As an avid traveler, I have many places I want to visit on my bucket list. Among them, I have always wanted to spend Carnival in the largely Catholic city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio is home to the world's most famous Carnival celebration and what many people consider to be the world's biggest and best party. The basis of Rio's Carnival is the samba school, which is a social club named after the famous Brazilian dance. Samba schools are based in different neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, and rivalry among them is fierce.
Music
Get Versed in Jazz and More in the Vieux Carré
November 05, 2018
No trip to the Crescent City would be complete without delectable seafood, great music, sweeping views of the Mississippi River and the wonderful architecture surrounding it, including the New Orleans Jazz Museum where the music New Orleans made famous is explored in all its forms in the very place it was born. The museum is housed in the historic Old U.S. Mint located at 400 Esplanade Avenue, strategically located at the intersection of the French Quarter and the Frenchmen Street live music corridor, the heart of the city’s vibrant music scene.
The Professor Longhair Centennial "Me Got Fiyo" Sponsored By The New Orleans Jazz Museum
July 27, 2018
Professor Longhair at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1977 by Michael P. Smith, New Orleans Jazz Museum Collection, 2003.003.63.
© The Historic New Orleans Collection
Henry Roeland Byrd, better known to the world as Professor Longhair or “Fess,” for short, stands as the foremost exponent of New Orleans piano style. As a vocalist, he was a classic blues shouter, and his idiosyncratic style is a rhythmic jambalaya reflecting the freewheeling, good-time spirit of the Crescent City. Urban legend suggests that The New Orleans Jazz Fest was begun to showcase his piano and vocal talents.
Germaine Bazzle, New Orleans' "First Lady of Jazz"
May 07, 2018
One of the true legends of New Orleans jazz, the elegant and graceful Germaine Bazzle is one of our most important jazz vocalists and a respected music instructor. After growing up in our own Seventh Ward and graduating from our local Xavier University of Louisiana, she began a teaching career during the day and entertaining in a traditional jazz band at night.
Jazz in the Park Crab Festival
May 07, 2018
People United for Armstrong Park will present their second annual Jazz in the Park Crab Festival on May 11th, 2018 from 6 to 9pm in historic Armstrong Park. The Crab Festival will feature the smooth jazz of Michael Franks and the urban contemporary rhythm and blues of the successful British band, Loose Ends. It will be held in an historical area of the park called Congo Square where enslaved Africans gathered to set up markets, sing, dance, and play music starting in the late 1700’s. We continue to celebrate the cultural heritage of New Orleans on that sacred ground.
Sidney Bechet, King of the Soprano Sax
February 01, 2018
The soprano saxophone of jazz pioneer Sidney Bechet can be found in the New Orleans Jazz Museum along with many photos and recordings of the undisputed King of the soprano sax. Best known for his throbbing vibrato and piercing rhythmic attack, he infused his playing with the essence of New Orleans and is also one of the most innovative clarinetists in jazz.
"It's Showtime!"
February 11, 2014
It has often been said that in New Orleans, dinner is an entire evening's theatre. The exciting dining scene is framed in stunning sets, complex social and cuisine interplay, defined roles, a cast of characters, and a satisfying close.
Now this city boasts one of the most dynamic live theater performance offerings you will find anywhere in the world, AND we still have the dining scene envied by America's other great culinary capitals.
Now this city boasts one of the most dynamic live theater performance offerings you will find anywhere in the world, AND we still have the dining scene envied by America's other great culinary capitals.
Irvin Mayfield, Cultural Ambassador for New Orleans
August 02, 2013
At only 35 years old, Irvin Mayfield, Jr. represents the continuity of the unfolding Jazz legacy of New Orleans. This versatile trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and University of New Orleans professor is on a path to position Jazz at the center of American culture.
Kermit Ruffins, New Orleans' Music Ambassador
April 29, 2013
Proud of his humble roots and contributions to New Orleans music, bandleader, vocalist, and jazz trumpeter Kermit Ruffins claims Louis Armstrong as an early role model. He sings with an off-the-cuff charm that is the spitting image of our beloved Crescent City icon, "Satchmo," as he plays his trumpet with a bright, silvery tone. The jazz served up by our native Orleanian with a sunny disposition is as Louisiana as dirty rice and embodies the very essence of New Orleans jazz.
Big Chief "Monk" Boudreaux Won't Bow Down
January 30, 2013
A few blocks away from the bacchanalian revelry in the French Quarter lies the mysterious and magnificent world of a mainstay of New Orleans Fat Tuesday celebrations. Mardi Gras Indians, resplendent in their brilliantly colored costumes, take to the streets in ceremonial dance to the beat of tambourines and drums, spellbinding confrontational rituals, call-and-response style chants, and Indian second line rhythms.
