New Orleans Jazz Museum Mission to Paris Fete de La Musique

Greetings from the New Orleans Jazz Museum!

What an extraordinary month we’ve had! Just last week, our team returned from a whirlwind mission to Paris, where we were able to present an incredible cohort of New Orleans musicians as part of Fête de la Musique, an annual free-to-the-public celebration of live music and community music-making that takes place in a wide range of public and private spaces throughout France and beyond.

Our participation in Fête de la Musique was the latest iteration of Jazz International, the Jazz Museum’s dynamic initiative dedicated to promoting New Orleans culture internationally through a broad range of global partnerships and cultural exchanges. This delegation to Paris included an all-star cast of celebrated New Orleans musicians: Herlin Riley, Dr. Michael White, James Andrews, Gregg Stafford, Mitchell Player, and Mahmoud Chouki (of the Jazz Museum’s Gallatin Street Records record label).

We want to thank this stellar group for joining our Jazz International team in Paris, offering a series of unforgettable performances at Le 360 Paris Music Factory, Hotel Lutecia, Duc des Lombards, and Cité Internationale de la Langue Française in Villers-Cotterêts, as well as at Elysée Palace-the official residence of the President of France-where Herlin Riley, Mitchell Player and James Andrews joined Jon Batiste, Gregory Porter, and French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf for a once-in-a-lifetime musical experience.

We would also like to express our deep gratitude to Lt. Governor of Louisiana Billy Nungesser and to Hon. Natalie Beras, Consul General of the French Republic for her work in guiding this mission, as well as to Alliance Française of New Orleans.

Last but definitely not least, an enormous THANK YOU to our sponsors! Without the support of the George & Joyce Wein Foundation, Inc., James Douglas Hislop, Randy Fertel, Anne Atkinson, Bo Cooper, Catherine Whitney, New Orleans & Company, none of this would have been possible. It is a great honor to work with such an incredible community dedicated to sustaining New Orleans culture at home and abroad.

Warmest wishes from all of us at the Jazz Museum!