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.
Kim Welsh
Kazoo Horns, Bazookas, and Slow Drag: Box Guitars and Homemade Instruments A New Exhibit at The Jazz Museum
March 03, 2023
Come for the Food; Stay for the Music at French Quarter Fest!
March 03, 2023
The 40th anniversary of French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron, the largest free festival and showcase of Louisiana music, food, and culture, takes place April 13-16 from 11am to 8pm across venues and stages throughout the French Quarter. This year’s festival invites locals and visitors to join an unforgettable culinary adventure featuring regional cuisine from more than sixty local restaurants, and to dance to the beat of over 270 performances from talented musicians on twenty stages.
Jazz Up Your Evenings with Refreshing Cocktails
March 03, 2023
Imaginative cuisine, world-class musical performances and tantalizing aromas are easy to find at our festivals. It’s a great time to let your hair down, wear your comfy colorful clothes, and indulge your senses while celebrating from “soup to nuts”—or should we say “Crawfish Monica to Sazeracs”. Treat yourself to a rejuvenating round of cocktails after a long hot day of festing!
Flourishing in Full Swing
December 15, 2022
The New Orleans Jazz Museum celebrates the history of jazz in all its forms through dynamic interactive exhibits, multi-generational educational programming, research facilities, and engaging musical performances. It promotes the global understanding of jazz as one of the most innovative, historically pivotal musical art forms in world history.
Holidaze on the Rocks
December 15, 2022
Oh, it’s beginning to look a lot like cocktails! I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, but if the white runs out, I’ll drink the red, because it’s the most wonderful time of the year! May all your joys be true joys, and all your pain champagne! Admittedly, 2022 has been a bit rough, but New Orleans is always a place for celebration as we are always among the first to toast with a drink crafted for the season. Let’s eat, drink, and be merry! The “holidaze” and cocktails go together like gumbo and ile. At this most festive time of year, cheers and toasts abound!
Voodoo and Ghostly Encounters
September 06, 2022
Founded in 1718, New Orleans has three centuries of French, Spanish, African, Native American, and Acadian history filled with violent deaths. Legends of grisly murders, plundering pirates, voodoo spirits and restless wanderers run rampant across the city. Some of the original residents and visitors of our historic French Quarter never left town!
Art Sings the Blues
September 06, 2022
In October 2022, the New Orleans Jazz Museum will joyfully exhibit their recent acquisition of the large, detailed paintings of Frederick Brown. Donated by his widow in June of 2021, his portraits celebrate those who have made important contributions to contemporary culture.
Mingling with Spirits
September 06, 2022
Dozens of bottled spirits line the backbar of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. But this legendary dive on the corner of Bourbon and St. Phillip is equally renowned for spirits of the spectral variety. Occupying one of the oldest buildings in the French Quarter and one of the oldest examples of briquette-entre-poteaux (brick between cypress posts) architecture, it is named after Jean and Pierre Lafitte, notorious smugglers and privateers of the early 19th century.
The Dynamic Duo of Effervescence
September 06, 2022
Since the opening of Effervescence in 2017, Executive Chefs Evan Ingram and Brenna Sanders have worked with great enthusiasm to bring their small plates menu from their travels to the charming sparkling wine lounge and restaurant in the French Quarter. A California native, Evan moved to New Orleans after culinary school in New York. He recently officiated his passion for wine with sommelier credentials. Brenna grew up in Alabama and began her professional cooking career after completing her education at Tulane University.
The Andrews Family - A New Orleans Legacy
June 07, 2022
New Orleans has many musically talented families. As Grammy Award-winning piano player Jonathan Batiste put it, “music spreads like a disease.” Musicians are our heroes and our traditions are fiercely protected, making the musical family a revered institution that dates back to the 19th century and the beginning of jazz itself. In many ways, the history of these families, with names such as Dejean, Neville, Brunious, Barbarin, Batiste, Lastie, Marsalis, Jordan and Andrews, is the history of New Orleans. The future of these families is the future of the city’s culture.
Celebrating Old Man River
June 07, 2022
On Saturday, July 23, the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s 10th Annual NOLA River Fest will celebrate the cultural, economic, environmental and inspirational contributions of the Mississippi River to the Crescent City. For centuries, Old Man River has been an important route for trade and travel, has sustained livelihoods, offers opportunities for recreation, and has a significant role in the culture, health and livelihoods of people along its long route.
