JOE ALTERMAN’S TOAST & JAM JAZZ BRUNCH
Enjoy brunch, savor the music, taste the story! Join us for a deliciously laid-back Sunday as we serve up sizzling jazz, fresh bites, and lively conversation. Ticket prices include a deluxe brunch by Executive Chef Karl Elliott.
Each month celebrated pianist Joe Alterman brings along his favorite musical guests for a one-of-a-kind jazz brunch- blending smooth live performances with unscripted, talk show-style interviews that go behind the music.
Special guest artist for February 8th is Jesse Ruben, a singer/songwriter best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows.
Inside Location: Studio Theater
Tickets: 11:00am & 1:30pm Seatings
Toast: Premium | $80.00
Jam: General | $70.00
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KARLA HARRIS WITH JOE GRANSDEN BIG BAND
Atlanta-based jazz vocalist Karla Harris and celebrated big band leader Joe Gransden return with their beloved Valentine’s Day show—a swinging, soulful celebration for couples, families, and music lovers alike.
From romantic standards to heartwarming ballads, this performance is packed with charm, laughter, and unforgettable music. Karla captivates with vocals that can move seamlessly from tender to powerful, while Joe brings his signature trumpet style and smooth vocals—often compared to Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra. Together, they create a dynamic energy that makes this concert one of the season’s most anticipated traditions.
Tickets: $30.00 ~ $65.00
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ETIENNE CHARLES
Trinidad born Etienne Charles is a performer, composer and storyteller, who is constantly searching for untold tales and sounds with which to tell them. His lush trumpet sound, varied compositional textures and pulsating percussive grooves enable him to invoke trance, soothing and exciting listeners while referencing touchy and sometimes controversial subjects in his music. Highlighting marginalized communities and engaging with them has been his mission, evident with projects such as his Guggenheim Fellowship Project, Carnival: The Sound of a People Vol. 1, San Jose Suite, Creole Soul, Gullah Roots, Folklore and his latest commission, San Juan Hill – A New York Story.
His concerts engage, enlighten, educate and enrich audiences with energized multidisciplinary performance utilizing original composition, thematic improvisation, dance, short films and spoken word to create a holistic experience. A firm believer in music and performance as a tool for provoking thought and dialogue, Charles’s themes speak to the status quo while drawing parallels to history. His work is actively connecting the African diaspora and drawing lines to the regions at the roots of migrations, evident in his latest release, NAACP Image Award nominated Creole Orchestra which was named #1 Jazz album on Jazzweek’s top 100 of 2024 after spending seven weeks at #1 on the chart in the summer.
His dedication to music as a tool for social uplift has seen him named as a Laureate of the Arts and Letters, Anthony N. Sabga Awards, Caribbean Excellence (2025). He was conferred the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture (2024) and was awarded a Congressional Citation from the United States (2012).
As a sideman he has performed with and/or arranged for Roberta Flack, Chucho Valdes, Marcus Roberts, Marcus Miller, Count Basie Orchestra, Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Big Band, Monty Alexander, Gregory Porter, Terri Lyne Carrington, René Marie, David Rudder, Machel Montano and many others. He has been commissioned as a composer and arranger by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (2025), Lincoln Center for the New York Philharmonic (2021), Savannah Music Festival (2017), Chamber Music America (2015 & 2021), the Charleston Jazz Orchestra (2012), the Chicago Jazz Ensemble (2011) and the Danish Radio Big Band (2025).
He currently serves as Professor of Studio Music and Jazz at University of Miami Frost School of Music
The Band:
Etienne Charles ~ Trumpet
Mikailo Kasha ~ Bass
Miles Turk ~ Drums
Tickets: $20.00, $30.00, $40.00, $50.00 +$5.50 processing and ticketing fee.
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SAMARA JOY
With a style that harkens back to the ‘50s and ’60s eras of jazz music, the twenty-six year old Samara Joy McLendon is an emerging singer from the Bronx, New York. Her childhood was filled with soul and Motown classics, but gospel music was the most dominant due to many of her elder relatives having been involved with the genre.
Though she performed in the jazz band and won Best Vocalist at the Essentially Ellington Competition & Festival while in high school, her true introduction to jazz came when she enrolled at Purchase College as a voice major in their jazz program. During her studies, a video she made with the head of Purchase’s jazz program performing Ella Fitzgerald’s “Take Love Easy” went viral, and that exciting experience was enough for Samara to create a GoFundMe campaign to cover the expenses in putting together her debut album.
The end result, Samara Joy, was released two months after her college graduation in 2021. Her second album Linger Awhile arrived on September 16, 2022, and has allowed Samara to receive her first of many Grammy Awards thus far: one for Best New Artist and another for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Tickets: $179.00 ~ $651.00
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Daily Dose Of Jazz…
John Robichaux: The Forgotten King of New Orleans Dance Bands
Before there was Louis Armstrong, before jazz became the word on everyone’s lips, there was John Robichaux—a Creole musician born January 16, 1866, in Thibodaux, Louisiana, who quietly ruled New Orleans’ dance scene for nearly half a century.
A Multi-Instrumentalist’s Rise
Picture a young man learning brass bass, alto saxophone, and drums, then maturing into a 25-year-old bass drummer with the prestigious Excelsior Brass Band—one of New Orleans’ most respected musical institutions. But Robichaux wasn’t content to simply keep the beat. From 1892 to 1903, while still performing with the Excelsior, he was simultaneously leading his own ensembles and adding violin to his growing arsenal of instruments. The man believed in keeping busy.
The Bandleader New Orleans Trusted
Here’s what makes his story remarkable: Robichaux’s bands weren’t just popular—they were the bands to hire if you wanted class, precision, and professionalism. At one point in 1913, he was conducting a staggering 36-piece orchestra. Imagine coordinating that many musicians in the early 20th century, long before modern amplification or recording technology!
His reputation attracted New Orleans’ finest musicians—legends like guitarist Bud Scott, clarinetist Lorenzo Tio Jr., and cornetist Manuel Perez all played under his baton. When you could attract that caliber of talent, you weren’t just running a band—you were running an institution.
Forty-Six Years at the Top
For an astonishing 46 years, Robichaux was the most continuously active dance bandleader in New Orleans. Forty-six years! That’s longer than most entire careers, a testament to both his musical excellence and his business acumen in an incredibly competitive city.
When History Changed the Game
But history has a way of complicating even the greatest success stories. When Louisiana’s Black Code amendment passed in 1894, it reclassified Creoles of color, throwing Robichaux’s refined Creole orchestras into direct competition with the grittier Uptown Negro bands that played a rawer, more improvisational style. The musical landscape was shifting beneath his feet, gradually eroding the dominance he’d worked decades to build.
A Prolific Legacy
Still, Robichaux persisted with remarkable productivity. Over his career, he composed more than 350 songs and orchestral arrangements—a staggering output that speaks to both his creativity and work ethic. He remained primarily in New Orleans, occasionally touring with the traveling musical revue One Mo’ Time, but always returning to the city that made him.
The Bridge Between Eras
When John Robichaux died of natural causes in 1939, an entire era of New Orleans music died with him. He represents a crucial bridge between the city’s formal, European-influenced dance orchestras and the raw, revolutionary jazz that would soon conquer the world. His bands were where young musicians learned discipline, arrangement, and professionalism before they went off to create something entirely new.
History remembers the revolutionaries, but it often forgets the masters who created the foundation upon which revolutions are built. John Robichaux deserves better than footnote status—he deserves recognition as one of the architects of New Orleans’ musical golden age.
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