The New Orleans Arts and Cultural Host Committee will host the 27th annual fundraising concert for the Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp (LSASJC) on Wednesday, July 6, at The George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center. This year's theme is "Honoring the Past and Looking Toward the Future."
The concert will feature the camp's newly appointed artistic director Donald Harrison and this year's artist-in-residence Stefon Harris. The lineup also features faculty and local artists, including Germaine Bazzle, Brian Quezergue, Jonathan Bloom, Darrell Lavigne, Marlon Jordan, Herman Lebeaux, Roderick Paulin, Chris Severin, Tj Norris, Clarence Johnson, Joel Dyson, Don Vappie, and Andrew Baham. Plus, there will be a reception and concert from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and another from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The Herb Alpert Foundation, Gia Maione Prima Foundation, and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation are some of the many organizations making the concert possible.
Summer Jazz Camp is an enriching experience for aspiring musicians. After three years of social distancing due to COVID-19, LSASJC has hosted in-person music education and swing dance classes since Monday, June 20. This time, camp takes place at Loyola's state-of-the-art Communications/Music Complex where students ages 10-21 experience vigorous training from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. All students will attend lessons until Friday, July 8.
LSASJC has exposed the art of jazz to youth since 1995 and for three weeks, they teach jazz music and swing dance to 100 students ages 10 through 21. In addition, brass, woodwinds, piano, percussion, music composition, and other lessons are offered. More than 2,000 people have joined the program. As the years go by, LSASJC's goal remains the same: getting young people to appreciate jazz music as an art through education and performance, thus creating a whole new generation of jazz musicians.
"Our alumni have become successful musicians and successful in other careers; some music-related, some not," Camp President Sybil Morial said. "We have learned from them how Jazz Camp has enriched lives and taught discipline they carried over into various endeavors."
Tickets for the reception and concert will cost $100 and $50 for the next show. They can be purchased here. To learn more about LSASJC, visit louisarmstrongjazzcamp.com.
