for the Future.”

Anthony Wilson Nonet, Steamers Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. $10, reservations required. (714) 871-8800.

POP MUSIC

A salsa mix

Ricardo Lemvo has been a consistently pleasing presence on L.A.’s dance scene for more than a decade, acquiring a following of enthusiastic fans. But his group, Makina Loca (a Spanish misspelling of Crazy Machine), is not your average salsa band. Born in the Congo, a hotbed of African salsa, Lemvo creates a smooth fusion of Afro-Caribbean and African music, the local link that ties L.A. to Brazzaville by way of Havana, Barranquilla and Santo Domingo. Lemvo’s irresistible music will make you move in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Lingala and Kikongo.

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca. Conga Room, 5364 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Friday, 10 p.m. $15 to $30. (323) 938-1696.