5 things to know for 7/22-7/28

Published on: July 22nd, 2016

Calvin Johnson and Kyle Roussel [Photo by Kichea S. Burt]

Calvin Johnson and Kyle Roussel [Photo by Kichea S. Burt]
Calvin Johnson and Kyle Roussel [Photo by Kichea S. Burt]

Tales of the Cocktail runs through Sunday

Tales of the Cocktail runs through Sunday
Tales of the Cocktail runs through Sunday
Tales of the Cocktail, video highlights from 2016 Cajun-Zydeco Fest, Allen Toussaint + more

'5 things to know' is a weekly feature highlighting different parts of the WWOZ world that you may have missed this week, including unique WWOZ programming and video, plus New Orleans events, artists, places, features, and more. For 7/22-7/28:

1) Tales of the Cocktail is in full swing in the Quarter and CBD this weekend (July 19-24). The event bills itself as the world's premier cocktail festival, bringing together the international spirits community for five days of what's now, what's new, and what's next in bartending.

2) WWOZ was on the scene for the 2016 Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival at Armstrong Park in New Orleans June 18-19 as Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers played. This annual festival, produced by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, "contains the greatest collection of Cajun and zydeco artists for any festival in the city and perhaps the state," according to Charles Laborde, host of "Lache Pas," the weekly Cajun and zydeco show heard on WWOZ (Sundays 12-2p CT). See the video, featuring Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, here!

3) One word to sum up this week's new music spotlight, Allen Toussaint's American Tunes: beauty.

4) WWOZ show host David Kunian (host of Tuesday night's "The Kitchen Sink" 10p-12a) and his new dayjob were featured in an article in the New Orleans Advocate on July 16. Kunian began a new position as music curator at the Louisiana State Museum in February. Under his stewardship, in 2017 the museum will launch the new, permanent New Orleans Jazz Museum, filling all 14,000 square feet of the Mint’s second floor.

Via The Advocate's Alison Fensterstock: "The new Jazz Museum will display its canonical treasures, but with Kunian — the polar opposite of a 'moldy fig,' a staunch traditional purist in the lingo of jazz fans — at the helm, it will also portray Louisiana music as vital, diverse and accessible.

“'The job is part librarian, part researcher, part archivist,' [Kunian] said, 'figuring out what’s here and how to get it out to the public. For me, it’s also trying to expand beyond trad jazz to modern-day music, R&B, brass bands, Cajun and zydeco as much as we can.'"

5) The 'OZ featured video of the week comes from the Calvin Johnson Quartet and their performance live in our studios late last year. Johnson (born November 21, 1985) is a saxophonist, composer and bandleader born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He embodies the spiritual essence of his ancestors in his musical expression, and in his community involvement through the Jazz Foundation of America, where he serves as a clinician. Johnson is a vivid supporter of music in the City of New Orleans and the youth within his city through the non-profit organization “Trumpets Not Guns”, where he is the artistic director. He also has the pleasure of giving back to the community and the continuum of jazz by serving as a faculty member of the Louis Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp. http://calvinjohnsonmusic.com/

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