All Satchmo Seminars are free and open to the public.

6:30 -7:30pm - Jam Session: A Keynote, Robert O'Meally. In conjunction with the opening of the photo exhibit, Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint, Professor Robert O'Meally, Zora Neale Hurston Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University (and founder of the Center for Jazz Studies), discusses the exhibition and its subjects. Professor O'Meally curated an earlier version of the exhibit for Lincoln Center. He also serves on the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation board of directors.

Friday, July 31, 2009

NEW LOCATION ! ! ! The Presbytere - Zulu Exhibit - Louisiana State Museum (on Jackson Square, next to St. Louis Cathedral)

2:00 - 2:30pm - Charles Hamilton - President of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, along with Captain Jesse Hampton, will talk about the history of the Zulus and this special exhibit at the Presbytere, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of their organization.
 

2:30 -3:15pm - "Hail King Zulu!" In February of 1949 Louis Armstrong told Time magazine "There's a thing I've dreamed of all my life...and I'll be damned if it don't look like it's about to come true--to be King of the Zulus' Parade." On March 1st of that year, Mardi Gras day, his dream was fulfilled. 2009 marks not only the 60th anniversary of Armstrong's turn as Zulu King, but also the centennial of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. In celebration of both, Michael Cogswell, Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum, presents one-of-a-kind recordings, photographs, and scrapbook pages from Armstrong's personal collection.

3:45 - 5:00pm - Day 1 - Cinematic Satch: Louis Armstrong in Europe 1959 - Fifty years ago, Armstrong and his All Stars embarked on a marathon six-month-long tour of Europe. Armstrong scholar Ricky Riccardi will be celebrating the anniversary of this tour by screening rare concert footage, television appearances, and even a few film cameos done by the All Stars during this trip.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint (corner of Esplanade and Decatur)

11:30- 12:30pm - Armstrong 101- What makes Louis Armstrong LOUIS ARMSTRONG? How did he transform not just jazz, but also popular music and popular culture? And why does he continue to have such a huge influence? Join Louis Armstrong House Museum Director Michael Cogswell as he traces the life and legacy of Louis.
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12:45 - 1:45pm - Making the World More Wonderful: Fifteen Years of the Toyama's Foundation. - In 1968, newlywed musicians Keiko and Yoshio Toyama moved to New Orleans from Japan. Their five years in residence changed their lives, and inspired them to give something back to the city that gave them so much. Since 1994, through their Wonderful World Foundation, the couple has donated more than 700 instruments to the youth of New Orleans. To celebrate their fifteenth year of wonderful philanthropy, Keiko and Yoshio will talk to former Jazz Collection curator Don Marquis about the genesis of their Foundation and its contributions to New Orleans musicians.

2:00 - 3:00pm - Mr. Personality: An Interview with Lloyd Price: New Orleans music legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Lloyd Price is known for his many hits such as Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Personality and Stagger Lee. Here, Price talks to Seminar host Michael Gourrier about the music of New Orleans and his varied career.

3:15 - 4:30pm "A Lot of Scotch Tape:" Louis Armstrong, Collage Artist - In a 1953 letter, Armstrong wrote: "Well, you know, my hobbie (one of them anyway) is using a lot of scotch tape...My hobbie is to pick out different things during what I read and piece them together and making a little story of my own." These collages (detailed in the new book Satchmo: The Wonderful World and Art of Louis Armstrong) covered the front and back of more than 500 of his tape boxes as well as a portion of Armstrong's den wall in Corona Queens. The Armstrong House Museum's Michael Cogswell and Robert O'Meally (who curated the current Lincoln Center exhibit "The Collage Aesthetic of Louis Armstrong: "In the Cause of Happiness") discuss this fascinating aspect of Armstrong's creative life.

4:45 - 6:00pm - Day 2 -Cinematic Satch: Louis Armstrong on Television - A popular presenter from last year, Ricky Riccardi, returns with all new clips of Louis Armstrong's ubiquitous television appearances from the 1950s and 1960s, ranging from the "Colgate Comedy Hour" to "I've Got a Secret."

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint (corner of Esplanade and Decatur)

11:30 - 12:30pm - Satchmo City : From New Orleans to the Gold Coast - New Orleans-born author Keith Weldon Medley will explore Louis Armstrong's roots. From the streets of old New Orleans to Satchmo's seminal visit to Ghana in West Africa, Medley retraces Armstrong's steps with images, writings, and recordings.

12:45 - 2:00pm - Ask George Avakian! The legendary record producer and executive (and annual SummerFest Guest) George Avakian celebrated his 90th Birthday earlier this year (and picked up a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement, too!). Instead of presenting on an aspect of his relationship with Armstrong (he produced Louis Armstrong Sings W.C. Handy and Satch Plays Fats), Avakian, who also produced records by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Errol Garner, Paul Desmond....you get the picture, will open the floor to questions. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to query a legend of the American music industry.

2:15 - 3:30pm - Armstrong the Alchemist: How Louis Made Silk Purses from Sow's Ears - Not every tune Armstrong recorded was by Gershwin or Ellington. Using the recent Mosaic boxed set The Complete Louis Armstrong Decca Sessions (1935-1946) as a guide, Dan Morgenstern, Director of the Rutgers Institute for Jazz Studies, discusses Armstrong's ability to transform less-than-classic tunes.

3:45 - 5:00pm - Hello Louis!: - On July 3rd 1970, they threw a birthday party for Louis Armstrong at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. More than forty musicians took the stage that night for the "Hello Louis!" concert, including Sarah Vaughn, Barney Bigard, and Ray Brown. Hoagy Carmichael was the Master of Ceremonies. The opening band was led by the drummer Barry Martyn. Martyn, also a producer and author, talks to jazz historian Jack Stewart about how the concert came about, his participation in it, and what is was like playing for Satchmo the Great.

5:15 - 6:30 - Day 3 - Cinematic Satch: Louis Armstrong's Final Years - In the last two years of his life, Louis Armstrong was a frequent presence on television. Ricky Riccardi has collected many of these ultra-rare appearances and will be screening some highlights, including clips from a week-long co-hosting stint on "The Mike Douglas Show" and one of Armstrong's final television appearances on "The David Frost Show" in 1971, where Armstrong played a little trumpet and even shared the stage with Bing Crosby. Not to be missed!