Music

It’s the dog days of summer, and we are all looking for an escape from the heat. A favorite of locals and tourists alike is the New Orleans Jazz Museum, located in the historic Old U.S Mint building at 400 Esplanade Ave. by the French Market. At the Jazz Museum, you can learn about jazz in the very city where it was born and enjoy dynamic interactive exhibits. The museum offers engaging listening stations, instruments, photographs, and artwork … and it’s free!

The New Orleans Jazz Museum teamed up with Le 360 Paris Music Factory in bringing New Orleans Jazz to Paris, France for a jointly produced Festival Jazz Nouvelle-Orléans. The festival featured performances by premier New Orleans musicians, James Andrews, George Brown and Christie Jourdain of the Original Pinettes Brass Band and a traditional second line. The artists served as cultural ambassadors of the New Orleans music tradition, teaching master classes and sharing our unique culture with the Parisian audience.

Here’s yet another event to get excited about this fall! The New Orleans Jazz Museum’s 6th annual Improvisations Gala will feature the incomparable Jason Neville Funky Soul Band and Special Guest Mr. P. Funk “George Clinton” on Dec. 2, 2023 on the museum grounds in the historic French Quarter.

The Improvisations Gala will take place throughout the historic complex at 400 Esplanade Ave. from 8–11 p.m., preceded by a one-hour Patron Party. This year’s theme is “Out of this World.” Tickets are $300 per person for the exclusive Patron Party and $150 per person for General Admission.

People have been making instruments since the beginning of human history. There is something inherent in our species and development that makes us want to create and express ourselves. Rattles made of bird skulls and turtle shells, whistles fashioned from the wing and leg bones of large birds, and eagle bone and sugarcane flutes have been found at Native American mounds. People need to make sound, so they make things that create sound.