Festival goers will enjoy traditional jazz and brass bands, New Orleans classic cuisine, family activities, culture and fun at weekend-long celebration

NEW ORLEANS (July 19, 2011) – French Quarter Festivals, Inc. announces details about the eleventh annual Satchmo SummerFest – the premier American Jazz Festival dedicated to the life, legacy and music of New Orleans’ native son, Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong.  The 2011 Satchmo SummerFest takes place August 4 through August 7 in the French Quarter – at the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint, Maison on Frenchmen Street (Satchmo Seminars), and at Muriel’s Jackson Square (Satchmo Opening Reception and Keynote Speech).  Friday through Sunday the festival is free and open to the public.

Live, Local Music and Family Activities

Two stages of music on the grounds of the Mint will include traditional jazz, contemporary jazz and brass bands.  Musical performers include Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, Preservation Hall Allstars, Yoshio Toyama and the Dixie Saints, Hot 8 Brass Band, Tim Laughlin and Connie Jones, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Leroy Jones, Jazz vocalist Leah Chase, Leon ‘Kid Chocolate’ Brown and many more.  This free community event will also feature free dance lessons sponsored by NOLA Jitterbugs during Saturday and Sunday at  the Cornet Chop Suey Stage. Lessons will take place between each musical set (see music schedule for details).  The festival will also feature an array of educational and entertaining

children’s activities, including a Satchmo collage project,  a second-line umbrella creation station sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz Celebration, activity stations sponsored by Krewe of Muses and Young Audiences, coconut decorating with the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club ‘Junior Zulus’ and Jazz National Historic Park’s Junior Rangers program. Festival hours have been extended to 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm Saturday, August 6 and Sunday, August 7. The festival will also include a new tented music and food area called Satchmo in the Shade and is sponsored by Where Y’at Magazine.

Fascinating Speakers, Seminars and Discussions

The 2011 Satchmo SummerFest Seminars will be held at our new location, Maison in the Marigny, located at 508 Frenchmen Street, just one block from the Old U.S. Mint.

An impressive array of speakers will present seminars, discussions, music, and movies, scheduled from Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7.  Satchmo SummerFest Keynote Speaker, Richard Havers, will open the sessions at Muriel’s Jackson Square on Thursday, August 4^th, Armstrong’s birthday, at the annual Satchmo SummerFest Kickoff Party. Critically acclaimed British music writer Richard Havers and Grammy-winning record producer Russ Titelman are co-producers of the new comprehensive box set from Universal Music Group of great Armstrong recordings, ‘Satchmo’ – officially releasing at the 2011 Satchmo SummerFest in New Orleans. The set is being hailed by experts as “the most complete Louis Armstrong boxed set ever made available.” Havers and Armstrong archivist Ricky Riccardi will discuss and play clips from the set, along with additional Armstrong re-issues scheduled for release later this year.  Richard Havers has written over 2,000 jingles for radio and television and has produced concerts for artists such as Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys, Chicago and America. Amongst his many books, Havers wrote the Frank Sinatra biography, Sinatra, and collaborated on two books with Bill Wyman: Bill Wyman’s Blues Odyssey and Rolling with the Stones. Many other sessions are scheduled with educational and entertaining speakers who knew or were inspired by Louis Armstrong (complete schedule attached).

Special Events

In addition to a weekend full of great music, food, seminars, movies and children’s activities, Satchmo SummerFest features an array of special events, including an Opening Reception

and Keynote Address on Armstrong’s birthday (August 4^th); the annual Jazz Mass at the historic St. Augustine Church in Treme, a traditional second line parade and the annual

‘Trumpet Tribute’ which closes the festival Sunday night with a Satchmo birthday party. Please see attached schedule for more details.

Happy Birthday Satchmo!

Satchmo SummerFest is scheduled annually to coincide with Louis Armstrong’s birthday on August 4^th.  The artist often stated in public interviews that he was born on July 4, 1900 (USA Independence Day), a date that has been noted in many biographies.  Armstrong died in 1971 and his true birthdate, August 4, 1901, was not discovered until the mid-1980s.  Louis Armstrong was born in a poor section of New Orleans known as “the Battlefield”. Throughout his career, he entertained millions – from heads of state and royalty to the neighborhood kids on his stoop in Corona, New York. Despite his fame, he lived a simple life in a working-class neighborhood.  The man known around the world as ‘Satchmo’, short for Satchelmouth, was widely recognized as a founding father of jazz – a unique American art form. In 1932, Melody Maker magazine editor Percy Brooks greeted Armstrong in London with “Hello, Satchmo!” and the nickname stuck. His influence, as an artist and cultural icon, is universal, unmatched, and very much alive today. Armstrong was a charismatic and innovative performer whose improvised soloing was the main influence for a fundamental change in jazz. As one of the most famous musicians of the 20th century, he was first known as a cornet player, then as a trumpet player, and toward the end of his career he was best known as a vocalist and influential jazz singer.

2011 Official Poster by Christy Works Boutte

A Satchmo SummerFest limited edition print by local artist Christy Works Boutte will be available for purchase.  Christy’s love of vibrant colors and ability to create harmony using thick oil paints has become a trademark of her creations.  She most recently worked with French Quarter Festivals, Inc. in 2008, creating the painting which became the sold-out French Quarter Festival poster. Other merchandise will be available for sale at the festival and online including Satchmo SummerFest shirts, hats, cooling bandanas and jewelry.  More than twenty-five food and beverage booths will be open at the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint and will feature authentic local cuisine, drinks and snowballs from the area’s finest restaurants to create “Red Bean Alley.”

Sponsors and Community Partners for the 11^th annual Satchmo SummerFest include:  The City of New Orleans, The Convention & Visitors Bureau, New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, Louisiana Office of Tourism, Abita Brewing Company, WWL TV-4, Louisiana State Museum, French Market, Louis Armstrong International Airport, Absolut, Malibu, Rhodes Funeral Home, Hotel Monteleone, Muriel’s Jackson Square, Rouses, New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Aidan Gill, Harrah’s New Orleans, Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, OffBeat Magazine, nola.com, Where Y’At Magazine, Pelican Ice, www.nolajitterbugs.com, Tulane Medical Center, Event Rentals, Rolland Safe and Lock, Mardi Gras Productions, New Orleans Jazz Celebration, New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation,  Jefferson Variety, My New Orleans, WWNO 89.9 FM, Louisiana Cookin’, Kids and Family New Orleans Magazine, The Vinyl District, SLS Arts, Krewe of Muses and Sunburst Media.