New Orleans Jazz Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1961 |
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| Location | 400 Esplanade Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana 70116 |
| Type | Jazz music |
| Founder | Doc Souchon, Danny Barker |
| Owner | Louisiana State Museum |
| Public transit access |  French Market |
The New Orleans Jazz Museum is a cool place in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. It's all about celebrating and keeping alive the amazing history of jazz music. This museum is part of the Louisiana State Museum. You can find it in the old U.S. Mint building, right next to the famous French Quarter neighborhood.
Contents
History of the Jazz Museum
Plans for a museum about New Orleans jazz started in the 1950s. A group of jazz fans and collectors from the New Orleans Jazz Club worked together. Key people included Edmond "Doc" Souchon, Myra Menville, and Helen Arlt.
The museum first opened in 1961 at 1017 Dumaine Street in the French Quarter. Clay Watson was the first curator. Even though the collection moved, the original spot is now part of the Hotel St. Pierre. You can still see special commemorative plaques there.
Moving to New Locations
In 1969, the museum moved to the Royal Sonesta Hotel. When the hotel got a new owner in the early 1970s, the museum moved again in 1973 to 833 Conti Street. Sadly, the museum closed soon after because of money problems.
On September 15, 1977, the entire collection was given to the people of Louisiana. It became "The New Orleans Jazz Club Collections of the Louisiana State Museum." In the early 1980s, the Louisiana State Museum's Jazz Collection opened on the second floor of the Old U.S. Mint building. Don Marquis was the curator then. The New Orleans Jazz Museum is now permanently located at the Old U.S. Mint.
Rebuilding After Hurricane Katrina
In 2005, both the U.S. Mint building and the jazz collection were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The museum's collections have been shown in many exhibits since the Mint reopened in 2008. Since 2015, a lot of work has been done to turn most of the Mint building into the New Orleans Jazz Museum.
The main goal of the New Orleans Jazz Museum is to celebrate jazz history. It does this through fun exhibits, learning programs, research areas, and live music shows.
What You Can See and Do
Amazing Collections
The museum has the famous New Orleans Jazz Club Collection. This collection was gathered over many years by the New Orleans Jazz Club. It includes the world's largest collection of jazz instruments. You can also see valuable items, photos, and other cool stuff.
For example, the collection has Louis Armstrong's first cornet. It also has a 1917 disc of the very first jazz recording ever made! You can see trumpets, cornets, trombones, clarinets, and saxophones. These were played by jazz legends like Bix Beiderbecke, Edward "Kid Ory", George Lewis, Sidney Bechet, and Dizzy Gillespie.
The museum also has about 12,000 photos from early jazz days. There are over 4,000 old 78 rpm records from 1905 to the 1950s. Plus, there are thousands of LPs and 45 rpm records, and about 1,400 reel-to-reel tapes. You can also find posters, paintings, and prints. Hundreds of pieces of sheet music from the late 1800s to the 1950s are there too. Many of these became famous jazz songs.
The collection also includes hundreds of film rolls. These show concerts, nightclubs, funerals, parades, and festivals. There are also many other jazz-related items and pieces from important jazz places.
If you are a researcher, you can also look at letters, photos, and interviews by making an appointment.
Exciting Exhibits
The New Orleans Jazz Museum shows how jazz started and grew in New Orleans. It also explores how jazz continues to be important today. The museum regularly creates new exhibits. It is also making its exhibit space bigger.
The new exhibit area will be about 8,000 square feet. It will have a welcome center for visitors. There will be a main area for permanent displays and classrooms for kids and families. A special gallery will show changing exhibits. There will also be four interactive technology spaces. Here, guests can create and share their own jazz music.
Live Jazz Performances
The New Orleans Jazz Museum hosts live performances on its third floor. These shows teach people about the many different kinds of jazz. They also make the museum's work feel alive and exciting.
The museum is also home to several yearly festivals. These include French Quarter Fest, Satchmo Fest, Downriver Fest, Creole Tomato Fest, International Guitar Fest, and Danny Barker Fest.
Learning About Jazz
The New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint offers learning programs for all ages. For scholars, the museum provides access to its amazing collection and research tools through the Louisiana Historical Center. The museum also links its audio collections to its website. This lets people around the world listen to its famous Jazz Collection.
For kids and families, the museum has fun education programs. These include music lessons and workshops where you can build instruments. There are also guest musicians and lessons on recording music. These learning activities often match the museum's goals. They include camps and retreats for performing and composing music. Many of these activities are done with the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
See also
In Spanish: Museo del Jazz de Nueva Orleans para niños
- List of music museums
