Jason Patterson returns to the WWNO studio to discuss upcoming plans for this season’s Jazz at the Sandbar.
Most may know Patterson for the managerial work he does at Snug Harbor, but he is also a part of a few non-profit organizations in New Orleans — including lending his talents to the New Orleans Jazz Celebration; a non-profit organization that he says acts as an umbrella organization helping to produce jazz series like A Nickel a Day and Jazz at the Sandbar.
Jazz at the Sandbar was established by Ellis Marsalis and Charles Blanc in the 1990s, and Patterson began producing the series in 1996, when the series was held at its prior location, The Cove. Patterson talks briefly about the move from The Cove, clarifying that Katrina devastated the establishment. He even jokes mildly that participants of Jazz at the Sandbar “were the children of Israel, wandering around the vastness of UNO’s campus.”
The period of wandering has come to an end, as Jazz at the Sandbar returns October 2. Patterson describes how the series has a variety of acts and instruments that come from the best in the university’s jazz studies program. Local and international students have the opportunity to play with masters of the jazz world, while the public gets to witness the phenomena.
A small admission charge will apply to non-UNO students. The public is invited to join in this event every Wednesday, with the concluding act on November 20.
