Louis Armstrong News

The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), composed of orchestra, chamber, jazz, conducting, and composition programs-heads into the 2015/16 season having provided over 5,000 music students between ages 12 and 22 unparalleled opportunities to perform at world-class venues including Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center and to study with world-renowned artists, all tuition-free. Beyond the instruction from accomplished musicians, students gain valuable life skills-commitment, discipline, focus, collaboration-and friendships that last a lifetime. 

In an unprecedented collaboration, the Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York City and the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans have partnered on the exhibit: Satchmo: His Life in New Orleans to tell the story of Louis Armstrong's complex relationship with his hometown. The exhibit will coincide with the 100th anniversary of his first professional gig at Henry Ponce's in New Orleans in 1915. 

The Ensemble Theatre in Houston, Texas, is offering Trav'lin - the 1930s Harlem Musical as its season finale, Artistic Director Eileen J. Morris has announced. Official opening is June 25, 2015 with performances from tonight,  June 20 through July 26. The new staging follows a sold-out run of the show at the 2010 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and a successful 2013 production at the Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for June 29 - July 5, featuring Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Birdland Jazz Party with ith Carole Bufford, Barbara Carroll, and more!

This summer, The Arts Theatre new studio space plays host to a musically infused version of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Set in the 'Birthplace of Jazz', the tale unfolds from the crumbling New Orleans jazz clubs and out into the Louisiana Bayous - bringing to life Shakespeare's text amidst the dark imagination of the American Deep South.

Main Street Theater's 40th Anniversary Season will unfold in the company's 2 new residences: the completely renovated Rice Village space on Times Blvd. and the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.

Danny Bacher, celebrating the upcoming debut of his CD 'Swing That Music!', kicks off his June performances. Scroll down for details!

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its July 2015 schedule, featuring Ravi Coltrane Quartet, John Scofield Trio, The Birdland Big Band, Stacey Kent, John Pizzarelli sings Paul McCartney, The Broadway cast of Phantom of the Opera, Birdland Jazz Party with Carole Bufford, Jim Caruso's Cast Party, and more. Scroll down for details!

Main Street Theater's 40th Anniversary Season will unfold in the company's 2 new residences: the completely renovated Rice Village space on Times Blvd. and the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for June 22 - June 28, featuring Django Reinhardt Festival, Erich Bergen Live!, a Special Pride Celebration Including Tony Yazbeck, Molly Pop, and more!

It's not summer in NYC until there is hot jazz and red beans 'n rice at the Louis Armstrong House Museum.  Louis Armstrong House Museum announces the line up for its signature summer concert series Hot Jazz / Cool Garden. 

Linda Lavin's most recent show at 54 Below (which had a three-night run between June 4-6), Starting Over--"Because that's what I've done all my life"--illuminates a succession of chapters in her career. The show bears more than a little resemblance to a 2012 appearance at the same venue. There are repeated numbers, excessive, though entertaining anecdotes, and a feel I now find formulaic.

Singer/songwriter and harmonica virtuoso Scott Albert Johnson releases his second album, 'Going Somewhere.' A sonic distillation gleaned from the finesse of jazz, the grit of blues rock and the groove of funk, 'Going Somewhere' reflects the human journey.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for June 15 - June 21, featuring "Four Generations of Miles,' with Jimmy Cobb, Mike Stern, Buster Williams, Sonny Fortune; Erich Bergen; Merman's Apprentice featuring Richard Kind, Klea Blackhurst and Anita Gillette; and more!

Bay Area vocalist, Denise Perrier, will bring her acclaimed one-woman show, Bessie, Dinah and Me... to Feinstein's at the Nikko for one performance only - Thursday, July 16 at 8 p.m. Backed by the Tammy Hall Quartet, Perrier will perform a night of soulful standards from the sultry, heartfelt blues and ballads of Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington, as well as songs from the contemporary American Songbook. Tickets for Denise Perrier range in price from $25-$40 and are available now by calling 866.663.1063 or visiting www.ticketweb.com.

From July 9-19 Japan Society's renowned summer film festival presents 28 features never before seen in New York

Queen Latifah is Bessie Smith!

Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer, and recording artist Leslie Uggams received an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Connecticut, Storrs on Saturday, May 9 during the School's 2015 commencement ceremonies. Dr. Uggams then delivered the commencement address to the graduating class, sharing industry insights gleaned from her decades-spanning career. Click below to listen to her full address!

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its schedule for June 8-14, featuring Kurt Elling, Rolando Morales-Matos Sextet, Barbara Carroll, and more!

John Douglas Thompson gives a tour de force multiple-character solo performance in SATCHMO AT THE WALDORF at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. It is easy to see why the New York Times described Thompson as one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation after witnessing his remarkable ability to totally transform himself into three very distinct and richly defined characters: jazz great Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, his mob-connected and career-long manager Joe Glaser, and fellow jazz musician Miles Davis.