Jazz

At a moment when musical streams are crossing with unprecedented frequency, it’s crucial to remember that throughout its history, New Orleans has been the point at which sounds and cultures from around the world converge, mingle, and resurface, transformed by the Crescent City’s inimitable spirit and joie de vivre. Nowhere is that idea more vividly embodied than in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, which has held the torch of New Orleans music aloft for more than 60 years, all the while carrying it enthusiastically forward as a reminder that the history they were founded to preserve is a vibrantly living history.

PHJB marches that tradition forward once again on So It Is. The album redefines what New Orleans music means today by tapping into a sonic continuum that stretches back to the city’s Afro-Cuban roots, through its common ancestry with the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Fire Music of Pharoah Sanders and John Coltrane, and forward to cutting-edge artists with whom the PHJB have shared festival stages from Coachella to Newport, including legends like Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello and the Grateful Dead and modern giants like Beck, The Foo Fighters, My Morning Jacket, and the Black Keys.

“With their diverse repertoire spanning both genres and eras … it is music meant to move people and mountains.” – CBS News-Miami

Praised for their “authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound,” The String Queens (TSQ) are a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel and imagine!

With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that transport audiences through time and a multitude of musical genres.

Join us for a rare opportunity to experience a special Concert Hall collab with three Grammy-winning jazz artists who rarely tour together.

One of the most lyrical voices of contemporary jazz piano, Brad Mehldau’s unique path embodies the essence of jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop allure. He has worked with artists including Pat Metheny, Renée Fleming, and Joshua Redman, and garnered awards and admiration for his own compositions and re-workings of songs by The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, and George Gershwin.

Bassist, composer, and bandleader Christian McBride fronts acclaimed ensembles including Inside Straight and The Christian McBride Big Band. From a kaleidoscope of jazz styles to R&B, and pop/rock, Latin, and hip-hop/neo-soul to classical, McBride’s expansive skills have produced nine Grammy awards. In addition, he is Artistic Director of the Newport Jazz Festival, Creative Chair for Jazz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and hosts National Public Radio’s Jazz Night in America.

Drummer and composer Marcus Gilmore – grandson of iconic drummer Roy Haynes – can be heard on the soundtrack for the film “Soul.” He has worked with Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Vijay Iyer, Derrick Hodge, Jill Scott, Norah Jones, Terrence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, and Terrace Martin.