Any pianist with training in Afro-Cuban jazz can play tender, introspective lyricism and slashing, pounding rhythms with similar ease. But to pivot back and forth between those styles with no apparent transition, the way Alfredo Rodriguez does, is to demonstrate a whole other stratum of talent. This explains why Quincy Jones served as both his mentor and the producer of Rodriguez’s second album, Tocororo—lest we forget, Jones was once among the shrewdest of jazz composers, arrangers, and bandleaders. Read more >>> The Alfredo Rodriguez Trio performs at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, Stadium Drive and Route 193, College Park. $10–$25. (301) 405-2787. theclarice.umd.edu. (Michael J. West)

EAT THIS

Chef David Guas is kicking off patio season at Bayou Bakery‘s Capitol Hill location with a mead-focused happy hour tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. The “Mead & Greet” event will include cocktails made with Charm City Meadworks mead, and Charm City owner Andrew Geffken will be on hand to give out samples of his still and carbonated draft meads. The grill will be fired up, and complimentary snacks like grilled sausage, grilled veggie toast, local cheeses, and pork rinds will be available. Bayou Bakery, 901 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. (202) 664-5307. bayoubakerydc.com. (Jessica Sidman) 

OH AND ALSO

Friday: California-based rock band Tijuana Panthers performs at Comet Ping Pong with local indie act Shirt/Pants and Massachusetts duo Wydyde. 10 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW. $12.

Friday: Author Heidi Julavits discusses The Folded Clock, a diary she first wrote 20 years ago and later resumed, at Politics & Prose. Read more in our Spring Arts Guide. 7 p.m. at 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free.

Friday: Arena Stage begins performances of All the Way, Robert Schenkkan‘s deep exploration of Lyndon Johnson, featuring Jack Willis. Read more in our Spring Arts Guide. 8 p.m. at 1101 6th St. NW. $40–$127.

Saturday: A deafening clatter of cymbals ricochets off Royal Albert Hall’s grand walls to sound the climax of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much. The memorable clash occurs during Arthur Benjamin’s “Storm Clouds Cantata,” originally composed for the 1934 version of the film. Everything earlier in the story has built up to this moment, beginning with the McKennas’ innocent vacation in Marrakesh where they meet a mysterious Frenchman—an encounter that soon ensnares them in a kidnapping, a murder, and an assassination plot. Read more >>> The film shows at 4 p.m. at the National Gallery of Art, 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Free. (202) 737-4215. nga.gov. (Victoria Gaffney)

Saturday: American Dance Institute’s resident ballet company performs the story progresses as if on a dream of glittering surfaces, a new evening-length work from choreographer Pam Tanowitz that celebrates romantic ballets. 8 p.m. at 1570 East Jefferson St., Rockville. $15–$30.

Saturday: Flashpoint Gallery opens artist Soomin Ham‘s latest exhibition, “Sound of Butterfly,” a collection of photographs that address themes of grief and loss. Noon at 916 G St. NW. Free.

Sunday: Since 2009, Greta Kline, the performer known to listeners as Frankie Cosmos, has published more than 50 albums, EPs, and singles on her Bandcamp page. Kline is only 22. Nearly 40 of those records were released before Zentropy, her first studio album. By putting her emotions and process on display, Kline built a loving following in the New York DIY folk scene and on the Internet. A second studio record—Next Thing, out April 1—features new recordings of fan favorites and brilliant compositions. It’s a quiet album that barely contains its energy. Read more >>> Frankie Cosmos performs with Eskimeaux and Anna McClellan at 8 p.m. at DC9, 1940 9th St. NW. $12. (202) 483-5000. dcnine.com. (Justin Weber)

Sunday: Americana artist Laura Stevenson brings her dreamy compositions to the Black Cat Backstage, where she’ll perform with opening acts Crying and Chris Farren. 7:30 p.m. at 1811 14th St. NW. $13.

Sunday: Irish author Edna O’Brien reads from The Little Red Chairs, her first novel in more than a decade, at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 6 p.m. at 600 I St. NW. $20.

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