Local jazz musicians ‘Dream Out Loud’ about their future

True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist – Albert Einstein

And never were truer words spoken, says Edward Anderson, one of the founders of NOLA Art House Music, a newly-organized group of some of New Orleans’ most creative and talented jazz artists. Anderson, composer, trumpeter and candidate for a Doctorate in Music at Louisiana State University, and six of his colleagues will present the first in a series of affordable Dream Out Loud concerts this Saturday in the iconic Taylor Library of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The concert begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15 online at http://dreamoutloudpremiere.eventbrite.com and $20 at the door.

The creative works of Anderson, virtuoso clarinetist Evan Christopher and pianist Matt Lemmler, inspired by their lives in the Crescent City, will be performed by them and a group of amazing New Orleans jazz musician: bassist Roland Guerin, drummer Herman Lebeaux, saxophonist Khari Lee, and trumpeter Bobby Campo.

For the three co-leaders of NOLA Art House Music – Anderson, Christopher and Lemmler – Saturday’s concert is the tangible result of long and thoughtful conversations about their roles in today’s music scene. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina made them feel like “it was time to put down the crawfish, turn down the game, and make the things that we neglected for so long a first priority,” says Anderson.

And that priority is making music. Not just as “cultural vendors in the club environment,” Anderson adds, “but as stewards of a more provocative, and thoughtful side of art music.”

Christopher, when asked why he is participating in NOLA Art House music, replied thoughtfully: “As beautiful as our musical culture is, it’s difficult, in fact, to feel that our efforts affirm its importance. Working in a service economy that uses live music mainly to sell alcohol, local media and advertising that brandishes street musicians as ‘cultural vendors,’ seeing colleagues perform for free, or worse, for tips, and constantly wondering why, for all of the rhetoric about the necessity of music, leaving New Orleans is the best career move a musician can make screws with my self-esteem. NOLA Art House Music represents an affirmation of what we believe about our true musical heritage and how to best engage and serve our community.”

So this next generation of conservatory-trained, internationally-renowned musical artists, building on New Orleans’ true musical heritage and their continuing tradition of making jazz, will be offering a concert celebrating the sounds of today. If you’re ready for a music experience that’s intelligent, pleasing to the ear, with a fresh approach and virtuoso performances, Dream Out Loud is for you.

For  ticket information call 504.539.9616 or go to http://dreamoutloudpremiere.eventbrite.com