Lining Up for Jazz Fest
The granddaddy of all local festivals, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, kicks off on Friday (April 23), and a host of performers from the Tulane community, including pianist Beth Turner of the development staff, is ready to take the stage during the two-weekend extravaganza at the Fair Grounds.
Beth Turner, playing piano for the New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra at a recent concert on the Lavin-Bernick Center porch, will perform at Jazz Fest with the orchestra, as she has done for 32 years. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)
As Tulane students and faculty gear up for final exams, distractions abound with the beautiful spring weather and festivals every weekend. The Jazz Fest, held April 23â“25 and April 29â“May 2, heads the list of not-to-miss spring events.
Turner, director of planned gifts for Tulane, is performing at the festival for her 32nd year with the New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra, a 19-piece orchestra that is much revered in New Orleans. Her Tulane cohort in the group is clarinetist Larry Jones, who daylights as manager of the university bookstore.
"We play dance music from the late 1800s through 1935, including fox trots, waltzes, one-steps, rags and tangos," says Turner. The group will be performing gems such as "The Sheik of Araby," "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and "Egyptian Ella" on Saturday, May 1, at 12:25 p.m. in Economy Hall.
After three decades at the Jazz Fest, Turner is hooked. "Time flies when you're having fun!" she says. Turner notes that she is very much looking forward to eating a cochon de lait po-boy at the fest.
Festival performers from Tulane include drummers, clarinet and banjo players and vocalists, while others from the university will be interviewing artists on stage or will themselves be the subject of interviews about music-related books they have written. Click here for a partial list of Tulanians performing at Jazz Fest.
A full lineup of events is here. Listen to WWOZ-FM for live streaming of some of the performances online.
