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On Saturday, May 7, the Brook Arts Center welcomes back - Comedian Mike Marino, who is affectionately known to millions of his fans worldwide as New Jersey’s Bad Boy. Marino has a tongue like a razor and a heart of gold. He has performed in every major comedy club, theatre, casino, and event center from New York to Los Angeles and around the world. His stand-up material ranges from cutting-edge observations of everyday life to his Italian family roots; which recently spun into a T.V. pilot called “Re-Constructing Jersey”. His comedic style has landed him guest appearances on The Tonight Show as a regular sketch player, The Martin Short Show, Canada’s Comedy TV, The Boomer Show, Wild Pitch, and Hand Held Comedy Radio. A clip of Mike’s appearance on Byran Allen’s Comics Unleashed earned him over 7 million views (and counting), which has led to his current web series “Marino 2016” – an original comedy based on Mike’s road to the White House and wise guy attempt to become the first Italian American President of the United States. Mike has also shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the business. Tickets $30-35 at www.brookarts.org or 732-469-7700. Box Office Opens at 6 pm for walk-up sales $35-40. Reserved socially distanced seating. Concessions, Bar, and Free Parking are available. The Brook Arts Center is in Bound Brook, NJ, one block from the Bound Brook Train station and a few short miles from Rt 22, 287, and 78.

The American Symphony Orchestra toasts the genre-defying genius of Duke Ellington with an evening including New World A-Comin’ and Three Black Kings for jazz trio and full orchestra with renowned jazz pianist Marcus Roberts. Originally scheduled for March 2020 but canceled due to the pandemic, the concert features Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Catherine Russell. Don’t miss this chance to hear a full orchestra perform Ellington’s iconic music on the stage of Carnegie Hall, where he played a series of annual concerts and premiered many of his greatest works, including Black, Brown, and Beige and Night Creature.

Singer/composer John "Giovanni" Padovano will bring his solo show to 1st Cup Coffeehouse on Sunday , April 10th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Padovano is also known as The Ironbound Crooner and aka The Coffeehouse Performer. His music is strongly influenced by his very early years in the Ironbound Section of Newark, NJ. Padovano will perform songs from his original song collections that include the titles: "Dusty Road Session" "solo recordings at Baroque Park," " Poesia and Chanson," "The Coffeehouse Performer," and "Wandering Square Impromptu no. 12". John "Giovanni" Padovano has in the past performed locally at Middletown Public Library, Princeton University and at other places in Princeton. His music is called "Poesia and Chanson".

The Stonewall Chorale and Deanna Witkowski Present the U.S. Concert Premiere of Mass for the Lenten Season by Mary Lou Williams. Led by Artistic Director Cynthia Powell and accompanied by Mary Lou Williams scholar and jazz pianist Deanna Witkowski and her trio, the concert also includes Williams’s “Tell Him Not to Talk Too Long” and “I Have a Dream,” both inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr., and Margaret Bonds’s “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” set to the poetry of Langston Hughes. The concert also features the world premiere of Witkowski’s a cappella setting of the Rabindranath Tagore poem, “Where the Mind is Without Fear.” Witkowski will give a pre-performance talk about the life and work of Mary Lou Williams at 7 p.m. All season concerts held at the acoustically beautiful Holy Apostles (28th & 9th) in Chelsea. Artistic Director, Cynthia Powell

The Ty Stephens Quartet featuring on Vocals Richard Cummings on Keys Robert RT Taylor on Guitar Leo Traversa on Bass and Russell Worrell on Drums.

Live Jazz featuring Laura Campisi on Vocals Allan Rubenstein on Guitar Andrew Hall on Bass and Cory Cox on Drums

RAFIKI featuring Newark's own Norman Mann on vocals and Congas Tomoko Ohno on Keys Alvester Garnett on Drums Gene Ghee on Sax Peter Linn on Trumbone Christopher Dean Sullivan on Bass. Guest Vocalist Brian and Micheal Johnson Zakiyyah Zai' mah and Joy Toppinig Mann It's going to be a very exciting show.

Radam Schwartz Trio featuring Radam Schwartz on B-3 Organ David Gibson on Drums and Andre Ware on Sax

Johanna Burnheart is a German violinist, singer and composer., listed by The Guardian as one of 30 artists to watch in 2021. After studying classical violin, piano and voice during childhood, Johanna’s musical focus developed into jazz. Rather than following the path expected of a classical violinist, she chose instead to pursue the music that was her passion. The violin is still a rare instrument in the jazz world, so Johanna finds herself within a niche of a niche. Her playing does not reflect the traditional approach to jazz violin made famous by players such as Stéphane Grapelli or Stuff Smith but is rather inspired by the horn giants of the modal jazz genre. Much of her life has been spent absorbed in the Berlin sound of the techno and house scene resulting in this certain influence permeating her compositions. Johanna’s work exists at the point where modal jazz and techno meet. This is an ever developing venture as technology allows the acoustic sound of the violin to come alive electronically without compromises. Since forming her own band in 2018, Johanna released her debut album simply called “Burnheart” with Ropeadope Records on October 30th 2020. Besides the positive reviews in Jazzwise Magazine, MOJO and Backseatmafia among others, Read more about Johanna at http://www.johannaburnheart.com Band line up Johanna Burnheart - violin and vocals Jonny Mansfield - vibraphone Jonny Wickham - double bass Ben Brown - drums New Movement Ensemble is a collective of musicians and friends who have spent the last decade creating music and challenging each other to express themselves honestly. Led by bassist and composer Matt Gedrych (Emma-Jean Thrackray, Neue Grafik and KenHoon Band) Their album "Never far from home" is collection of songs that speaks about Matt Gedrych's journey of moving to London and the stories that involves; following your dreams, building a family and friendships, growing up, understanding the effort that that needs, and of course, making a home. This album was recorded over 3 days in Total Refreshment Centre in March 2018. Though it almost been a decade since they moved to London and several years since wrote these songs, it still feels relevant to release these stories into the world, as it shows how far they've come. Welcome to the world of New Movement Ensemble, this is only the beginning. Band Line up Clara Serra Lopez - Vocals Jack Banjo Courtney - Trumpet Benedict Wood - Guitar Arthur Newell - Drums Matt Gedrych - Bass

Singer/composer John "Giovanni" Padovano will bring his solo show to 1st Cup Coffeehouse on Sunday , May 1st from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Padovano is also known as The Ironbound Crooner and aka The Coffeehouse Performer. His music is strongly influenced by his very early years in the Ironbound Section of Newark, NJ. Padovano will perform songs from his original song collections that include the titles: "Dusty Road Session" "solo recordings at Baroque Park," " Poesia and Chanson," "The Coffeehouse Performer," and "Wandering Square Impromptu no. 12". John "Giovanni" Padovano has in the past performed locally at Middletown Public Library, Princeton University and at other places in Princeton. His music is called "Poesia and Chanson".