Ragtime enthusiasts and curious listeners alike can dive into the roots and evolution of early jazz during Ragtime Day NOLA, a three-day celebration at the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
New Orleans has been a part of the story of Ragtime from the beginning of the music. From Moreau Gottshchalk to Tony Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton, composers drew from a deep well of African American culture the most compelling musical ideas of their time. In the 19th Century, New Orleans piano “professors” like Tony Jackson, Clarence Williams and Jelly Roll Morton played ragtime with and with and without other instruments, always put their own personal style into the music, and almost always played to danceable tempo, often slow and relaxed. They mixed in Latin rhythms and blues inflections, and built the sounds that defined the city’s music for the next century.
The programming begins Thursday, April 9, from 2–3 p.m. with Ragtime in New Orleans: A Conversation with the Musicians, an intimate discussion held on the museum’s third floor exploring the genre’s local legacy and continued influence.
Festivities continue Friday, April 10, with the Ragtime Ball: “Wine–Tango–Foxtrot” from 6–9 p.m. The evening features live music by the New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, dance lessons at 6 p.m., and a 7 p.m. performance, alongside a curated wine experience by Sherrijon Gaspard.
The weekend culminates Saturday, April 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the New Orleans Ragtime Showcase, highlighting both traditional and contemporary interpretations of the style. Performers include pianist Tom McDermott, the Steve Pistorius Quartet honoring the ragtime style of Bunk Johnson, the New John Robichaux Society Orchestra performing music from John Robichaux’s historic library, OperaCreole presenting excerpts from Treemonisha, and Louis Ford’s New Orleans Flairs showcasing ragtime’s presence in today’s scene.
Together, the events offer a rare opportunity to experience ragtime not just as a precursor to jazz, but as a living, evolving tradition deeply rooted in New Orleans culture. For more information, click here.
