Satchmo SummerFest 2011 Seminar Schedule

Muriel's Jackson Square

$65 per person
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. - Opening Reception
7:00 p.m. - Keynote Conversation with Richard Havers and Russ Titelman

Keynote Conversation - 'SATCHMO': LOUIS ARMSTRONG - AMBASSADOR OF JAZZ - Critically acclaimed British music writer Richard Havers and Grammy-winning record producer Russ Titelman are co-producers of the new comprehensive boxed set from Universal Music Group/Verve of great Armstrong recordings, 'Satchmo' - which will be officially released 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 Titelman will be joined by Armstrong archivist Ricky Riccardi to discuss and play clips from the set, along with additional Armstrong re-issues scheduled for release later this year. Richard Havers has written more than 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. Russ Titelman is an American record producer and songwriter who has won three Grammy Awards. He earned his first producing the Steve Winwood song ‘ Higher Love’, and his second and third for Eric Clapton's Journeyman and Unplugged albums. Beginning his career in the 1960s, he has worked with notable musicians such as The Monkees, George Harrison, Bee Gees, Little Feat, Meat Loaf, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, The Allman Brothers Band, James Taylor, Rickie Lee Jones, Chaka Khan, Randy Newman, Gordon Lightfoot, Eric Clapton and more.

1 pm - Satchmo Collected

Twenty years into his tenure organizing the Louis Armstrong archive at Queens College in New York, and creating the Louis Armstrong House Museum, Museum Director Michael Cogswell talks about his life and work - with award-winning radio producer and interviewer Fred Kasten.

2 pm - "What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years"

Author and Louis Armstrong House Museum Project Archivist Ricky Riccardi discusses his widely praised new book which examines the final 25 years of Louis Armstrong's career - with interviewer Michael Cogswell.

3 pm - Cinematic Satch with Ricky Riccardi - Session 1 - What a Wonderful World: The Videos

Join Ricky Riccardi, author of the new Armstrong biography 'What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years,' as he screens rare Louis videos from his private collection that coincide with the major events in the book, including footage of the All Stars in live performance, Louis on television, and clips from films.

12 NOON - Good Neighbor Satch

Louis and Lucille Armstrong's longtime neighbor (in Queens, New York) and frequent traveling companion, Selma Heraldo, reminisces about her often funny - and always intriguing - experiences with the Armstrongs - with interviewer Michael Cogswell.

1 pm - National Jukebox

Library of Congress archivist and outstanding jazz trombonist David Sager gives a multi-media introduction, to the Library of Congress' recently launched "National Jukebox" website. This new offering will accord users the opportunity to stream thousands of recordings made between 1900-1925. Sager's Satchmo SummerFest presentation will especially focus on recordings from the first few years of the 20th century (1900-1903).

2 pm - NEA Jazz Master Dan Morgenstern

From his childhood in 1930's Europe on the run from the Nazis, to his current status as one of America's most esteemed jazz historians and writers, longtime Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University Dan Morgenstern has led a fascinating, jazz-rich life - which he returns to Satchmo SummerFest to talk about with award-winning radio producer and interviewer Fred Kasten.

3 pm - Satchmo's Musical Mileau

Award-winning banjoist, guitarist and musicologist Don Vappie and his duo talk about and play examples of some of the key musical genres adapted by early jazz players: hymns, marches, pop tunes and the blues - and examine the Caribbean and African influences in New Orleans music.

4 pm - NEA Jazz Master George Avakian

Meet legendary record producer and executive - and thoroughly engaging raconteur - George Avakian, who, among other creative contributions to the recording business, came up with the concept of the jazz album, pioneered live recordings of jazz concerts, and helped to popularize the lp in the 1950's. He also made great records with a "who's who" of jazz artists - including Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond and Errol Garner - and talks about his life and times with Satchmo SummerFest Seminar Coordinator Fred Kasten.

5 pm - Cinematic Satch with Ricky Riccardi - Session 2 - Satchmo the Great

Join Ricky Riccardi for a screening of the rare 1957 theatrical documentary, 'Satchmo the Great,' Edward R. Murrow's chronicle of Armstrong's 1956 trips to England and Africa. Riccardi will also discuss the behind-the-scenes shooting of the film and why this was such an important event in Louis' career. The film has never been released in any format so this is quite a rare treasure!

12 NOON - Groove Interrupted: Loss, Renewal, and the Music of New Orleans.

Longtime Times-Picayune music writer Keith Spera's new book, 'Groove Interrupted: Loss, Renewal and the Music of New Orleans' (St. Martin's Press), includes a chapter about the recording of jazz trumpeter Jeremy Davenport's 2009 album 'We'll Dance 'Til Dawn.' The scenes capture the wise-cracking camaraderie of a cast of characters that includes trumpeter Kermit Ruffins. At Satchmo Summerfest, Spera and Davenport will discuss the behind-the-scenes reality of making a jazz album in the modern era, with all its creative and economic challenges.

1 pm - Louis Armstrong and the Physicality of Trumpet Playing

Sports medicine expert Randall Dick, and colleagues Kris Chesky and John Snyder talk about the physical challenges of playing an instrument, especially trumpet, and the ways sports medicine's research about athletes can be applied by musicians - and other performing artists.

2 pm - Happy 100TH Lionel Ferbos!

Born just ten years after Louis Armstrong - New Orleans trumpeter Lionel Ferbos celebrated his 100th birthday in July - and continues to charm listeners with his heartfelt singing and playing in his still-regular New Orleans engagements. Ferbos also had a long career as an accomplished craftsman in the building trades - and talks about his life and times with award-winning photographer and jazz historian John McCusker.

3 pm - It's a Wonderful World - Yoshio and Keiko Toyama

Even as Japan struggles to recover from the devastation of the recent earthquake and tsunami, Japanese trumpeter Yoshio Toyama ('Satchmo of Japan') and his wife Keiko (banjoist) - continue working hard to help New Orleans with their Wonderful World Foundation. The Toyamas have put hundreds of instruments in the hands of Crescent City youth over the last 17 years. The Toyamas will talk with Fred Kasten about their Foundation, the years they spent in New Orleans in the late 60's and early 70's learning about and playing New Orleans Jazz, and the ongoing influence of Louis Armstrong (and the Crescent City) on their lives and work.

4 pm - LIBERTY! North and South

A tale of two neighborhoods, Black Storyville and Faubourg Treme, that nurtured jazz traditions. Told by New Orleans native and author Keith Weldon Medley, who explores the cultural environs of Louis Armstrong's Black Storyville and the traditions and glory of old Treme - which celebrates its bicentennial in 2012.

5 pm - Cinematic Satch with Ricky Riccardi - Session 3 - Louis in Film

Join Ricky Riccardi for a screening of some of Louis Armstrong's most memorable scenes in the movies.