Melissa Weber, aka DJ Soul Sister, is known for her long running show on WWOZ 90.7 FM and monster dance parties, including performances in the Superdome during the Essence Festival which feature get-out-the-grooves funk and soul. But as with any music diehard, she also loves modern jazz. In an effort to fill a local void, she is curating this new series at the Little Gem Saloon.
Her first show brings the rising vibraphone star Warren Wolf to the intimate confines of the Ramp Room at the historic downtown nightclub.
Wolf and his group Wolfpack will celebrate the release of their new album for Mack Avenue Records called Wolfgang, which features two different rhythm sections (pianist Benny Green, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Lewis Nash; and pianist Aaron Goldberg, bassist Kris Funn, and drummer Billy Williams, Jr.), as well as two noteworthy duo pieces with pianist/label-mate Aaron Diehl.
Williams, Funn, and pianist Alex Brown will be on the gigs at the Little Gem Saloon. Brown’s resume includes work with Miguel Zenon as well as Wynton Marsalis & Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Weber explains the impetus of her new project, which will bring other up-and-coming jazz musicians as well as veterans to the new club in the CBD on a monthly basis. “Over the past few years, I’ve seen some of the top artists in jazz play all around us—Lafayette, Baton Rouge, never in New Orleans,” she said.
“That just didn’t make sense to me, that they wouldn’t be booked here on their tours. The team at the Little Gem Saloon really believed 100% in my mission to present these amazing artists and their bands. Plus, their concert room and sound is absolutely amazing, a perfect room for listening and enjoying the music. The music and the room are a match made in heaven.”
