On April 29 and 30, Grammy award-winning musician Delfeayo Marsalis will host a two-part virtual concert series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of both International Jazz Day and the release of his own groundbreaking Sweet Thunder. Founder of the Uptown Jazz Orchestra & Uptown Music Theatre, Marsalis’ latest initiative Keep New Orleans Music Alive provides emergency relief for native culture bearers.

On Thursday, April 29, Marsalis will host a sixty-minute event on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. CDTduring which he will play excerpts from and discuss the first six movements of his Sweet Thunder. The original Such Sweet Thunder, created in 1957 by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, was the first original collection of music to pay homage to multiple Shakespearean characters as well as the Bard himself. Marsalis will discuss his re-orchestration and updating of the classic jazz suite, playing examples from both works. On Friday, April 30 at 6 PM CDT, International Jazz Day, Marsalis will analyze the final 6 movements of Thunder on Facebook Live.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe and emotional impact on the artistic community. International Jazz Day has been celebrated on April 30 since 2011, and its tenth anniversary presents a great opportunity to unite and empower people.

“Jazz is a form of both healing and recovery,” says Marsalis. “It truly has the power to bring people together as we move through this pandemic.”

Uptown Music Theatre’s mission is to facilitate youth development through a multi-disciplinary performing arts program. UMT provides New Orleans youth ages 8 to 17 with immersive, professional-level exposure to theatre, music, dance, visual arts, and creative writing. The mission of the Uptown Jazz Orchestra is to promote a greater appreciation for jazz and its New Orleans’ rooted traditions through world-class performance, artistic excellence, education and community.

The mission of Keep NOLA Music Alive is to support native New Orleans musicians and their families and preserve our musical heritage as we move through and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.