Big Band Jazz

In the mood to swing? The Conejo Valley/Agoura Jazz Society will host a performance by the Cannon Lechner Big Band tonight at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Auditorium. But before the professionals assume the stage, the All-Star High School Jazz Band, an assemblage of area student musicians, will present its own show.

* Cannon Lechner Big Band performs tonight at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Auditorium, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Opening, All-Star High School Jazz Band. Show time: 8 p.m. $11. Tickets available at the box office or Ticketmaster ([805] 583-8700). Information: (805) 449-2787.

Musical Duo

The L.A.-based husband and wife team of Janiva Magness and Jeff Turmes will show off its musical skills during two weekend shows at Santa Clara House in Ventura. Magness--blessed with a powerful sultry and smoky blues voice--has sung on numerous albums and toured with Jimmy Buffett. Guitarist, songwriter and spouse Turmes has an extensive resume as a sideman, primarily with the James Harman Band, plus other Southland blues acts. If you’re into country blues and ballads, mark your calendar.

* Janiva Magness and Jeff Turmes play blues Friday and Saturday at Santa Clara House, 211 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura. Free. The music begins around 9 p.m. Call (805) 643-3264.

Slide Show

Photographer Ed Lawrence could hardly have known that the images he captured more than 40 years ago of a bucolic Conejo Valley would gain historical significance. His work has been assembled into a tidy slide retrospective titled “Ranches to Residences,” which Lawrence will present Sunday at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. The slide show-historical talk includes photographs at Albertson Ranch, home to several movie sets, plus the herding of sheep into Thousand Oaks.

* “Ranches to Residences,” a photography retrospective and historical discussion by Ed Lawrence, at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Forum Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. 2 p.m. Sunday. Free. Reservations required. Call (805) 449-2743.

Operetta

Comedy Tonight Productions returns to the stage Friday with Gilbert & Sullivan’s comic operetta “Ruddigore” at Simi Valley Cultural Center. The production is the centerpiece of the company’s first Ventura County Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, which also features the original musical revue “Here’s a Howdy-Do! The Best and Funniest of Gilbert & Sullivan.”

* Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Ruddigore” at Simi Valley Cultural Center, 3050 Los Angeles Ave. Show times: Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. $16; $14 senior citizens and students; $9 children 12 and under. For a festival schedule, call (805) 389-3193.