8pm

Jazz

Because of her versatility, Cleo Laine has been somewhat overlooked as a jazz singer, but she and husband John Dankworth have produced some first-rate recordings and live performances over their long career. See--and hear--for yourself as they perform their tribute to Duke Ellington.

Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. 8 p.m. $40. (310) 506-4522.

7 pm

Talib Kweli & Hi Tek’s “Reflection Eternal� was one of 2000’s strongest statements from the alternative hip-hop world. Rapper Kweli is now spreading the word as an opening act on Erykah Badu’s tour, with occasional nights off for his own headlining shows.

* Talib Kweli, with Mad Skills and Jack Herrera, at the El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., 7 p.m. $20. (323) 936-4790. Also Saturday at the Glass House, 200 W. 2nd St., Pomona, 8 p.m. $17.50 in advance, $19.99 at the door. (909) 469-5800.

all day

Movies

Robert De Niro and Edward Burns star in “15 Minutes,� an action thriller about a superstar NYPD homicide detective and an NYFD arson investigator who team up to pursue a pair of Eastern Europeans on a rampage through the city. John Herzfeld (“2 Days in the Valley�) wrote and directed this spin on celebrity, media and society.

* “15 Minutes,� rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality. Opens Friday in general release.

7pm

Theater

“A Continent of Stories: Native Voices at the Autry,� a play-reading festival, features new works by Native American playwrights from Vancouver, Canada, to New York and Minnesota, including Judy Lee Oliva’s “On the Showroom Floor,� Diane Glancy’s “Jump Kiss� and Joseph A. Dandurand’s “Please Don’t Touch the Indians.�

* “A Continent of Stories: Native Voices at the Autry,� Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Wells Fargo Theatre, 4700 Western Heritage Way, L.A. Friday, 7 p.m.: “On the Showroom Floor.� Saturday, 2 p.m.: “Jump Kiss.� Sunday, 2 p.m.: “Please Don’t Touch the Indians.� Free; reservations advised. (323) 667-2000, Ext. 243.

8pm

Theater

In Jamal Williams’ one-woman drama, “Yesterday Came Too Soon . . . The Dorothy Dandridge Story,� Sloan Robinson stars as the gifted, beautiful and tragic 1950s film star who struggled for success in the white-dominated movie industry.

* “Yesterday Came Too Soon . . . The Dorothy Dandridge Story,� Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theatre 4, 514 S. Spring St., L.A. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. $15. Ends April 9. (213) 485-1681.

8pm

Music

The touring sextet called Bang on a Can All-Stars returns to Los Angeles in a single appearance at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall, offering an eclectic contemporary-music mix of works by Paul Kline, Michael Gordon, Arnold Dreyblatt, David Lang, Don Byron, Brian Eno and Tan Dun.

* Bang on a Can All-Stars, Schoenberg Hall, UCLA, 8 p.m. $30. (310) 825-2101.

8:15pm

Pop Music

Whether fierce and fiery or compassionate and comforting, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu imbues her music with a bracing sense of passion and independence that have put her up there with Lauryn Hill at the forefront of the hip-hop-inflected R&B; movement.

* Erykah Badu, with Common and Bilal, at the Universal Amphitheatre, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City. Friday and Saturday, 8:15 p.m. $33.50 to $58.50. (818) 622-4440.

*

FREEBIE: Saxophonist Marty Krystal leads his quintet at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s weekly jazz concert on the plaza, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., 5905 Wilshire Blvd. (323) 857-6234.