University of New Orleans professor emeritus and jazz studies program founder Ellis Marsalis will open the fall 2011 Jazz at the Sandbar series on Wednesday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m. The Jazz at the Sandbar concert series, now in its 21st year, takes place at the Homer L. Hitt Alumni and Visitors Center on the UNO main campus.
Jazz at the Sandbar concerts are free to everyone with a UNO ID and just five dollars for the general public. There will be beverages available for purchase, and the sunset views of Lake Pontchartrain, combined with music from UNO students and Ellis Marsalis, will make for a magical evening.
In 2011 Marsalis and his four musician sons received the first NEA Jazz Masters group award. The awards have been bestowed each year since 1982 by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Jazz at the Sandbar is sponsored by the UNO Student Government Association, the UNO International Alumni Association, WWNO, Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro and the nonprofit New Orleans Jazz Celebration, Inc.