Panorama Jazz Band, Monroe, LA, Jan 20
The Panorama Jazz Band of New Orleans will perform in Monroe Louisiana on January 20, 2007 at Congregation B'nai Israel, located at 2400 Orell Place (at the corner of Orell Place and Park Avenue) in Monroe. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited.
Tickets are $15 per person or $50 for two Patron tickets. Patrons will be listed in the program. Proceeds benefit the preservation of the historic Jewish cemetery in Monroe. For more information, please call (318) 387-0730.
The Panorama Jazz Band works in and around New Orleans. The six member group performs a variety of musical styles. Their main focus is on New Orleans jazz and Jewish klezmer (Jewish folk music). They also present Creole music from the Caribbean island of Martinique and folk music from the Balkan nations of Eastern Europe—Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria, and the Rom people ("Gypsies").
For those not familiar with klezmer music, the best way to describe it is "Jewish jazz"—good-time music! The music began in Eastern Europe and lends itself to traditional styles of music from all over the world.
The instruments include clarinet, alto sax, accordion, banjo, tuba and drums. Rowdy or gentle, sweet or hot, the music is always exciting. Clarinetist Ben Schenck said, "We can play a lively 'freylekh,' a Jewish 'happy dance,' and then turn on a dime to bring out music from Jellyroll Morton or Louis Armstrong."
In South Louisiana, the Panorama Jazz Band is popular at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival, Mardi Gras parades, on Bourbon Street, at weddings and bar mitzvahs, school picnics, backyard barbecues, and private parties. They have made repeat performances at folk festivals in France and will perform in Minnesota at the 2007 St. Paul Winterfest.
To place an ad in the program, please contact Don Marcus at (318) 325-7310. Ad copy deadline is January 7. All support is greatly appreciated.