NEW ORLEANS JAZZ MUSEUM
400 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans
504-568-6993 // nolajazzmuseum.org
In a region graced with many museums, there is still nothing like the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint.
“We have this amazing collection, more than 30,000 items relating to New Orleans music,” explained Museum Director Greg Lambousy. “Our location is great, near the French Market, Frenchmen Street and the river. Parking is pretty easy around here.”
Among the many highlights are sheet music from the earliest days of jazz, extraordinary photographs of performers and venues, and the cornet on which Louis Armstrong learned how to play.
Also part of the museum’s repertoire are special exhibitions, a research component and even its own record label, Gallatin Street Records, which releases recordings by an eclectic mix of local artists. The facility presents frequent live music performances, most of which have free admission. Rounding out the lineup are some 20 festivals per year, including Satchmo Fest, Danny Barker Banjo & Guitar Festival, and NOLA River Fest.
Like an itinerant musician, the Jazz Museum has traveled quite the path to its current home. The original concept was launched in 1961 by members of the New Orleans Jazz Club, with items displayed in various locations over the years. Ultimately, the collection grew to 20,000 items, and the original group simply could not manage the operation. In 1978, the collection was donated to the Louisiana State Museum system, which was then renovating the Old U.S. Mint building at the end of Esplanade Avenue.
While the building subsequently exhibited some of the collection, it housed other uses as well, a situation that continued until Hurricane Katrina. The storm damaged the building — though thankfully not the artifacts — which led to a rethinking of its use. Lambousy, who had previously worked in the State Museum system before migrating to The National World War II Museum, was brought back to redevelop the facility into its current iteration.
“We are now one of the busiest museums nationally from a programmatic standpoint,” Lambousy reported. “By 2019, we were hosting 200,000 visitors per year, and we think we are on pace to exceed that this year.”
Programs are often presented with a variety of partners, ranging from NOCCA to French Quarter Fest to the Trombone Shorty Foundation. The museum has a staff of about 30 employees, although only four are full-time. The work is augmented by a cohort of volunteers and 10 to 15 interns, drawn from as close as Southern University and as far as France.
While being part of the State Museum system provides some stability, it also creates its own set of challenges. For example, the $8 admission fee goes into the system’s coffers rather than to the museum. Rather than be susceptible to the vagaries of the state budget, the Jazz Museum draws on a public/private partnership with the Louisiana Museum Foundation, which supports salaries, programs and the music presentations, among other operational aspects. This is augmented by still other revenue sources, such as the record label and the festivals.
New Orleans holds a unique place in the world of music, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum is equally unique in its creative, multifaceted approach to presenting and continuing this great story.
