Wynton with Yacub Addy at the news conference in New Orleans
With a press conference at Basin Street Station, Wynton Marsalis has opened a weeklong residency in New Orleans.
The visit, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s efforts to help New Orleans recover after Hurricane Katrina, will include master classes, clinics, workshops, and performances. On April 23, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Ghana’s Odadaa! will present the world premiere of Congo Square, a new work by Marsalis and Yacub Addy, the leader of Odadaa!
The 80-minute cross-cultural work was inspired by the public square in New Orleans where Africans gathered to play the music of their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries. According to Jazz at Lincoln Center, the site was the only place in the United States where the regular performance of African music was permitted during the slavery era.
After its premiere in Louis Armstrong Park, Congo Square will be heard on tour in Florida, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C. It will get its New York City debut on May 4 at JALC’s Rose Hall as part of a series focusing on New Orleans jazz.
Wynton has been also interviewed about the premiere of Congo Square on SignOnSanDiego and Chinese Business Newspaper The Standard
Yacub Adda, left, as Wynton Marsalis listens at a news conference in New Orleans
acub Addy shakes hands with mayor Ray Nagin as Wynton Marsalis looks on during the news conference
Wynton Marsalis looks at Ghana-born musician Yacub Addy during the news conference
Wynton Marsalis hugs Ghana-born musician Yacub Addy as Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu
