The Jazz at the Sandbar concert series will return to its intimate performance space at The Cove on the University of New Orleans (UNO) campus for eight Wednesday nights from March 23–May 11. Sets are held at 7 and 8:30 p.m.

As Jazz at the Sandbar approaches its 30-year anniversary, it continues to fulfill its mission of providing direct mentoring by acclaimed jazz masters through concert performances with UNO Jazz Studies students. These experiential learning opportunities are an integral part of the Jazz Studies program, bringing to life the ideas and concepts shared in the classroom by the program’s exceptional faculty. Jazz at the Sandbar also provides the extended UNO community with the rare opportunity to see and hear world-class artists in an intimate setting, while observing the development of the next generation of jazz presenters and performers.

Wednesday, March 23 | Jazzmeia Horn

Jazzmeia Horn is a Grammy Award nominee and winner of the 51st Annual NAACP Image Awards for Best Jazz Album. The New York Times writes, “Horn is among the most exciting young vocalists in jazz, with a proud traditionalism that keeps her tightly linked to the sound of classic figures like Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter, but a vivacity of spirit and conviction that places her firmly in the present.”

Wednesday, March 30 | Jorge Luis Pacheco 

Hailing from Havana, Cuba, Jorge Luis Pacheco is a fiery young talent who is fast becoming a seasoned veteran, having performed at some of the most respected venues in the world. From Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Pacheco wowed the crowd at New York’s Blue Note Jazz Festival and gained notoriety at the legendary Apollo Theater for the Lifetime Achievement Award ceremonies presented to living legend Herbie Hancock.  Whether solo piano or with his quartet, Pacheco is staking his claim in the jazz world.

Wednesday, April 6 | Jasen Weaver 

Originally from New Orleans, Jasen Weaver is one of the most in demand bassists in his hometown and abroad. Under the tutelage of world-renowned musicians such as Donald Harrison and Jason Marsalis, Weaver has become a respected component of the New Orleans jazz community. In June 2021, he obtained his master’s degree in jazz performance from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and was named as the recipient of the Toots Thielemans Jazz Award.

Wednesday, April 13 | Jon Cowherd 

The Kentucky-raised, New Orleans-schooled, New York-based Jon Cowherd is best known for his long-running partnership with drummer/bandleader Brian Blade, with whom he co-founded the Grammy nominated Brian Blade and the Fellowship Band, whose acclaimed, influential albums showcase Cowherd’s stellar keyboard work and singular compositional skills. When not recording and touring with the Fellowship, Cowherd has worked extensively with a broad array of players and singers from the jazz, pop and rock worlds including Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, Brandi Carlile, KD Lang, Rosanne Cash, Iggy Pop, Glen Hansard, Cassandra Wilson, John Scofield and Lizz Wright.

Wednesday, April 20 | Ashlin Parker  

A versatile jazz trumpeter based in New Orleans, Ashlin Parker is sought after for big band, small ensemble, and solo performances. He has played with various ensembles at jazz festivals and clubs in Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and Wales. Parker leads the Trumpet Mafia and plays regularly with ensembles in New Orleans, such as the Ellis Marsalis Quintet, The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and Bill Summers and Jazalsa. He has played with musicians such as Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Roland Guerin, Leroy Jones, Derek Douget, Adonis Rose, Dr. John, Karl Denson, Igor Butman, and Nicholas Payton, as well as vocalists Rafael Saadiq, the O’Jays, Anthony Hamilton, PJ Morton, Aretha Franklin, Quiana Lynell, Tiffany Austin, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Parker has played on more than 30 albums with other musicians and has featured solos on albums such as the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s Songs: The Music of Allen Toussaint (2019) and Live at Newport (2017), Tiffany Austin’s Unbroken (2018), Ellis Marsalis’ Ellis Marsalis Quintet plays Ellis Marsalis (2017), and Jason Marsalis’ Heirs of the Crescent City (2016).

Wednesday, April 27:  Victor Goines  

Victor Goines, a native of New Orleans, has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Wynton Marsalis Septet since 1993, touring throughout the world and recording more than 20 albums. As a leader, Goines has recorded seven albums including his most recent release Twilight (2012) on Rosemary Joseph Records. A gifted composer, Goines has more than 50 original works to his credit. He has recorded and/or performed with many noted jazz and popular artists including Ahmad Jamal, Ruth Brown, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Dizzy Gillespie, Lenny Kravitz, Branford Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Dianne Reeves, Willie Nelson, Marcus Roberts, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and a host of others. Currently, he is the director of jazz studies/professor of music at Northwestern University. He received a bachelor of music degree from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1984, and a master of music degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in 1990.

Wednesday, May 4:  Emmet Cohen 

Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen is in the vanguard of his generation’s advancement of music and the related arts. A recognized prodigy, Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age three, and his playing quickly became a mature melding of musicality, technique, and concept. Downbeat observed that his “nimble touch, measured stride and warm harmonic vocabulary indicate he’s above any convoluted technical showmanship.” Cohen notes that performing jazz is “about communicating the deepest levels of humanity and individuality; it’s essentially about connections,” both among musicians and with audiences. He leads his namesake ensemble, the “Emmet Cohen Trio,” is a vibrant solo performer, and is in constant demand as a sideman. Possessing a fluid technique, an innovative tonal palette, and an extensive repertoire, Cohen plays with the command and passion of an artist fully devoted to his medium.

Wednesday, May 11:  UNO School of Music Student Combo Spring Recitals 

Admission is free for faculty and staff of UNO with a university ID card. All others are asked to make a suggested $10 donation. Shows will also be lives-Jtreamed through the UNO School of the Arts Facebook page. Online viewers are asked to consider donating to the George Brumat Scholarship Fund (select the scholarship fund from the list in the donation window). All earmarked donations will go to the scholarship fund for Jazz Studies students.

Jazz at the Sandbar is presented by the UNO Jazz Studies Program with support from the New Orleans Jazz Celebration, Nate & Priscilla Gordon and Offbeat Magazine. For more information, including directions to The Cove, visit here.