Dr. Michael White Performance to Highlight Music of George Lewis

NEW ORLEANS – The legacy of clarinetist George Lewis may not be widely known outside of jazz aficionados, but he left an impression on another clarinetist, Dr. Michael White, who will present Lewis’s music during the George Lewis Legacy Concert and Lecture on Nov. 16.

Lewis, born in the French Quarter as Joseph Francois Louis Zenon, was a world-renowned clarinetist who lived for several years in Algiers. He traveled widely in the early-to-mid-20th century before ending his career as the leader of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

White, historian, composer, professor and bandleader, was greatly influenced by Lewis’s music and will perform Lewis’s music with his quartet on Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at Landry-Walker High School, 1200 L.B Landry Blvd.

“This is an opportunity to pay tribute to one of many Algiers musicians who helped create the jazz genre in the first half of the last century,” said Valerie Robinson, president of Old Algiers Main Street Corporation, which is spearheading the Algiers Tricentennial commemoration throughout 2019. “Dr. White will not only perform and explain Lewis’s style to the audience, but he will also teach selected Landry-Walker band students about Lewis’s music. This is a great benefit to the Algiers community during its Tricentennial year.”

White has been a George Lewis devote’ since he was a youngster listening to Lewis’s music and practicing his particular style. While he never met Lewis, he emulated his style and recorded an album of his music, “A Song for George Lewis”, in 2000. He has been a guest director at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and in 2008, he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. White also holds the Rosa and Charles Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities at Xavier University, where he teaches African-American music.

The George Lewis Legacy event is a fundraiser for the Algiers Tricentennial and will include a silent auction that begins at 6:30 p.m.  The auction will include the original art for the official Algiers Tricentennial poster by local artist Jane Brewster.

General admission tickets are available through Event Brite.com/George Lewis Legacy for $20; $10 for students. Special VIP packages are also available. Contact info@oldalgiersmainstreet.org for details. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation has provided financial support of this event.

For more information about the Algiers Tricentennial, visit http://Algiers-tricentennial.org.

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Christina Rousseau
Project Coordinator 
Robinson et al. Marketing & Public Relations, LLC
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