Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro, the venerable restaurant and jazz club a at 626 Frenchmen Street, will reopen its performance space on Friday, June 4, with a tribute to Ellis Marsalis performed by his son, Jason Marsalis. The elder Marsalis held a 30-year gig at the club before retiring in December 2019. He died at age 85 on April 1, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19.
Long respected as a listening room where respectful jazz aficionados gather to be entranced by musicians in an cozy setting, the performance space has been closed since March 2020 when pandemic restrictions forced all live-music venues in New Orleans to shutter their doors. Music clubs along Frenchmen Street have gradually reopened since the City of New Orleans began to ease crowd restrictions in mid-March, but Snug Harbor’s revival proved more challenging due to its intimate space where seated patrons sit shoulder to shoulder on the ground floor and along the railing of an upstairs balcony.
“Everything’s opening up now and we feel more comfortable and confident,” said Nickomus Leiker, general manager of Snug Harbor. “The staff is vaccinated.”
Tables will be spaced six feet apart and the musicians will perform behind portable plexiglass screens. “We’re trying to follow the guidelines, which seem to change every day, but we’re really excited to be open again,” said Leiker.
Jason Marsalis will be joined by former members of his father’s quintet on opening night: Ashlin Parker on trumpet, Derek Douget on saxophones, and Jason Stewart on bass along with Shea Pierre filling in for Ellis on piano.
Following Ellis Marsalis’s death, a black wreath appeared on the door of Snug Harbor as a memorial to the patriarch of a family that includes musician sons Wynton, Branford, Delfeayo, and Jason. A virtual concert series was also launched in his honor on April 15, 2020, when Douget, Stewart, and Parker played remotely from their homes.
“Jason wanted to do this when we reopened,” said Leiker. “Ellis played here for so many years and was very special to all of us here. It’s very fitting, after being closed for more than a year, to pay tribute.”
Shows will take place every Friday and Saturday with sets at 8 and 10 p.m.
June 4: Jason Marsalis Tribute to Ellis Marsalis
June 5: Herlin Riley Quartet
June 11: Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet
June 12: Dr. Michael White Original Liberty Jazz Band
June 18: Ashlin Parker Quintet
June 19: Herlin Riley Quartet
June 25: Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet
June 26: Stanton Moore Trio
The restaurant at Snug Harbor is open Friday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit here.
