Friday, May 1, 8:30 p.m.
JAZZ: Alex Collins Trio “First Fridays” Jazz Jam
Joining Alex on piano with Chris Brown on drums and Tom DiCarlo on bass for the final JazzJam of the season is Jon Irabagon, the saxophone winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition - the most prestigious honor available to a young jazz musician. The award also gained Jon a contract with the Concord Music Group, but was far from his first, having also won Downbeat Magazine’s Student Music Awards for both performance (2004) and composition (2006). Jon has recorded with many of the best available in both the jazz and pop scenes, and after his first album as a leader, “Outright!” (Innova) from 2007, Concord will be releasing a CD of original music and jazz standards this coming fall.

$5 suggested donation.
Reservations not available for JazzJams.

Wednesday, May 6, 7:00 p.m.
THEATER: Acting Backstage Workshop
A presentation of dramatic and comedic scenes developed during the acting workshop lead by director and playwright Merri Milwe.

Free and open to the public.
No reservations.

Saturday, May 9, 8:00 p.m.
WORLD: Singers of United Lands
S.O.U.L (Singers of United Lands) was founded to share the native songs and cultures of diverse countries with schools and communities throughout the U.S. and beyond. Each year, a new team is formed of professionally-trained musicians from diverse countries. Songs are from their four native countries and represent all genres: folk, traditional, sacred, secular, pop, etc. The 2009 quartet is Martins Kiscenko (Latvia), Rory Mendez (Chile), Subi Kim (South Korea), and Corrine Towett (Kenya).

$10 suggested donation.
Reservations recommended.

Friday, May 15, 7:00 p.m.
THEATER: Shakespeare in the Park(ing Lot)
Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey returns to launch the Puffin’s third “Shakespeare in the Park(ing Lot)” season with Nevermore: The Final Nightmares of Edgar Allan Poe, written and directed by Brian B. Crow and created especially for their professional troupe, Shakespeare LIVE!, and based on Edgar Allan Poe's poems and short stories. Depicting Poe’s final days in a Baltimore hospital, this piece unites biographical facts from the life of this brilliant, troubled author with some of his greatest creations, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Raven. Recommended for grades 6 and up. (75 min.)

Free and open to the public.
Reservations not available for Outdoor Theater.
Held indoors in case of rain.

Sunday, May 17, 4:00 p.m.
CLASSICAL/JAZZ: VOX4
VOX4 has roots based in a diverse group of musical genres including, but not limited to: classical, jazz, R&B, electronic, hip-hop, rock, experimental and free improvisation. VOX4’s mission is to make its works accessible to all audiences familiar with non-traditional music as well as appealing to seasoned classical music lovers. VOX4 has been named the Quartet-in-residence for Ensemble du Monde for the 2008-2009 season and Second Prize winner, Jazz division, of the 2008 New England International Chamber Music Competition. Featured will be Cadenza On The Night Plain by Terry Riley, plus works by Dave Brubeck, David Balakrishnan, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Orie Furuta. VOX4 is Sarah Larsen (violin), Orie Furuta (violin), Keith Sanders (viola), and Seth Woods (cello).

$10 suggested donation.
Reservations recommended.

Friday, May 22, 7:30 p.m.
FILM: Usted No Me Conoce (You Don't Know Me)
This short is an entirely local production from director and teacher of filmmaking at Teaneck High School including T.H.S. faculty and students as actors and crew. A cultural misunderstanding between a cartoonist and Latino emigrant busboy leads to a dramatic confrontation. Director: Wes Ciesla, Writer: Mauricio Rosales, Cinematography: Vitaly Bokser, Music: Johaness F. Umlauft, and Cast: Noel Jardines, Robert Sherbine, Olivia Berrios and others. Wes Ciesla has directed several short films that have been played at film festivals around the country. The screening will be followed by Q&A with the director Wes Ciesla, the cast, and cinematographer Vitaly Bokser. See the premiere before being submitted to the film festivals!

Free and open to the public.
No reservations.

Saturday, May 23, 8:00 p.m.
JAZZ: Michael Musillami Trio + 3
The NJ/NY premiere and CD release party for From Seeds, the first release during the 10th anniversary of Playscape Recordings, features Michael Musillami’s seven year-old trio, with bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, whose previous CD, The Treatment, was included in best-of-the-year lists in AllAboutJazz.com, Cadence, Coda, the Hartford Courant, Jazz Review and the Village Voice. This new release includes the addition of a truly outstanding frontline of trumpeter Ralph Alessi, multi-instrumentalist Marty Ehrlich, and vibraphonist Matt Moran.

In a career that spans more than 25 years, Musillami has worked extensively as a performer, bandleader, composer and educator. In addition to his flagship trio with Fonda and Schuller, which has released three CDs since 2002 and performed in the U.S., Canada and Europe, he has earned critical praise as the leader of and composer for groups ranging from duo to octet. Michael is also the longtime Director of Jazz Studies at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT, and founder/director of the esteemed Playscape Recordings label, which has released more than 40 very distinctive recordings.

$10 suggested donation.
Reservations recommended.

Saturday, May 30, 8:00 p.m.
JAZZ: Ensemble Helacious
Ensemble Helacious was set into motion by multi-woodwind artist JD Parran for the 2nd Rhythm in the Kitchen music festival (Hell’s Kitchen, NYC) in March of 2007 with Parran (bass saxophone, clarinet, mbira, flutes), Peter Zummo (trombone, electronics), and Kevin Norton (vibraphone, drums). Peter Zummo’s reputation as a composer, musical conceptualist and a leader in the postminimalist, downtown NYC scene was solidified in the 1970s and for his work with the legendary Arthur Russell. JD Parran is the epitome of a versatile musician, having played with artists as diverse as Stevie Wonder, John Lennon and The Band, co-founding the Black Artists Group of St. Louis in 1968, and specializing in the rarely heard instruments of the woodwind family, such as the bass saxophone. Kevin Norton is known as a unique percussionist as well as a prolific composer with over a dozen CDs released as leader. He is also known as Anthony Braxton’s main percussionist for about 10 years.

$10 suggested donation.
Reservations recommended.

Sunday, May 31, 4:00 p.m.
OUTDOORS: Shakespeare in the Park(ing Lot)
Shakespeare LIVE! from the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey returns to take a fresh, imaginative look at this perennial audience favorite, A Midsummer's Night Dream. In the past, their mischief-making fairies have traveled on stilts, scooters, and in-line skates! Who knows what they’ll come up with this year?! When starry-eyed young lovers and zany would-be actors cross paths in a magical forest, the result is one of the world’s most uproarious comedies. Recommended for grades 3 and up. (75 min.)

Free and open to the public. Indoors in case of rain.
Reservations not available for outdoor theater.