Don Vappie and Paul Longstreth
Schedule
Fri Mar 20 2026 at 03:00 pm to 04:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
419 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA, United States, Louisiana 70130 | New Orleans, LA
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This program takes place at our French Quarter Visitor Center - 419 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70130. Admission is free and open to the public, seating is limited and offered first come, first-served basis.Don Vappie is perhaps best known as a virtuosic banjo player, but he is also a gifted guitarist, bassist, singer, teacher, and composer. He is fluent in funk, contemporary jazz – indeed, most genres of the day – but his heart lies with the traditional New Orleans music he calls “Creole Jazz.” He is one of the world’s pre-eminent banjoists and a recent inductee into the Banjo Hall of Fame.
Vappie has performed extensively with The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and with Otis Taylor. In 1995 Vappie formed the Creole Jazz Serenaders, focusing on classic jazz from the 1920’s through the 1940’s, and celebrating the music’s Creole French and Latin heritage.
Don Vappie has performed and recorded with Eric Clapton, Bela Fleck, Peggy Lee, Joel Gray, Carol Channing, Wynton Marsalis, Otis Taylor, Terence Blanchard, Johnny Adams, Cheick Hamala Diabate, Bassekou Kouyate (both of Mali), Demma DIa of Sengal, Bette Midler, Danny Barker, Doc Cheatham, Ellis Marsalis, Diana Krall and many more. He has headlined at festivals and venues worldwide.
As an educator, he has participated in programs at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Tulane University, the Smithsonian, the Historic New Orleans Collection, and many more. He is on faculty at Loyola University of New Orleans and at the and currently serves as jazz guitar instructor at Loyola University and at the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, sponsored by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation.
After four years studying with Ellis Marsalis at the University of New Orleans, Paul Longstreth graduated was able to build a reputation as a solid sideman and accompanist in the mecca of traditional jazz, New Orleans. He is still amazed to list performances with Lenny Kravitz, Rufus Reid, Nicholas Payton, The Leroy Jones Quintet, Charles Neville, Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, Irvin Mayfield, Charmaine Neville, The Harry Connick Orchestra, Sista Teedy’s Bootleg Operation, Jeremy Davenport, Lucien Barbarin, Crönk, UMAMI, The New Birth Brass Band, John Boutte, and A Kind of Lovechild.
Today, he leads bands, writes songs, teaches piano improvisation, and continues to practice, practice, practice! It is an honor to perform music for a living. And it is his desire not just to entertain audiences, but to engage, educate, and enlighten both himself and all willing listeners.
Photo Credit: David Spielman, courtesy of Don Vappie's website
Alt Text: Photo of Don Vappie wearing a black suit and hat, holding a bango, with a trumpet sitting on a shelf next to him
See our full calendar of events at https://www.nps.gov/jazz/planyourvisit/calendar.htm
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Where is it happening?
419 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA, United States, Louisiana 70130Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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