All That Jazz

The home of jazz is getting another home for jazz.

Maria Manzella of the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau reports that next year will see a showcase for jazz open in her hometown, which already bills itself as the birthplace of that musical genre.

New Orleans Jazz Market is the brainchild of local jazz enthusiast Irvin Mayfield and will have a theatre for performances and exhibits telling of that musical expression, she said during a Wednesday Toronto reception.

“It’s going to be a state-of-the-art facility,” said Manzella, adding New Orleans already has a thriving jazz scene.

“It is the best [city for jazz]. We have great local artists. It is always going to be that way.”

Those visiting jazz clubs can “listen to classic or modern jazz or Dixieland jazz,” she continued.

Clubs feature other types of music, such as hip-hop.

Manzella said New Orleans is “never dull,” and night owls will be in their element in a city in which bars on weekends often remain open until “the last person leaves.”

Meanwhile, Manzella said New Orleans is seeing a number of positive developments, with the city’s long-running streetcar system being expanded, the airport to gain a new wing and the Warehouse-Arts District having been turned into an attractive area of restaurants, boutiques and art galleries.

Pictured (l-r) are Erin Boreros of New Orleans’ The Maison Dupuy hotel; Grace Duplantier of New Orleans’ The Hotel Modern; Joanne Scalamogna of Access Marketing, which represents Louisiana in Canada; Megan Ryburn of New Orleans Plantation Company; and Manzella.

(http://www.neworleanscvb.com)