New Orleans Jazz Museum and Le 360 Paris Music Factory bring New Orleans Jazz to Paris for Festival Jazz Nouvelle-Orleans

The New Orleans Jazz Museum (Louisiana, USA) and Le 360 Paris Music Factory (Paris, France) have joined forces to create a festival focused on cultural exchange. The first edition of this festival will take place from September 22 to 24, 2023, and will offer three days of musical and cultural programming.

The New Orleans Jazz Museum will be sending three bandleaders as cultural ambassadors of the New Orleans jazz tradition: James Andrews, George Brown and Christie Jourdain (leader of the Original Pinettes Brass Band). Each bandleader will lead a group of Parisian musicians, the NOLA French Connection, in the interpretation of original arrangements of emblematic New Orleans classics.

In addition to musical performances, the festival will feature a screening of City of a Million Dreams, a documentary film by Jason Berry exploring the history and cultural significance of New Orleans jazz funerals and second-line parades as well as a traveling version of the Jazz Museum's exhibit Drumsville: The Evolution of New Orleans Beat. 

“We are excited to work with Le 360 Paris Music Factory in creating a brand new festival,” says the New Orleans Jazz Museum Director Greg Lambousy. “It is the first festival in Paris dedicated exclusively to celebrating New Orleans music and culture. This festival will give musicians, chefs, documentarians, artists and visual artists opportunities to showcase their work and inspire Parisian audiences to learn about New Orleans and the region. We see this as a way of inviting Parisians to visit New Orleans, as well as an important cultural exchange.”

The idea of developing a joint festival was conceived during the New Orleans Jazz Museum’s visit to Paris in 2022. Located in the La Goutte d'Or neighborhood, a vibrant part of the city that's often called "African Paris," Le 360 Paris Music Factory was a natural partner. This collaboration further strengthens the Jazz Museum's mission to function as a global bridge for students, artists, musicians, musical innovators, and historians. 

In addition to three days of music programming, the New Orleans Jazz Museum has also partnered with Zella Palmer, Director and Chair of Dillard University's Ray Charles Program on African-American Material Culture, and Chef Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA restaurant in organizing a culinary program designed to bring the best of New Orleans cuisine to Paris.

The New Orleans Jazz Museum is grateful for the support from the Consulate General of France in New Orleans, Villa Albertine, Dillard University and New Orleans & Company.

For more information about the festival, visit https://le360paris.com/evenement/festival-jazz-nouvelle-orleans/

Many thanks to our friends at New Orleans & Co. for their support!