8pm Jazz

Jazz? Rock? The lines tend to blur when Charlie Hunter attacks his eight-string guitar, summoning the sounds of everything from bass to organ. The Berkeley native is on the road with conga player Chris Lovejoy, drummer Stephen Chopek and saxophonist John Ellis.

* Charlie Hunter, with Robert Walters’ 20th Congress, at Vynyl, 1650 Schrader Blvd., L.A., 8 p.m. $15. (323) 465-7449. Also Saturday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, 8 p.m. $19.50. (949) 496-8927.

9pm

Operetta

Husband-and-wife team Michael and Kate Springthorpe are topsy-turvy for Gilbert & Sullivan. Seeing the movie “Topsy-Turvy” multiple times wasn’t enough, so they created a revue of 26 songs from light operas by the famous pair. Michael wrote most of the short scenes and portrays lyricist W.S. Gilbert; Kate directed and produced the show, and has a singing role in the cast of 12. After successful runs at the British club the Mayflower and the Gardenia supper club, the revue “Gilbert & Sullivan at the . . .” comes to the Cinegrill at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

* “Gilbert & Sullivan at the . . .” at the Cinegrille, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 9 p.m. Also Saturday, 9 p.m. (323) 466-7000.

9pm

Pop Music

In a decade-plus of performing, the Israelites have established themselves as one of the world’s leading Christian ska bands. The La Crescenta group brings its ska/rock-steady/reggae blend to the Knitting Factory.

* The Israelites, Knitting Factory Hollywood, 7021 Hollywood Blvd., L.A., 9 p.m. $12. (323) 463-0204.

8pm

Art

La Luz de Jesus Gallery is known for showing underground art, and in Shag (a.k.a. Josh Agle), it has found a painter who can survive on the surface. Since his debut there in 1998, the gallery has maintained a list of potential buyers. So if you want to buy, get there Friday, because his work sells out the night of the opening. “Shag: Sinner’s Cookbook,” a collection on the theme of sin, is deliciously ‘50s-’60s retro. His hep cats and wasp-thin ladies groove in tiki lounges and suburban living rooms with the occasional devilish guest.

* “Shag: Sinner’s Cookbook” at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 4633 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz. Opening, 8 to 11 p.m. Regular hours: Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday noon-6 p.m. Free. Ends Jan. 28. (323) 666-7667.

7:30 pm

Movies

In conjunction with the “Made in California” exhibition, the LACMA Film Department goes native, featuring a film series that focuses on the Golden State. “Four L.A. Satires” is a pair of double features showcasing movies that tweak everything about our culture, from the climate, music and cars to the houses, hairdos and fads. Friday night’s bill matches Paul Mazursky’s “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” starring Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Richard Dreyfuss, with “L.A. Story,” written by and starring Steve Martin as a local weatherman. Mazursky will be in attendance at the screening. “Choose Me,” directed by Alan Rudolph, and Hal Ashby’s “Shampoo,” with Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn and Oscar-winner Lee Grant, are Saturday night’s offering. Other series in January are “Powerful Actresses in Early Hollywood,” “California Underground” and “California Cultures.”

* “Four L.A. Satires,” Bing Theater, LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and “L.A. Story,” Friday, 7:30 p.m.; “Choose Me” and “Shampoo,” Saturday, 7:30 p.m. $5 to $7, includes museum admission. Tickets, (877) 522-6225; information, (323) 857-6010.

8pm

Music

Returning from a year’s sabbatical, music director Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a two-symphony program to begin the new year. Without soloist, this program lists the Symphony No. 99 by Haydn and Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7.

* Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A., 8 p.m. $10 to $70. Also Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (323) 850-2000.

9:30 & 11:30pm

Jazz

Keyboardist Freddie Ravel has been a music director for Al Jarreau as well as Earth, Wind and Fire. He’s recorded with Madonna (on the soundtrack of “Evita”) and written a song with Deepak Chopra. But he’s at his best when he’s leading his own Latin jazz group in the cozy confines of this comfortable Studio City club.

* The Freddie Ravel Group, La Ve Lee, 12514 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. $10. (818) 980-8158.

Freebie: Pianist and teacher Jon Mayer steps out of his pedagogical activities for a characteristically brisk evening of bop-tinged jazz at LACMA’s free Friday Night Jazz, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. 5:30-8:30 p.m. (877) 522-6225.