Media Contact:
Rebecca Sell
Marketing Manager
Phone: (504)522-5730
Cell: (504)343-5559
rebecca@fqfi.org
16th Anniversary Satchmo SummerFest
presented by Chevron
'Spirit of Satch' Awards Honors Culture Bearers and Champions of New Orleans Music and Education
NEW ORLEANS, LA (July 28, 2016) - In celebration of the 16th anniversary of Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron, French Quarter Festivals, Inc. proudly announces the 2nd Annual 'Spirit of Satch' awards honoring champions of New Orleans music and culture. The awards will be given on Friday, August 5th during the festival's opening ceremony on the Cornet Restaurant Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage in Jackson Square. Immediately following the ceremony, the three-day event kicks off with music from PresHall Brass. Other Friday acts include Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Bill Summers and Jazalsa, Kermit Ruffins, and Big Sam's Funky Nation.
French Quarter Festivals, Inc. congratulates the following 'Spirit of Satch' honorees:
•Dr. Bruce Boyd Raeburn, Jazz Education. Dr. Raeburn is Director of Special Collections, Curator of the Hogan Jazz Archive, and an adjunct professor of History at Tulane University. He has published widely on the topics of New Orleans jazz and jazz historiography, including New Orleans Style and the Writing of American Jazz History (University of Michigan Press, 2009). Bruce is a regular presenter at the Satchmo SummerFest Symposium (this year he presents both Saturday and Sunday of festival). He has also worked professionally as a drummer in New Orleans for the past 46 years, performing with Clark Vreeland, James Booker, Earl King, the Pfister Sisters, and Billy Asprodites, among others. Bruce comes from a jazz family: his parents were bandleader Boyd Raeburn and jazz vocalist Ginnie Powell.
•Abita Brewing Company, Corporate and Community Superstar Award. Locally owned Abita Brewing Company is the first craft brewery in the state, created to brew full-flavored ales and lagers for the way people love to live in Louisiana. Abita truly is a community superstar, from the way the company works to preserve the environment through green brewing techniques, energy efficiency, and corporate social responsibility, to its support of French Quarter Festivals, Inc. and other major events. The fundraising brews created by Abita have generated millions of dollars in donations for worthy causes in Louisiana.
•Basin Street Records, Keeping Traditional Jazz Alive and Well. Basin Street Records is an award-winning label formed in 1997 that is home to a dozen New Orleans-based artists representing jazz, blues, R&B, soul, funk and rock. Four of its artists have won Grammy nominations (three won Grammys) and the label has been named "Best Record Label" ten times (and "Music Business of the Year" three times) by Offbeat Magazine. Artists who have recorded for the label include: Kermit Ruffins, Los Hombres Calientes, Jason Marsalis, Irvin Mayfield, Dr. Michael White, The Headhunters, Henry Butler, Jon Cleary, Theresa Andersson, Jeremy Davenport, Rebirth Brass Band, and Davell Crawford.
•DownBeat Magazine, Keeping Traditional Jazz in the News. DownBeat was founded in 1934 and has been published continuously since then, making it one of the oldest magazines in U.S. history. With a motto of covering "Jazz, Blues & Beyond," DownBeat has been the most revered publication on the jazz scene for decades. With its website, print and digital editions, DownBeat offers reviews, features, and special sections devoted to jazz education. DownBeat, owned by Maher Publications and based in Elmhurst, Illinois, has national and international distribution.
•Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, Preserving our Culture. Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club has been an integral part of New Orleans culture since 1909. The organization takes pride in a local, national, and international standing and has been the subject of numerous television documentaries and print articles; King Zulu Louis Armstrong graced the cover of Time Magazine in 1949. The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club Inc., is comprised of members from all walks of life- from laborers, the city's Mayor, Councilmen, and State Legislators, to United States Congressman, educators, and other professionals. The organization has actively supported Satchmo SummerFest for nearly a decade.
•WWOZ, Preserving our Musical Legacy. For over 30 years, WWOZ FM has been New Orleans' premier Jazz and Heritage Station. With a mission to be the worldwide voice, archive, and flag-bearer of New Orleans culture and musical heritage, WWOZ's programming is most heavily weighted toward contemporary jazz and rhythm & blues, with other programming including traditional jazz, blues, Cajun, zydeco, country, bluegrass, gospel, Celtic and world music. The station is known for its support of local music, and local artists are often featured in on-air interviews and special programs and perform live in the studio. WWOZ covers many events live in and around the city (including French Quarter Festival) and across the United States.
Satchmo SummerFest presented by Chevron is produced by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (www.fqfi.org), the 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization, which also produces French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron in April and Christmas New Orleans Style in December. French Quarter Festivals, Inc. promotes the Vieux Carré and the City of New Orleans through high quality special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of this unique city, contribute to the economic well-being of the community, and instill increased pride in the people of New Orleans.