New Orleans Jazz Museum 2018 Annual Report
“To jazz or not to jazz, there is no question!”
Dear Friends,
As we enter a new and exciting year, it is only right for us to reflect on the people and experiences that made 2018 one to remember. 2018 was a year of tremendous growth and innovation for the New Orleans Jazz Museum. We opened eight dynamic exhibits, drawing our largest crowds to date, and we capped off the New Orleans Tricentennial with our inaugural Improvisations Gala, a record-breaking event for the Jazz Museum. Our Gala would not have been made possible without the generous support of our sponsors.
Again, we would like to thank all of our Jazz Museum friends--it is through your support that we were able to have such an unforgettable and unprecedented year. We are looking forward to an even greater year in 2019!
With Gratitude,
Greg Lambousy
Director
EDUCATION
The New Orleans Jazz Museum is excited to launch several education initiatives funded by our fundraising efforts.
MASTER PLAN Funded by an Ella West Freeman Foundation grant, experienced museum educators Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes and Sonya Robinson have helped us to create an education master plan, which includes K-12 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) field trips; teacher training; music instruction and master classes; higher education field experience in Library Science, Music Industry, and Performance; special events focused on cultural tourism; and national and community partnerships.
MASTER CLASSES The New Orleans Jazz Museum has begun a partnership with Trombone Shorty Academy and New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) to develop a master class program. Classes take place every other Wednesday in our performance center and are led by esteemed jazz musicians, Wendell Brunious and Herlin Riley. The project is funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Aspen Institute.
MUSEUM-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIPS The New Orleans Jazz Museum has worked with the following organizations and schools on educational programming: Homer Plessy School, Young Audiences, Chalmette High School, Southern University of New Orleans, De La Salle High School, Landry-Walker High School, Villes Des Musiques Du Monde, Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle Orléans, Warren Easton High School, Riverdale High School, New Harmony High School, Destrehan Satellite School, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts.
EDUCATION CENTER The firsts steps in creating the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s first floor Education Center have begun with assistance from the National Park Service. Our target completion date is March 2019, and the space will be available for education programs during festival season.
INTERNSHIPS The New Orleans Jazz Museum hosted local and international interns and Service Learning Students from Tulane University, Loyola University, Southern University New Orleans and University of New Orleans. Our international interns traveled to us from all over France, including Université de Rennes 2, ICART Bordeaux, Lycee Bellevue, Ecole du Louvre, and Institut national du patrimoine. They contributed to our major events, including Downriver Fest, exhibit openings, Sound Collage, Improvisations Symposium, and Improvisations Gala. In 2019, we look forward to hosting more interns from local, national and international universities.
EXHIBITS
In 2018, The New Orleans Jazz Museum installed eight new exhibits, including Jazz En Route de France; Americana Music Triangle; Funeral Secondlines + Protest: Taking over the Streets; Rooted in Resistance, Remembrance, Ritual, Resilience: Black Masking Indian; Professor Longhair; Drumsville!: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat; From Opera House to Warehouse: 300 Years of New Orleans Music; and Musical Home Places. We are happy to announce that attendance has been increasing every month.
RESEARCH
COLLECTION DIGITIZATION Through funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Studies, The New Orleans Jazz Museum has continued its mass digitization project. The Museum has completed the digitization of all photographs and will now be working on our collection of sheet music. Digital files are added to the Louisiana Digital Library to be used for exhibits, educational programming, and advertising.
FILM DIGITIZATION Funded by The National FIlm Preservation Foundation, The New Orleans Jazz Museum has completed the digitization of 1968 Jazz Fest performances. We will use these films for exhibits and screening events, made possible by the donation of Nuria and Ron Rowley for the purchase of an outdoor screen and projector.
DONALD M. MARQUIS READING ROOM Through a generous gift of The Jay Pritzker Foundation, the Jazz Museum’s Reading Room has been named in honor of Donald M. Marquis, curator emeritus of The New Orleans Jazz Museum. The Reading Room is the point of access for the collections to the general public and scholars alike. The Jay Pritzker Foundation gift allows the Reading Room to be open five days a week for walk-ins. The gift also helps support ongoing expansion of collections, exhibits, education programs, and performances.
PROGRAMMING
The New Orleans Jazz Museum is proud to host a wide variety of regular music and dance performances, lectures, symposiums, workshops, festivals and special events.
2018 AT A GLANCE
BON BON VIVANT ALBUM RELEASE PARTY On January 12, 2018, we kickstarted our year with the Bon Bon Vivant Album Release Party. Bon Bon Vivant, New Orlean’s Indie-Gypsy Band, partnered with our record label, Gallatin Street Records, to record a live performance at the museum.
DANNY BARKER FESTIVAL On January 13-14, 2018, The New Orleans Jazz Museum hosted the Danny Barker Festival. Featuring artists such as Ellis Marsalis and Detroit Brooks, the festival had duration of three days full of of great talk, music, and more in celebration of the life and legacy of NEA Jazz Master Danny Barker.
MARDI GRAS MAMBO On February 2, 2018, The Cervantes Hispanic American Arts Foundation held its annual Mardi Gras Mambo at our museum with King Tulio Murillo and Queen Triness Kuhn reigning in 2018. The event brought together the Carnival traditions of New Orleans, Brazil, Cuba and other Latin American countries all in one night. Entertainment included a Second Line Brass Band, Javier Olondo & AsheSon, Rumba Buena, Casa Samba and more.
MINTING NOLA MUSIC On March 10, 2018, The New Orleans Museum hosted a three-hour long event featuring performances from The Trombone Shorty Academy Band, Bon Bon Vivant and different acoustic jazz performances. The event hosted local food vendors and provided complimentary refreshments for all guests.
FRENCH QUARTER FEST On April 13-15, 2018, The Jazz Museum hosted the second festival of the year. The line up included Bon Bon Vivant, Benny Grunch and the Bunch, Yung Vul, The Revealers, The Popeyes Brass Band, The New Orleans Nightcrawlers, and The Red Hot Brass Band among others! Each band was presented by a local Restaurant.
BRASS BAND FEST On May 5, 2018, we held the Brass Band Fest, featuring the Treme Brass Band. The festival included vendors such as Grannie Cooking Pot LLC.
NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL LEGACIES IN NEW ORLEANS On May 25, 2018, The New Orleans Jazz Museum held a panel discussion of Native American Cultural Traditions in New Orleans, including personal experiences, family histories, social practices, as well as responses to Native experiences. The panel presented speakers such as John Barbry, Jeffery Darensbourg, Daniel Usner, and other professors, historians, and scholars.
CREOLE TOMATO FEST On June 9-10, 2018, The French Market presented their 32nd Annual Creole Tomato Festival. The line up included acts from Move Ya Brass, Revival, Little Freddie King, Gina Brown, MoJEAUX, The Uptown Orchestra and others.
AN INTRODUCTION: JAZZ INSTRUMENTS AND INSTRUMENTATION On July 20 and 27, 2018, Desmian Barnes performed an introduction to Jazz Music with Soul Heirs Band at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Desmian is a bandleader, singer, percussionist, songwriter and trumpeter that has taught theory, arrangement and composition in several local schools, while playing at numerous local venues. This event was made possible thanks to the Jazz Education Network and the Herb Alpert Foundation.
PROFESSOR LONGHAIR OPENING & SATCHMO SUMMER FEST On August 2-5, 2018, we had one of our most awaited exhibit openings:” Me Got Fiyo: The Professor Longhair Centennial.” This exhibit celebrated both the New Orleans Tricentennial and the Centennial of the birth of the most influential pianists in New Orleans History. This wonderful event was followed up by the 18th Anniversary of the Satchmo Summerfest, presented by Chevron and dedicated to the life, legacy, and music of New Orleans own Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong.
DOWNRIVER FESTIVAL September 8, 2018 kicked off the sixth annual Downriver Fest. This years theme, Gumbos and Daiquiris, celebrated the unique cultural history of New Orleans and the Mississippi River community. The event was a great success, and we received sponsorships from a wide scope of organizations like Hundred Acre Design, WWNO Radio, RESTORE the Mississippi River Delta, Offbeat Magazine, Telemundo New Orleans, Jazzmen Rice, Tropical Radio, and WWOZ Radio. We also partnered with the French Market District, Water Collaborative, National Park Service, and Louisiana Children’s Museum. Articles and radio spots appeared in local and national news.
COURTNEY BRYAN CONCERT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MASNO On October 5, 2018, the New Orleans Jazz Museum hosted an intimate evening concert with Courtney Bryan. Courtney performed her works for solo piano and recorded sound including Songs of Laughing, Smiling, and Crying.
COLONIAL DOCUMENTS TRANSCRIBATHON On October 13, 2018, More than seventy people, among those scholars, professors, students and volunteers from all different parts of Louisiana came together with one purpose: transcribing our Spanish and French Colonial Documents. All the attendees were able to enjoy a tour of our museum and reading room, explore our exhibits, and listen to a panel of three incredible scholars talking about their areas of research and the importance that the Colonial Documents hold for studying Louisiana’s History.
DRUMSVILLE! THE EVOLUTION OF THE NEW ORLEANS BEAT On November 8, 2018, The New Orleans Jazz Museum debuted a new exhibit: “Drumsville: Evolution of The New Orleans Beat”. This exhibit celebrated both the New Orleans Tricentennial and International Drum Month, along with the development of the drum kit in New Orleans and the ongoing evolution of rich drumming traditions. We opened the evening with a performance, live music, and food from local restaurants. Our evening concluded with a second line led by the Treme Brass Band. .
FÊTE DES FROMAGES On November 17, 2018, The French American Chamber of Commerce sold out tickets to Fête des Fromages, a wine and cheese festival hosted by the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The event was a great success, and attendees had the chance to taste a wide range of cheese from France and the United States.
IMPROVISATIONS CONFERENCE On November 31 and December 1, 2018, the Jazz Museum hosted an immersive conference on food and culture in New Orleans, organized by Randy Fertel. This conference brought national leaders in the cultural sphere to the Jazz Museum the week before our Improvisations Gala to explore the theme of Improvisation and its cultural significance.
SOUND COLLAGE: A LUNA FÊTE CELEBRATION OF LIGHT & MUSIC On December 5-7, 2018, we featured illuminated installations, digital sculptures, art animated by technology and musical performances, all intended to engage and inspire audiences of all ages. Through several evenings, Sound Collage and LUNA Fête transformed the Jazz Museum's historic architecture into a playground of light, art, and music.
IMPROVISATIONS GALA On December 8, 2018, the New Orleans Jazz Museum wrapped up its calendar year with its inaugural Improvisations Gala. The Gala wrapped up our Sound Collage: A LUNA Fête Celebration of Light & Music exhibit. The Improvisations Gala saw over 500 guests, cuisine from over a dozen restaurants, and entertainment from renowned Jazz icons Jon Batiste and Trombone Shorty, as well as performances by The Soul Rebels and the Stanton Moore Trio. The event was truly the capstone musical event of the New Orleans Tricentennial. Funds raised from the Improvisations Gala will go toward further expansion of The New Orleans Jazz Museum.
DIGITAL INITIATIVES + OUTREACH
The Jazz Museum’s rapid growth has been reflected through a series of digital efforts and personal outreach. We are actively seeking partnerships that will advance our development goals.
SOCIAL MEDIA The New Orleans Jazz Museum’s online presence has grown exponentially. We have over 6,000 followers on Facebook, over 16,000 followers on Instagram, and over 3,000 followers on Twitter. All together, we had an annual social reach of 5.2 million from fans all over the world. Follow us @nolajazzmuseum on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for daily educational and informational content.
@nolajazzmuseum on instagram
ADVERTISING This past year we were able to form partnerships with WWOZ Radio, WGSO Radio, WHIV Radio, Tropical Radio, WWNO Radio, TSF Jazz Radio-Paris, Radio Lantau-Hong Kong 360, Radio Urquisa-Buenos Aires, and The French Quarterly Magazine. We also had articles and features in The Advocate, NOLA.com, GoNOLA, OffBeat Magazine, Where Y’at Magazine, Que Pasa, New Orleans & Me, St. Charles Magazine, Associated Press, Crossover Media, BizBash, City Business, C-Span, France-Amérique, Agora Francophone, The Good Life, Travel Channel, Russian Kultura TV, Telemundo, WWL-TV, WDSU-TV, WGNO-TV, WYES-TV, SFGate, Miami Herald, Washington Times, Fresno Bee and many others. The New Orleans Jazz Museum also partnered with Zehnder Communications to produce a series of digital ads and radio and television spots promoting the Improvisations Gala.
VIDEOS Live performance videos, lectures, symposiums and more are now livestreamed to the Jazz Museum Facebook page. The Jazz Museum has also completed a series of informational videos funded by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. These videos will be showcased on our website, YouTube, and referenced in sponsorship solicitations.
GALLATIN STREET RECORDS Gallatin Street Records was formed in 2014 as a project directed towards the continued preservation and promotion of New Orleans music, art, and culture. The name was drawn from one of New Orleans' original dens of sin, a two-block stretch near the river once called Gallatin Street that was adjacent to the New Orleans Mint and is now named French Market Place. Our record label provides a way to publish the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s vintage recordings, as well as those made of performances at the museum’s performance center. With the help of Tulane University interns we have developed a new Gallatin Street Records website. We have also published new music of Bon Bon Vivant, a dynamic New Orleans indie-gypsy swing band. More to come in 2019!
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE In partnership with the Spanish Embassy we arranged for Gabriel Amargant, a Spanish saxophonist, to have a three-week cultural artist in residency at the Jazz Museum. He performed regularly at our 2pm concert series with locally renowned musicians.
TRICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS April 20 - 26, the French Consulate honored the unique history that has linked France to New Orleans since 1718, and also to accentuated the dynamic, future-oriented partnerships that exist today. On April 21st, Jazz Museum staff gave a tour of the Museum to the delegation from Orléans, France.
VILLES DES MUSIQUES DU MONDE Villes Des Musiques Du Monde youth brass band musicians partnered with the Landry-Walker High School band as part of a cultural exchange at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. The students also performed with the Chosen Ones Brass Band, acting as mentors to the students. A series of workshops and performances were presented by the New Orleans Jazz Museum, French American Chamber of Commerce - Gulf Coast Chapter and the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. This program celebrates American culture and the solidarity between France and the United States.
INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY We celebrated International Jazz Day on Monday April 30th by offering free admission to our museum. We had performances from the Arrowhead Jazz All-Stars, along with the De La Salle jazz band. Following the performance, Music Curator David Kunian presented a lecture on rare jazz artifacts in our collection. The Jazz Journalists Association honored Ellis Marsalis with the 2018 JJA Jazz Hero Award.
MUSIC INDUSTRY INFRASTRUCTURE The New Orleans Jazz Museum serves as a clearinghouse for music industry matters and helps build a stronger infrastructure for Louisiana musicians. The Jazz Museum has been working with the Grammy Foundation, Louisiana Division of the Arts, Louisiana Economic Development, Louisiana Tourism on the development of a strategic music industries plan for the state.
FRENCH CONSULATE & PARIS JAZZ MUSEUM Jazz Museum director, Greg Lambousy and Béatrice Germaine, Chargée de Mission Culturelle for the Consulat général de France à La Nouvelle Orléans went on a cultural exchange mission to Paris in January of 2018. They met with a variety of stakeholders in cultural preservation, innovation and music industries. Some of the institutions, organizations and individuals include Cité de la Musique, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Institut Français, Institut national du Patrimoine, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, Radio France, TSF Jazz Radio, France Louisiane, US Embassy, Express Conseil, Agora francophone, Villes Des Musiques Du Monde, Duc des Lombards, Selmer Instruments, Élodie Maillot with Jarring Effect, Daniel Bechet, Dan Verhnettes and Alexandre Pierrepont. A number of fruitful partnerships resulted from this mission.
DEVELOPMENT
Last year, The New Orleans Jazz Museum focused on several fundraising efforts, largely to supplement our education master plan. Funds raised are outlined below, along with potential future sponsors.
JAY PRITZKER FOUNDATION In 2018, the New Orleans Jazz Museum received a grant of $100,000 from the Jay Pritzker Foundation. In 2019, the foundation has committed to another grant of $100,000 to be paid in four installments of $25,000 throughout the year. Funds from this grant will supplement our expansion efforts, including the extension of public Reading Room hours, curation of new exhibits, and planning of educational and music programming.
LOUIS PRIMA FOUNDATION The Gia Maione Prima foundation has donated $130,000 to the New Orleans Jazz Museum for the development of the Louis Prima exhibit, The Wildest! Louis Prima Comes Home, set to open May 1, 2019.
RUTH U. FERTEL FOUNDATION The New Orleans Jazz Museum is grateful for the generosity of the Fertel Foundation and Randy Fertel, our Improvisations Gala 2018 Chair. The Fertel Foundation has donated $250,000 to the New Orleans Jazz Museum for the development of the Jazz Lab, an integral part of the Jazz Museum’s Education Center.
ELLA WEST FREEMAN FOUNDATION The New Orleans Jazz Museum received a grant of $10,000 from the Ella West Freeman Foundation to support our education master planning activities.
ROSAMARY FOUNDATION The New Orleans Jazz Museum received a $5,000 grant from the RosaMary Foundation for the development of Phase One of our Strategic Business Plan.
NURIA AND RON ROWLEY The New Orleans Jazz Museum received a donation of $3,500 from Nuria and Ron Rowley. These funds were used to purchase a 30 foot outdoor screen and projector, which allows us to diversify our event planning moving forward.
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FOUNDATION Provided the New orleans Jazz Museum with $3500 in funding to develop three promotional videos about the Museum. These videos can be found on the Jazz Museum’s YouTube page.
LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES The LEH provided the New Orleans Jazz Museum with $2,500 in funding to support the development of a joint Tricentennial exhibit titled, From the Opera House to the Warehouse: 300 Years of New Orleans Music.
2018 IMPROVISATIONS GALA For its inaugural gala, The New Orleans Jazz Museum raised over $42,000 in cash donations and $78,000 in in-kind sponsorships for a total of over $121,000.
PERFORMING ARTS READINESS (PAR) PAR awarded the New Orleans Jazz Museum and the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University a collaborative grant of $15,000 for cultural programming. It was administered by LYRASIS with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This grant allowed us to expand our educational programming. The goal of PAR is to expand and strengthen emergency preparedness among performing arts organizations.
INSTITUTE FOR MUSEUMS AND LIBRARY SERVICES (IMLS) The New Orleans Jazz Museum is currently digitizing a majority of its collection. This project is funded by a $150,000 IMLS grant.
BUILDING MAINTENANCE + EXPANSION
LIGHTING INSTALLATION Solomon Group and All-Star Electric have completed installation of the Jazz Museum LED lighting project. Solomon Group also sponsored lighting for Sound Collage: A LUNA Fête Celebration of Light & Music and our inaugural Improvisations Gala. The new lighting represents a major step forward for the Museum’s presence and a tasteful transformation of the Lower French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny intersection at Frenchmen Street and the French Market.
CARPETING In 2018, The New Orleans Jazz Museum installed new carpets in the 2nd floor exhibit galleries. This effort represents a marked improvement over the heavily stained carpet and an investment in the future excellence of the Museum.
MAINTENANCE The Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism traveling maintenance crew installed new slate in the Jazz Museum courtyard and began preparations for repairing and painting the exterior wooden doors that surround the building as well as the installation of bird nesting prevention systems, painting of exterior ironwork, and conservation of the North Peters Street wooden balcony, among other projects.
