Louis Daniel Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He is among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and different eras in the history of jazz.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New Orleans each year. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation Inc., as it is officially named, was established in 1970 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (NPO). The Foundation is the original organizer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell Oil Company, a corporate financial sponsor. The Foundation was established primarily to redistribute the funds generated by Jazz Fest into the local community. As an NPO, their mission further states that the Foundation "promotes, preserves, perpetuates and encourages the music, culture and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs and other cultural, educational, civic and economic activities". The founders of the organization included pianist and promoter George Wein, producer Quint Davis and the late Allison Miner.
Kermit Ruffins is an American jazz trumpeter, singer, composer, and actor from New Orleans. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He often accompanies his songs with his own vocals. Most of his bands perform New Orleans jazz standards though he also composes many of his own pieces. Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Ruffins is an unabashed entertainer who plays trumpet with a bright, silvery tone, sings with off-the-cuff charm and never gets too abstruse in his material."
Curtis John Arceneaux better known by the name Coco Robicheaux, was an American blues musician and artist, from Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States.
Thaddeus Bunol "Tad" Jones was an American music historian and researcher. His extensive research is credited with definitively establishing and documenting Louis Armstrong's correct birth date, August 4, 1901.
The Rebirth Brass Band is a New Orleans brass band. The group was founded in 1983 by Phillip "Tuba Phil" Frazier, his brother Keith Frazier, Kermit Ruffins, and classmates from Joseph S. Clark Senior High School, which closed in the spring of 2018, in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans. Arhoolie released its first album in 1984.
Congo Square is an open space, now within Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street north of the French Quarter. The square is famous for its influence on the history of African American music, especially jazz.
The culture of New Orleans is unique among, and distinct from, that of other cities in the United States, including other Southern cities. New Orleans has been called the "northernmost Caribbean city" and "perhaps the most hedonistic city in the United States". Over the years, New Orleans has had a dominant influence on American and global culture.
OffBeat is a monthly music magazine in New Orleans, Louisiana, first published in 1987. The magazine mainly focuses on the music scene, cuisine, and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. The magazine covers a wide range of local music including R&B, blues, brass bands, jazz, cajun music, zydeco, rock, hip-hop, Mardi Gras Indian, funk, and independent singer-songwriters.
The New Orleans Jazz Museum is a music museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of jazz music. Originally a separate museum, the collection is now affiliated with the Louisiana State Museum. The New Orleans Jazz Museum is located in the Old U.S. Mint building on 400 Esplanade Avenue, bordering the historic French Quarter neighborhood.
James Michalopoulos is an American painter and sculptor. He is best known for his colorful interpretations of New Orleans. He has painted the landscape surrounding his home in Burgundy, France; cityscapes and street life in San Francisco and Boston; and anthropomorphically rendered animals.
Quint Davis is an American festival producer and director based in New Orleans. He is best known as the producer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival founded by George Wein. Davis has been involved in the production of the event from its start in 1970. He is the CEO of Festival Productions, Inc. - New Orleans, the company that produces the Jazz Fest.
Conrad Rodman "Connie" Jones III was an American jazz trumpeter and cornetist from New Orleans.
Herman Ernest III, best known as Roscoe, was an American drummer in the New Orleans funk scene, and is best known for his drumming in Dr. John's band the Lower 911 for almost 30 years. "Renowned for his larger-than-life personality Roscoe was both a powerful percussionist and steadfast individual." He played drums on Dr. John's Trippin' Live, released on July 29, 1997, under the Wind-Up record label, which was recorded over a week in London in 1996 at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
French Quarter Festival is a free, annual music festival held in early April, located in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1983 with the first festival held in 1984, the festival features primarily New Orleans music, such as jazz, blues, and zydeco from hundreds of local musicians, as well as food from dozens of New Orleans restaurants.
Wendell Eugene was an American jazz musician from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a popular trombonist on the New Orleans jazz scene and recorded with artists such as Lionel Ferbos, Harold Dejan, and Kermit Ruffins. He was for a time the oldest active jazz musician in New Orleans.
Calvin A. Johnson Jr. is an American saxophonist, bandleader, composer, producer, and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as a tenor and soprano saxophone player but also performs and records on alto and baritone saxophones, clarinet, and flute. Johnson has worked with many of the biggest names in New Orleans music, including Aaron Neville, Harry Connick Jr., the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mystikal, Irvin Mayfield, Mannie Fresh, and others. Johnson is the nephew of New Orleans clarinetist Ralph Johnson, a longtime member of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Johnson began playing saxophone at the age of seven, and since 2008 has been playing with his own band, Calvin Johnson & Native Son. In 2015, he started a new band with Dirty Dozen Brass Band founding member and sousaphone player, Kirk Joseph, called Chapter:SOUL.
Doreen Ketchens is an American jazz clarinetist who performs Dixieland and Trad Jazz. She has performed at concert halls, music festivals, and U.S. embassies, as well as in decades of weekly performances in Dixieland's tradition in the Royal Street Performing Arts Zone in the French Quarter of New Orleans with her band, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans. Ketchens has performed for four U.S. presidents: Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, and was described by Nola.com in 2012 as one of the cultural ambassadors of New Orleans.
Germaine Bazzle is a jazz vocalist from New Orleans.
Rosalie Marie Ashton-Washington, known as Lady Tambourine, is an American gospel musician from Louisiana, known for her skill at the tambourine.
