It will be a true southern night when the Grammy Award–winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) swings on stage at Lafayette’s Heymann Performing Arts Center for a big band concert on Thursday, October 21. Artistic director Adonis Rose will lead the band in tunes by Louisiana’s acclaimed musical genius, Allen Toussaint. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m.
NOJO has staked its claim in the jazz world, taking the sonic power and stylistic versatility of a big band and adding a New Orleans emphasis on groove. Under Rose’s leadership, the band is showcasing more of its range than ever before.
“Having NOJO as our opening show at the Heymann Center is exciting,” says Jackie Lyle, executive director of Performing Arts Serving Acadiana (PASA). “We’re also anticipating several other activities with NOJO. In the coming weeks, a quartet of NOJO musicians will return and work with students at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, with area high school jazz musicians and they will also perform two pop-up concerts on PASA’s mobile stage.”
Over his 25-year career, Rose has performed at every major jazz festival, performing arts center, and jazz club in the world including Carnegie Hall, Olympia in Paris, North Sea Jazz Festival, Umbria, Birdland, Apollo Theater, Newport Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Rose has performed and recorded with the biggest names in jazz, including Terence Blanchard, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Roberts, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr, Wynton Marsalis, and on six recordings with longtime friend Nicholas Payton.
Toussaint cut a vast swath across the music landscape as an arranger, record producer, composer and performer. From his Saint Street Studio, which was lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he produced some of the most popular music of the twentieth century. Many musicians recorded Toussaint’s hit-making compositions, including “Whipped Cream,” “Java,” “Mother-in-Law,” “I Like It Like That,” “Fortune Teller,” “Ride Your Pony,” “Get Out of My Life, Woman,” “Working in the Coal Mine,” and “Southern Nights.” He was a producer for hundreds of recordings, including “Right Place, Wrong Time” by his longtime friend Dr. John, and “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.
PASA’s lineup continues with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), the time-twisting musical collective known for putting “pop music in a time machine,” on December 1. The vibrantly energetic and emotionally captivating drama Black Angels Over Tuskegee arrives in Lafayette for one performance on January 20, 2022.
Links to tickets for PASA’s presentation of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, including the popular four-pack priced at $100, are available at pasaonline.org. Tickets are also available at the Heymann Performing Arts Center box office (337) 291-555 and other TicketMaster outlets, as well as by phone at TicketMaster’s 24-hour phone line (337) 262-7597.
