Leroy Jones Quintet finds new home at Café Istanbul
Leroy Jones, the New Orleans born and bred trumpeter who enjoys world-wide esteem with critics and audiences alike, will start performing at Café Istanbul on a regular basis with his Quintet. The Leroy Jones Quintet is known for performing for festivals throughout the world (Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, just to name a few), being the opening act for Harry Connick Jr.'s Big Band, and for performing clubs in the Crescent city; ranging from Mahogany Hall to the Paddock Lounge to Maison Bourbon to the Bombay Club to Donna's Bar & Grill....
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Leroy Jones Quintet finds new home at Café Istanbul
Leroy Jones, the New Orleans born and bred trumpeter who enjoys world-wide esteem with critics and audiences alike, will start performing at Café Istanbul on a regular basis with his Quintet. The Leroy Jones Quintet is known for performing for festivals throughout the world (Brazil, Switzerland, Australia, just to name a few), being the opening act for Harry Connick Jr.'s Big Band, and for performing clubs in the Crescent city; ranging from Mahogany Hall to the Paddock Lounge to Maison Bourbon to the Bombay Club to Donna's Bar & Grill.
Leroy Jones has been a central figure in New Orleans' jazz scene since the mid-seventies and continuously expands and refines his musicianship in ways that manifest his multifaceted talent. Having worked with brass bands, traditional and modern jazz outfits, big bands, R&B and Top40 groups, and gospel and blues ensembles, Jones is not only known for his trumpet playing but also his composing, arranging, and singing.
"The mission of the Leroy Jones Quintet is to expose audiences everywhere to the authentic music of New Orleans, the music of Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, Danny Barker and all the other greats who have helped create the rich gumbo that is the sound of New Orleans," he says, "while putting our own more modern stamp on it."
"The Leroy Jones Quintet sound sums up all those great experiences and influences," says Leroy, "and gives me a chance each night to make sure that the great music of New Orleans is performed authentically and with great respect for the artists who came before me. Not in an old-fashioned way, but with a modern swing that comes from my love of bebop and other forms of modern jazz."
A typical set list for the Leroy Jones Quintet includes traditional numbers like "Bourbon Street Parade," "Sleepy Time Down South," "Basin Street Blues," "Do You Know What it Means (To Miss New Orleans)," "Dinah" and "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" along with his own compositions like "Soft Shoe" that are played and sung impeccably by Jones with the kind of swing that only a musician with his pedigree can deliver consistently night after night.
Now local and visiting music lovers will have a chance to catch the fresh, upbeat hipness of the LJQ in a delightful new venue. Club's musical director, Chuck Perkins confirms he is very excited about this series of performances by truly some of New Orleans finest.
The evenings will feature the talent of drummer Ocie Davis (The Ocie Davis Group, Don Vappie & the Creole Serenaders), bassist Mitchell Player (Player's New Orleans Jazz Band, The Preservation Hall-Stars), pianist Meghan Swartz (Johnaye Kendrick, John Mahoney Big Band), trombonist Katja Toivola (New Orleans Helsinki Connection, Preservation Hall Jazz Masters) and of course Jones himself on trumpet and vocals.
Café Istanbul is a 3,800 square feet performance hall with a mission of fostering, encouraging and promoting performance art in New Orleans. The line up of events includes live music, dance, theater, poetry, comedy, film and visual arts. It is located in the New Orleans Healing Center, a newly renovated arts/lifestyle complex on St. Claude Avenue. Aside from the smoke-free state-of-the art performance space of Café Istanbul, the complex features a food co-op grocery store, Crossroads Arts Bazaar, Fatoush Organic Restaurant, Coffee Shop & Juice Bar, Wild Lotus yoga studio, a travel agency, a botanica and more.
Leroy Jones Quintet @ Café Istanbul
Wednesday April 11, 2012 @ 8:00 to 11:00 pm
Wednesday April 25, 2012 @ 9:00 pm to 12:00 midnight
(Wednesday May 9, 2012 @ 9:00 pm to 12:00 midnight: New Orleans Helsinki Connection - "Paradise On Earth" Record Release, also featuring Leroy Jones)
Wednesday May 23, 2012 @ 8:00 to 11:00 pm
Café Istanbul, 2372 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70117, 504-975-0286
http://cafeistanbulnola.com/
http://spiritofneworleans.com/leroy.htm
www.facebook.com/SpiritOfNewOrleansProductions
www.SpiritOfNewOrleans.com
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