Category Archives: old New Orleans

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King Creole Returns

Dust off your blue suede shoes and head down to the Quarter, as the New Orleans Film Society, the Louisiana State Museum, and the Louisiana Museum Foundation present an outdoor screening of the classic Elvis film King Creole. The film, which takes place in and around the Vieux Carre, will be shown on our new inflatable screen set up on the grounds of the Old US Mint.

About the film: Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, and Walter Matthau star in this 1958 film that tells the story of a nineteen-year-old who gets mixed up with crooks and involved with two women. The film was critically and commercially successful and included the song “Hard-Headed Woman,” which became a number one hit for Elvis. He later said that King Creole was his favorite acting role.

Old U.S. Mint
(400 Esplanade Avenue)
Thursday, June 28
Screening starts at 8:15 p.m./sundown

Tickets: Admission is $3 for NOFS members, members of the Louisiana Museum Foundation, and members of the Friends of the Cabildo. General admission tickets are $6.

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Cosimo Matassa honored

The great rock and roll engineer and studio master of New Orleans music has been inducted into the hall of fame as is proper. The Matassa family remains entrenched in the Quarter with sons Louis and Johnny running their grocery store on St. Phillip, so stop by for some of their hot food (watch out for that step up halfway back!) and take it over to Dumaine to view Cosimo’s plaque commemorating his legendary studio.

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Reflections of Bechet, A New Orleans Jazz Original: The Man and the Music”

13th annual Bill Russell Lecture

“Reflections of Bechet, A New Orleans Jazz Original: The Man and the Music”
Historian Bruce Raeburn will moderate an illustrated program exploring the artistry, humanity and legacy of creative genius Sidney Bechet (1897–1959). The evening will feature musical performances and commentary from members of the New Orleans Jazzman Band, with Jerry Embree (soprano saxophone), Frankie Lynne (banjo), Barry Martyn (drums) and Mark Brooks (bass).

Friday, April 13 • 6:30 p.m.
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St.

A contemporary of Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton, Bechet is regarded as an early virtuoso on both the clarinet and soprano saxophone, and a musician who helped define the role of those instruments in New Orleans jazz.

Admission for this event is $10 and seating is limited. Reservations are encouraged and may be made by calling (504) 523-4662 or emailing wrc@hnoc.org. Reservations will be held 10 minutes prior to the start of the program. At that time, any unclaimed seats will be released to the public.

About the Bill Russell Lecture

The annual Bill Russell Lecture honors the noted jazz historian, born Russell William Wagner (1905–1992), and is dedicated to New Orleans jazz. Russell’s research focused on traditional New Orleans–style jazz and related musical forms such as brass band, ragtime and gospel music. He amassed an extensive collection of memorabilia, including musical instruments, records, piano rolls, sheet music, photographs, books, and periodicals. These materials trace the development of jazz in New Orleans and follow the movement of musicians to New York, Chicago, California and beyond.
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The William Russell Jazz Collection—permanently housed at the Williams Research Center—encompasses Russell’s research, audiotapes, programs, posters, correspondence, films, business cards, notes, clippings and scrapbooks. The Russell Collection is available to the public at the Williams Research Center, located at 410 Chartres St. and open Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. For more information on this collection, visit the institution, call (504) 523-4662, or e-mail wrc@hnoc.org.

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TWLF tip#1

Among the lengthy list of events that the Tennessee Williams Festival has planned for next week are a few that deserve to be highlighted. So today through Thursday (TWLF opening day) I’ll pick one that looks particularly good.
The tip for today is for one of the theater events. Tickets are half price through Tuesday (only 17.50)

Hiding in Plain Sight: Tennessee Williams’ Treasures
Some of Tennessee’s most beautiful writing is “hidden” in some of his lesser-known works as well as within his most famous plays. Now, in an evening that’s not-to-be-missed, luminaries of the page and stage gather to share some of the playwright’s unsung treasures.

Reading gems culled from full-length plays, one-acts, letters, and essays, actress Piper Laurie, playwright John Guare, actress Amanda Plummer, author Jewelle Gomez, columnist Amy Dickinson, director and actress Jodie Markell, actress Cristine McMurdo-Wallis, author Ace Atkins, and others will take a closer look at the Williams canon and bring his words to life with an evening of readings from well-known plays including Suddenly Last Summer and The Night of the Iguana, as well as remarkable monologues and scenes from plays you might not be as familiar with such as Candles to the Sun, Clothes for a Summer Hotel, Not About Nightingales, Tiger Tail, The Fat Man’s Wife, The Day on Which a Man Dies, Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis? and Something Cloudy, Something Clear.

This theatrical treasure hunt offers an entertaining and surprising look at Williams’ legacy.

Hosted by Thomas Keith, and curated by Keith and Paul J. Willis.

Sponsored by the Bollinger Family Foundation.

Date: Saturday
Time: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM
Location: Hotel Monteleone, La Nouvelle Ballroom
Ticket Code(s): AllAccessPass, HidingSat8pm
Ticket Type(s): All Access Pass, Individual Special Event Ticket
Price: $35

buy tickets

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Come to the Carousel

Hotel bars, oddly, are not plentiful in the French Quarter. The main standby has always been the Carousel Bar at the Monteleone. The bar does actually circle and has circus markings, which is so great for the drinking crowd.
But it’s been undergoing renovations, which although needed, have interrupted the holiday meets there. But I hear it’s reopening this week and will be completely done in January.
The hotel itself isn’t very historic, as it was rebuilt completely in the 1950s-1960s, although it’s still a lovely place at which to stay. The Monteleone family IS historic, as they have been serving New Orleans on that corner since the late 1880s.
Stop by for some music and a drink and see for yourself how well the Monteleone anchors the Upper Quarter.
Starting in January, the Carousel Bar’s lounge will host two, free shows nightly. Musicians scheduled for standing gigs include Lena Prima, Luther Kent and the George French Jazz Quartet.

Drink Menu