Friday, May 2, 8:00 p.m.
CLASSICAL: Friday Night at the Opera
Leader of our ever popular workshop on opera appreciation, soprano Christine Cullen, presents excerpts from Puccini's La Boheme, Bizet's Carmen, and selected opera arias with mezzo-soprano Patrizia Conte, and tenor Héctor Palacio, plus piano accompaniment and commentary by the esteemed Warren George Wilson. This will be a recital with explanations about the operas and works being performed. A very special night at the Puffin!

$15 Suggested Donation.




Saturday, May 3, 8:00 p.m.
WORLD MUSIC: Layali El Andalusia
Layali El Andalus is led by Moroccan singer/oud player Rachid Halihal. The all-acoustic sextet plays a mix of mostly traditional dance numbers spanning the Arab world, including songs from Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, and Andalusia. With its extremely sophisticated counterpoint and microtonal scales, this music is very difficult to play, but Layali El Andalus makes it seem effortless through hypnotic songs based on haunting chromatic scales.

$10 Suggested Donation.



Friday, May 9, 8:30 p.m.
JAZZ JAM with Alex Collins Trio
Jam lead by Teaneck piano prodigy Alex Collins and his rhythm section of drummer John Iannuzzi and bassist Tom Dicarlo. Come and sign up for a chance to join Alex and this month's featured guest musician, reed player extraordinaire Myron Walden, in performing Jazz standards for an enthusiastic and appreciative audience.

$5 Suggested Donation.



Saturday, May 10, 9:00 p.m.
ART OPENING: Nature Photography
Opening reception for the work of nature photographers in Rachel Banai's longstanding and much lauded course at the Puffin.

Free and open to the public.



Friday, May 16, 8:00 p.m.
JAZZ Awards: James Weidman
The virtuoso pianist, composer/arranger, educator will be honored for his "outstanding contribution to the advancement of Jazz" by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades (UUCP) at its ninth annual JaZZEvent. Mr.Weidman has been an adjunct professor at William Paterson University since the fall of 2000, where he teaches jazz piano and coaches jazz ensembles. All proceeds benefit the William Paterson University Jazz Chamber Ensemble, which will be featured under the direction of Mr. Weidman, as will the power and grace that is Mr. Weidman's unique mastery at the keyboard.

$10 Suggested Donation.



Saturday, May 17, 8:00 p.m.
WORLD MUSIC: Balla Tounkara
African folk music from master kora (pictured) player of the Griot tradition of Mali, West Africa. Balla studied kora at the feet of his world renowned grandfather to become a specialist in Manding music. With his band Groupe Spirit, Balla presents both traditional material as well as unique blends with Latin, Blues and Jazz musics he developed after moving to NY in 1996.

$10 Suggested Donation.

Friday, May 23, 8:00 p.m.
TEEN EVENT: Poetry Jam
Slam Global Enterprises presents the final monthly Youth Poetry Slam of the season. MC is Big Mike or Gemineye from Slam Global. Teen poets, rap artists and spoken word performers are invited to participate in this spoken word performance event. Or just come and hear what the area's youth are expressing.

$5 suggested donation.

Friday, May 30, 7:00 & 9:00 p.m.
FILM: Black Maria Film Festival
Since 1981, the annual Black Maria Film and Video Festival, an international juried competition and award tour, has been fulfilling its mission to advocate, exhibit and reward cutting edge works from independent film and videomakers. The festival is known for its national public exhibition program, which features a variety of bold contemporary works drawn from the annual collection of 50 award winning films and videos. The Puffin will be presenting a group of the short films available through Black Maria. The main feature will be the full-length documentary Orange Winter by Fort Lee filmmaker Andrei Zagdansky about the mass protest of the 2004 presidential election in the Ukraine.

$5 Suggested Donation.

SCHEDULE OF FILMS

7:00 p.m.
Orange Winter (72 min.) – documentary by Fort Lee filmmaker, Andrei Zagdansky, about Ukraine’s Orange Revolution.
Another Picture (4 min.) – ode to film star Gloria Swanson by Hackensack filmmaker Gregg Biermann.
Bodega (6.5 min.) – commentary about the food choices confronting the poor. P.R. (1 min.) – animated deconstruction of a noted televangelist’s pronouncements.
On the Representation of Absent Things (6.5 min.) – multi-media metaphor for post 9/11 dislocation.

9:00 p.m.
Ballad of Greenwich Village (70 min.) – portrayal of Greenwich Village past and present as viewed by cultural icons and artists.
Phoenix Dance (11 min.) – documentary about one-legged dancer Homer Avila. Jury Grand Prize, Best of Festival Documentary .
Field of Green (7 min.) – mixed media animation about Vietnam War. Jury Grand Prize, Best of Festival Animation.
I Left My Silent House (9 min.) – abstract impression of city subways. Jury Grand Prize, Best of Festival Experimental.
Energie (5 min.) – from Berlin about the primal force of nature.

Saturday, May 31, 8:00 p.m.
JAZZ CONCERT: Mark Soskin Quartet
Pianist Mark Soskin, best known for his 14-year collaboration with Sonny Rollins, brings his outstanding quartet featuring Joel Frahm (tenor sax), Jay Anderson (bass), and Matt Wilson (drums). This is a rare opportunity to see these master musicians, well-known leaders of their own groups, come together for a special performance of Mark's new compositions.

$10 Suggested Donation.