Saturday Happenings

Image of Matthew Shipp from his Web site.

Jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, who once endured charges that he was little more than a Cecil Taylor knock-off, has spent the past decade demonstrating his versatility and voracious ear. He plays big, loud chords like Taylor, densely arranged, but he also has a unique sensitivity to the rhythms of ragtime, modern classical, and hip hop and the potential that they bring to the jazz idiom. Performing a solo set, preceded by Jim Hobbs and Laurence Cook. Outpost 186, 186 1/2 Hampshire St., Cambridge, 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Muppets

The Brattle's celebration of the films of 1984 continues with the ineffable The Muppets Take Manhattan, which, as children, we considered little more than a sell-out vehicle and an excuse for hammy cameos. (We missed Diana Rigg and Charles Grodin from the superior film The Great Muppet Caper (1981).) It's possible that our youthful judgment was incorrect. Stick around to see H.R. Giger's attempt at muppetry: Alien. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. Tickets and showtimes.

Naming Names

We suppose that enough time has passed since Elia Kazan sold out Red Hollywood that people can watch his movies again without worrying about the ideological ramifications. That's good; he made some really good movies. One of his best, On the Waterfront (1954), was independently produced by Kazan himself and features a spellbinding performance from Marlon Brando and a look at the hard, working class life of New Jersey dockworkers. Followed by Elia Kazan, Outsider (1982), a French documentary about the director. Harvard Film Archive, Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge, 7 p.m.

Dancing Hipsters

It's a JP jam at the monthly Shake 'Em Down party. Resident DJs Ghostdad and Knife invite D-Money and DJ Golden Touch, who hold their own residency down the street at the Midway. Milky Way, Brewery Complex, 284 Amory St., 8 p.m. Free.