Contact: Kit Lipps, University of New Orleans 504-280-6232Amy B. Ferguson, Keating Magee Public Relations 504-299-7175
FATHERS OF JAZZ
Horns Blow for Ellis Marsalis and Satchmo during Benefit Concert
Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis team up with Harry Connick, Jr. to salute Ellis during Armstrong Centennial in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, LA, May 15, 2001 - In celebration of one of the founding fathers of jazz and the father of one of America's most celebrated jazz families, the University of New Orleans is hosting Satchmo to Marsalis: A Tribute to the Fathers of Jazz, a benefit concert featuring Ellis Marsalis, all four of his musical sons, and one of his most well-known students - Harry Connick, Jr. The concert takes place on Armstrong's 100th birthday - Saturday, August 4, 2001 - at the Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans.
Expected to draw nearly 5,000 jazz fans, the event will be the first time that musicians Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis, along with Harry Connick, Jr., have all appeared on-stage with Ellis at the same time. Proceeds from the concert will be used to endow the Jazz Studies Program at the University of New Orleans in Ellis Marsalis' name.
"Ellis has been a foundation of music and jazz education in New Orleans for decades," says University of New Orleans Chancellor Gregory O'Brien. "The Jazz Studies Program would not be what it is today without people like Ellis and Louis Armstrong, who have devoted their lives to making music and guiding young musicians."
Marsalis, who has taught music in New Orleans for more than 34 years, is the program's founding director. He returned to New Orleans in 1989 to begin the program after three years as coordinator of jazz studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Reserved seating tickets to the Satchmo to Marsalis concert at $100, $60 and $35, patron tickets at $250, go on sale May 18, 2001 through Ticketmaster. Advance patron tickets and sponsorships are available now and can be secured by calling 504-280-7410.
Patron tickets also include entry into the post-concert JazzJam to be held at the House of Blues. This event will feature performances by locally and nationally renowned musicians whom Ellis Marsalis has played with, mentored or taught during his illustrious career.
Volunteers from New Orleans and around the nation have joined in promoting the event. This committee includes music and entertainment notables such as actors John Goodman and Helen Mirren, motion picture director Taylor Hackford, New York-based jazz writer and historian Sy Kravitz and Victor Goines, director of jazz studies at The Juilliard School.
The concert is being held during a whole weekend of related events and activities taking place in New Orleans August 2 - 5. These events include the Louis Armstrong Centennial Conference sponsored by the University of New Orleans (with support from the Louis Armstrong Foundation and the Florence Gould Foundation), and, Satchmo Summerfest, a weekend of food, music and fun in the French Quarter. A comprehensive metropolitan university, the University of New Orleans offers extensive learning experiences and academic training at both the undergraduate and graduate level to over 16,000 students in more than 100 degree programs. Since the first graduating class of 115 in 1962, the university has conferred more than 45,000 degrees, nearly one-quarter of those at the master's or doctoral levels. University of New Orleans sets itself apart by offering specialized majors such as Jazz Studies; Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration; and Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. A member of the Louisiana State University System, the University of New Orleans is ranked as a Carnegie Research University II, one of only two public universities in Louisiana to receive this distinction. University of New Orleans was founded in 1956 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans and opened its doors Sept. 5, 1958.
Editors - please contact Amy B. Ferguson at Keating Magee Marketing Advertising & Public Relations, 504-299-7175, OR, Kit Lipps at the University of New Orleans, 504-280-6232, for media information. ###
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