The New Orleans Jazz Museum will be among three museums to host “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure,” an exhibition built by Disney’s Pixar Studios that debuted at EPOT Center. Joe Gardner, the musician, mentor, teacher and main protagonist from the Disney and Pixar animated film Soul, serves as the guide for visitors as they discover the rich and surprising history of jazz. Jamie Foxx serves as the voice of Joe Gardner.

The exhibition opens on October 26 in New Orleans before traveling to the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City (December 10), and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem (February 2022). Walt Disney Imagineering partnered with these local museums to recreate the EPCOT experience.

New Orleans’ own Jon Batiste, who served as a musician and co-composer of Soul, hopes the takeaway from this exhibit is one that makes people want to sing, dance, and feel the transcendence that jazz evokes. Similar to the joy and deeply rooted nostalgia Walt Disney created in his theme parks, “jazz really has the ability to do that and add to that vision in a way that’s tremendous,” he said. Batiste won an Oscar for the score to Soul, becoming the second Black composer to receive the award.

Watch the video below as John Dennis, executive creative director at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Batiste dive into the history of jazz.

Each installment of the “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure” exhibition will feature a unique collection of artifacts curated by local museums. Visitors will also find two maquettes of characters from Soul, Joe Gardner and Dorothea Williams, and are also invited to make the experience virtual by snapping a photo with Joe and the band, and by testing their knowledge of jazz and interacting with the exhibit by using the Play Disney Parks mobile app.

For more information about the New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Avenue, visit here.