Jazz music is such an important piece of Louisiana history, that the Louisiana State Museum is working on opening its very own New Orleans Jazz Festival inside the old U.S. Mint. This one-of-a-kind project will conserve a piece of cultural history that is so important to New Orleans, and we personally can’t wait to visit once it is up and running! Here is a brief statement from the Louisiana State Museum on the project:
“Working with the Louisiana Museum Foundation, the museum has embarked on a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign, and needs your donations to make this historic project come to life.
Besides underwriting construction and exhibition development, the campaign will help fund the conservation of the Jazz Collection. The collection contains irreplaceable musical instruments and related artifacts, such as Louis Armstrong’s first cornet, Sidney Bechet’s soprano saxophone, Edward “Kid” Ory’s trombone, George Lewis’ clarinet, Warren “Baby” Dodds’ drum kit, performance costumes, photographs, original manuscripts, historic recordings and rare film footage.
Through partnerships with educational institutions, theNew Orleans Jazz Museum will also broaden the local, national and global understanding of jazz as the most innovative, historically pivotal musical art form in American history.”