Jazz great Wynton Marsalis was in West Philly yesterday to do some teaching at St. Francis de Sales school near 47th and Springfield as part of the Play On!, Philly program.

Marsalis told advanced trumpet players who performed at the school yesterday morning that the musician’s job is to tell stories that people can’t see.

“Music is the art of the invisible,” he said.

Marsalis also advised students at the school to fine-tune their listening habits and to look beyond music for artistic inspiration.

“I want you to look at the work of (painter) Henri Matisse,” he told one trumpeter who had just finished playing. “See how he uses contrast in his work. Because that’s what you want to do with this piece.”

This has been a big week for Play On!, Philly, the after-school music program begun at St. Francis de Sales that aims to bring classical music training to kids at schools across the city. Earlier this week it was reported that a Bala Cynwyd couple had donated $1 million to the organization.

Randi Fair submitted this pretty cool neighborhood photo also featuring her son Brooks.

Send your photo of the neighborhood at: editor@westphillylocal.com

West Philly puppeteer Beth Nixon and her Ramshackle Enterprises have been creating puppets, organizing puppet and clown shows and participating in parades and pageants in the city for more than a decade. Don’t miss her Retrospectacular show opening tomorrow (Thu, April 5) from 6-9 p.m. at the AIR Gallery at 4007 Chestnut Street.

At the show you can read and fondle relics from Beth’s first Philly performance at the 2000 post RNC Puppet Uprising to this winter’s collaboration with Sarah Lowry in the creation of “Below and Beyond.” Puppets, masks, suitcase theaters, illustrations and cardboard constructions will be on display and almost everything will be for sale! Also enjoy snacks, door prizes, and favorite songs from puppet shows of old performed by Beth and Morgan FP Andrews (beginning at 7:30 p.m.).

If you can’t make it to the opening, you can stop by at the closing event on April 26 (6-9 p.m.). Free flying grandparent puppets will go to the first 15 guests who come to each event.

Gallery hours include the first three Fridays in April from 4-7 p.m. or by appointment (215-779-8553).

It’s not only kids who will get a chance to have fun this Easter. Older folks are invited to hit the streets of Philadelphia in a city-wide Easter egg hunt organized by World Cafe Live. The event will be held on Saturday, April 7.

Here’s how it works: Twelve plastic Easter eggs will be laid at various locations throughout the city, each containing a pair of tickets to select upcoming performances. Beginning at Noon, World Cafe Live will Facebook and tweet clues and riddles that lead to each egg (make sure to “Like” World Cafe Live’s page on Facebook and follow @worldcafelive on Twitter).

If you find an egg, claim it on Facebook or @reply WCL on Twitter so other hunters can move onto the next clue.

Twelve eggs will be filled with a pair of one of the following performances:

Railroad Earth on Friday, April 13
Railroad Earth on Saturday, April 14
Amy Ray (of Indigo Girls) on Tuesday, April 17
Green River Ordinance on Sunday, April 27
Sam Sparro on Monday, April 23
Bowling For Soup on Wednesday, April 25
Brendan Benson with Young Hines on Thursday, May 3
ALO on Friday, May 11
William Beckett (formerly of The Academy Is…) on Monday, May 14
Ruder Than You on Saturday, May 26
Rhett Miller on Tuesday, June 5
Matthew Sweet (on Girlfriend Tour) on Friday, June 8

Sounds like fun, so grab your running shoes, your friends and your phone (or a map). For more details, check out the event’s Facebook page.

West Philly resident Michael Froehlich and his 2-year-old daughter Zora love playgrounds. No wait, they really love playgrounds.

What began as the occasional bicycle excursion from their home on 48th Street to nearby playgrounds like Malcolm X. Park has turned into a full-on quest to document a bunch of playgrounds in this part of the city – 31 playgrounds in all.

“We went a little overboard,” said Froehlich, a legal aid attorney.

The result, the website zoraplays, is an invaluable guide to playgrounds that includes photos of equipment, sketches of the playground’s layout and a map showing the location. Each playground was within a mile of their home.

Froehlich said he and Zora’s goal is to help convince people that there is fun beyond the usual spots like Clark Park and Cedar Park.

“I hope that this project will show people that there are a lot of great playgrounds in our community so they should get on their bicycles and ride out and explore them,” he said.

The big question, of course, is which is Zora’s fav?

“I’d like to say that Zora has developed a discerning eye for quality playgrounds,” said Froehlich. “But the truth is that she loves all playgrounds. Tall slides, wide slides, single slides, double slides: she digs them all with the same gusto.”

As for Froehlich himself? “Malcolm X. Park,” he said. “There’s so much there.”

 
– Emma Eisenberg contributed to this story

40th Street Artist in Residence, a program that awards West Philadelphia artists one year of free studio space, is now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 residency. If accepted to the program, artists will be granted a studio space at either 4007 Chestnut or 4013 Chestnut Street, beginning on August 25, 2012 and ending August 15, 2013.

The program, founded in 2003 by artist Edward M. Epstein, addresses the need for studio space in West Philadelphia and assists artists with their career development. In exchange, residents are asked to share their creative talents with neighbors. Examples of this include creating a public installation or holding a workshop or class.

To apply, please complete and submit the application that can be found HERE by Monday, May 7, 2012. Email it to 40th.AIR.app [at] gmail.com or mail it to 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program, 4007 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. To read more about the program, click here.