Venerated New Orleans clarinetist Dr. Michael White will be joined by trumpeter Gregg Stafford and tuba player Bennie Pete for a free Zoom presentation, “New Orleans Brass Band Tradition From the Streets to the World.”

Taking place Sunday, August 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. Central, the online event is part of Healdsburg Jazz’s ongoing original series celebrating jazz history and culture. Together with his special guests, White will explore the evolution, functions, musical style and social significance of the New Orleans brass band tradition.

White, a pre-eminent jazz musician whose work with the Original Liberty Jazz Band as well as the Dr. Michael White Quartet has earned him international accolades, is also an educator. For nearly two decades, he’s taught African American Music History courses at Xavier, where he directs the Culture of New Orleans series. In 2018, he was named the recipient of the Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award as part of OffBeat‘s Best of the Beat Awards.

Gregory Stafford has been performing music for almost half a century, frequently appearing with his Jazz Hounds and the Young Tuxedo Brass Band. He’s also a longtime, frequent collaborator of Dr. Michael White’s. Sousaphone player Bennie Pete is perhaps best known as founder of the Hot 8 Brass Band, arguably one of the most popular brass bands in the city of New Orleans and around the world.

According to the website for Healdsburg Jazz, the organization “stimulates interest in and promotes awareness and appreciation of jazz by facilitating cross-cultural interaction, providing performance opportunities, and educating young people and adults about the important role of jazz as an indigenous American art form.”

August 23’s event is free, but registration at this link is required. The series is curated by Jessica Felix and Marcus Shelby.