In celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month and the 1st International Jazz Day, Jazz House Kids is hosting a bunch of wonderful free seminars and workshops beginning tonight, April 26. First up–What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years. Satchmo biographer Ricky Riccardi shines light on the life and career of this great jazz originator and American icon. The free workshops and seminars happen all week, ending in a mini-concert performance for lovers of Jazz at The Salvation Army. Check the flier here for details and times.
What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years
Thursday, April 26 from 7 pm – 9 pm
Gallery U, 179 Glenridge Avenue, Montclair, NJ, 07042
Free
Also tonight, at Trumpets, 6 Depot Square, Montclair, a fundraiser for the Bloomfield Federation of Music, featuring performances by members of the Symphony Orchestra Chorale Youth Band and the Mandolin Orchestra Civic Band. 7:30 p.m. $15 cover, $10 minimum.
Luna Stage’s final production of the 2011-2012 season is a revival of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen, winner of the 2000 Tony Award for Best Play. Directed by James Glossman, Copenhagen opens Friday night on April 27. The play takes place in wartime 1941. German atomic physicist Werner Heisenberg traveled to Nazi-occupied Copenhagen to see his old friend and mentor, renowned Danish physicist Niels Bohr. “Side by side, almost as father and son, Bohr and Heisenberg had revolutionized nuclear science in the 1920s, but they had since been pulled apart as they found themselves on opposite sides of a World War. Why did Heisenberg meet with Bohr in the middle of the war, at a time when the Germans and the Allies were racing against each other to develop atomic weapons?”
Copenhagen
Friday, April 27 – May 20. Performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm.
Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ
Tickets are $35 each (Thursday performances are $25; opening night with reception is $45 per ticket), and can be purchased in person, on the phone at 973-395-5551, or online. The 3 pm performance on Sunday, April 29 will be followed by a talkback with director James Glossman and other members of the creative team.
The Friends of the Maplewood Memorial Library Book Sale is this weekend and a great chance to find bargains on fiction, classics, art books, cookbooks, paperbacks, science, kids picture and chapter books, videos, and DVDs all for $.50 – $1! Sunday is Bag Day.
Friends of the Library Book Sale
Saturday, April 28 from 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday, April 29 from 11 am – 5 pm
Maplewood Memorial Library, 51 Baker Street, Maplewood, NJ
Free to attend, great bargains to be had
Saturday is also Maplewood Green Day, an annual celebration of all things Green and Eco-friendly. You’ll want to check it out. Read more about it on Barista Kids.
Watch Montclair visual artist Jennifer Levine “Painting a Song” at @The Art Studio. Levine will create an original work of art as she is accompanied by singer/songwriter Scott Massarsky. See them in action in the video below, which was made promoting last year’s Painting a Song event:
From 7 – 7:30 pm there be a wine and cheese opening reception where we will be showing a film about this unique collaboration and you will have time to walk around and view the paintings
Painting a Song
Saturday, April 28. Doors open at 7 pm, show begins at 8 pm
@The Art Studio, 211 Glenridge Avenue, Montclair, NJ, 07042
$15. Purchase advanced tickets here.
“The minute he walked in the joint. I could tell he was a man of distinction, a real big spender…” That’s one of my favorite showtunes. And this weekend, The Montclair Operetta Club, one of the country’s oldest continuously-operating community theatres celebrating its 87th season, will present Sweet Charity at the Bloomfield College Westminster Arts Center. With music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon (based on Federico Fellini’s film Nights of Cabiria), the show tells the story of dancer-for-hire Charity Hope Valentine’s sweet and hopeful search for love. The Tony award-winning musical comedy features a talented local cast, lively choreography, snappy dialogue, and show-stopping numbers, such as “Big Spender,” “Rhythm of Life,” and “If They Could See Me Now.”
Sweet Charity presented by The Montclair Operetta Club
Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28 at 8 pm / Sunday, April 29 at 2 pm
Westminster Arts Center, 449 Franklin Street, Bloomfield, NJ
All seating is general admission. $25 for Adults, $22 for Senior Citizens and are available online or by calling 973.744.3133
On Sunday, Spring into Health at Maplewood’s Memorial Park. The Greater Essex County and North Jersey chapters of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. have partnered to sponsor “Spring Into Health,” a Health and Wellness Fair and Fun Run. There will be health care screenings, wellness professionals, fitness instructors, retailers, a blood drive, Zumba and Yoga instruction, live music by Jazz House Kids, and door prizes.
Spring into Health Fair
Sunday, April 29 from 9 am – 2 pm
Memorial Park Ampitheater Dunnell Road and Oakview Avenue, Maplewood, NJ
Free
For other happenings in Baristaville, be sure to check our calendar.