NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Louisiana State Museum, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum announce the opening of a Disney World traveling exhibit on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 4:30 p.m. with jazz performances in the Education Center courtyard. Following the success of the 2020 Pixar animated movie Soul, “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure” exhibit was first introduced in February 2021 at The American Adventure inside Disney World’s EPCOT as a tribute to the unique sound that originated in the African American communities in New Orleans through the fusion of our unique cultures. The popular exhibit will now travel to three museums around the country with the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint being the first host. “The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure” will be on display through Friday, Nov. 19. Other stops include The American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, NY.
“New Orleans is not only the birthplace of jazz, but also the jazz capital of the world. It’s only fitting that such a great exhibit start its journey around the country in the same place the journey of jazz music started,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.
New Orleans area native, Jon Batiste, served as the co-composer on the 2020 Pixar animated film Soul about Joe Gardner, a pianist and middle school music teacher in New York with dreams of playing jazz professionally until a mishap leads him on a soul-searching journey through music that teaches him to enjoy his entire life. “The Soul of Jazz” exhibit features maquettes of Joe Gardener and Dorothea Williams, another character in the movie. Through a virtual experience, visitors will also be able to take pictures with Joe and the band from the movie Soul. Additionally, visitors to the New Orleans Jazz Museum will see the world’s largest collection of jazz instruments, artifacts, and photographs ranging from Louis Armstrong’s first cornet, Charmaine Neville’s cowbell and tambourine, to a disc of the earliest known jazz recording in 1917.
“Thanks to the ambassadorship of artists like Jon Batiste, the city of New Orleans has been able to maintain its legacy as the jazz capital of the world. Jazz music at its core represents not only our unique culture in New Orleans, but also the resiliency of the people of the city. We see this collaboration as an opportunity to educate younger audiences about the history and the true soul of jazz,” said Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “We are very excited for the New Orleans Jazz Museum to be the first museum in the country to host ‘The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure’ traveling exhibit developed in collaboration with Disney.”
“The Soul of Jazz: An American Adventure” can be seen at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint from Tuesday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Nov. 19. The museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
