Exhibits

Visitors to the New Orleans Jazz Museum have access to a series of rotating exhibits on themes relating to jazz history and culture. Current exhibits include: ‘New Orleans Stomp: The Centennial of King Oliver’s Groundbreaking 1923 Recordings’, ‘Drumsville: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat,’ ‘I Found My Thrill: The Music and Artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew,’ ‘Face Value: The Illusions of Power and Money,’ and ‘Exit Stage Right: Zack Smith’s Festival Portraits.’ With listening stations, films, instruments, a recording studio, and dance floor, each exhibit is intentionally designed to personally engage each visitor. All exhibits listed are open to the public.

NEW ORLEANS STOMP:

The Centennial of King Oliver’s Groundbreaking 1923 Recordings

Joe “King” Oliver was one of the New Orleans trumpet and cornet kings who took the instrument to a whole new level. His skills as a musician, composer, and bandleader altered the course of jazz and showcased the genre’s excellence. “New Orleans Stomp: The Centennial of King Oliver’s Groundbreaking 1923 Recordings” celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Creole Jazz Band recordings.  These masterpieces continue to amaze listeners and set the template for how to play early 20th century jazz that still astounds the world.  Oliver and his band of transplanted New Orleanians including Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Warren “Baby” Dodds on drums, Lil Armstrong (from Memphis) on piano, Honore Dutrey on trombone, Bill Johnson on bass, and Louis Armstrong on cornet recorded these while they had their celebrated stint at the Lincoln Gardens in Chicago.  The songs include “Dippermouth Blues,” “Canal Street Blues,” “Tears,” “Weather Bird Rag,” and many others.  The exhibit consists of rare photos of Oliver and the band, several of the original 78s from 1923, and Baby Dodds’ slide whistle and Johnny Dodds’ clarinet from the session.  This could be the first time those instruments have been in the same room in 100 years.

FACE VALUE: THE ILLUSIONS AND POWER OF MONEY

A solo exhibition by Generic Art Solutions (artists Matt Vis & Tony Campbell). Housed in the coin room, the Old Mint in New Orleans was active from 1839 to 1909, and is the only US Mint to strike coins for both the United States of America, for a succeeded Louisiana, and for the Confederacy.

Displayed side by side with coins minted in this historic facility, the artists have “minted” new coins for this exhibition. The intention of the show is to explore the tropes of wealth and influence and probe the promise of an American Dream and the gambler’s persistent belief in his luck. This exhibition examines the power structures surrounding money and our trust in those institutions. Our relationship to money is complex and currently volatile. This abstracted system of trade the world over is adrift from the gold standard, often merely a digital token divorced from the soon-to-be antiquated hard currency, thus demanding ever more blind trust in the legitimacy of the said economic system.

“The Money Jukebox.”

A fully functional Jukebox loaded with 7” disks featuring Money-themed songs. With this ongoing project, we have encouraged artists to make a famous “money “ cover version or a self-penned original on a 7” vinyl record, to be housed in our custom Jukebox.  The collection will examine the long and complex relationship that Southern music and culture have with money. We would feature all the local genres of music, Ragtime Jazz, Blues, Country, Hip Hop, Bounce, Rock, Punk, Zydeco, Swamp Pop. Etc.

“Louisiana Landfall”

A customized coin pusher arcade game. This interactive sculpture addresses ecological losses in Louisiana, namely the drastic coastal erosion of the state’s wetlands. The United States of America continues to gamble with global warming and the climate crisis and is experiencing a long losing streak. This artwork entices the audience to mirror this irresponsible behavior for similar financial gains.

“…Heads you Lose”

A double-headed fine silver coin for the year 2020. This coin speaks to the tools of the trade for a trickster, like a gambler’s stacked deck, this is a dishonest object for a post-truth culture. This coin illustrates how Patriarchal culture has gamed the system forever.

DRUMSVILLE: EVOLUTION OF THE NEW ORLEANS BEAT

The New Orleans Jazz Museum debuted Drumsville: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat on November 8, 2018, in celebration of both International Drum Month and the New Orleans Tricentennial, along with the development of the drum kit in New Orleans and the ongoing evolution of rich local drumming traditions. Drumsville begins with the legacy of Congo Square, including traditional African percussion instruments from the Southern University at New Orleans African Art Collection, and moves through the brass band tradition to the introduction of the bass drum pedal and development of the drum kit and the extensive legacy of drummers to emerge in New Orleans over the past century. Drawing upon the Jazz Museum’s large and unique archive of historic instruments, drum kits and equipment are featured from such New Orleans legends as Papa Jack Laine, Baby Dodds, Paul Barbarin, Louis Barbarin, Cie Frazier, Ray Bauduc, CoCoMo Joe Barthelemy, Earl Palmer, Idris Muhammad, Zigaboo Modeliste, and James Black. In addition, contemporary New Orleans drum masters Johnny Vidacovich, Herlin Riley, Shannon Powell, and Stanton Moore generously loaned equipment from their personal collections. Drumsville examines related traditions of improvised percussion instruments and the tambourine, and concludes with the next generation of drummers, testifying to the vibrancy of the city’s drumming tradition.

I FOUND MY THRILL

The Music and Artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew

There will always be a debate as to who are the inventors of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but the name that is always in the mix is The Fat Man from New Orleans, Antoine “Fats” Domino. Starting with what might be the first rock ‘n’ roll song, “The Fat Man,” in 1949, Domino and his producer and songwriting partner Dave Bartholomew defined rock and roll. With his string of hits that lasted into the 1960s including “Ain’t That A Shame,” “Blue Monday, “ “Blueberry Hill,” “I’m Walkin’,” and many others, Domino blazed a trail around the world until his death in 2017 but always came back to New Orleans. His influence stretches from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones all the way to Elton John to The Black Keys and Jonathan Batiste. Using iconic artifacts, archival footage from Historic Films, Michael Murphy Productions and The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, artwork and posters, archival photos and text, ‘I Found My Thrill: The Music and Artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew’ details the Domino–Bartholomew relationship, explores their creative process, charts their hits, and brings context to their place in American music history.

‘I Found My Thrill: The Music and Artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew’ is jointly curated by Bob Santelli (curator of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the three GRAMMY museums and five other music museums as well as author of numerous books on music history), David Kunian (New Orleans Jazz Museum curator and musicologist) and Cilista Eberle and Michael Murphy (award winning documentary filmmakers who filmed Jazz Fest for 25 years). After the 20-week run at The New Orleans Jazz Museum, ‘I Found My Thrill: The Music and Artistry of Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew’ exhibit will travel to other Louisiana museums.