Tom Rogers and Sally Anderson with Irvine Barclay Theatre present
The Barclay Jazz & Beyond Orchestra
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler — A Trip To New Orleans
Shelly Berg - The Tom and Mayumi Adams Music Director
Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 8pm
Artist Sponsor
The Gerrit & Amy Cole Foundation
This performance will include a 15-minute intermission.
Shelly Berg: Music Director
Tonya Boyd - Cannon: Vocals
Wycliffe Gordon: Trombone
Herlin Riley: Drums
Set One
Struttin’ With Some Barbeque – composed by Lil Harden Armstrong
Arranged by Alan Baylock
Featuring Shelly Berg and the Barclay Jazz & Beyond Orchestra
Jazz Party – composed by Defeayo Marsalis and Tonya Boyd-Cannon
Arranged by Defeayo Marsalis
Featuring Tonya Boyd-Cannon and Herlin Riley
New Orleans – composed by Hoagy Carmichel
Arranged by Shelly Berg
Featuring Tonya Boyd-Cannon, Herlin Riley, Wycliffe Gordon
Hello Pops – composed and arranged by Wycliffe Gordon
Featuring Wycliffe Gordon
Dippermouth Blues – composed by Joe “King” Oliver and Louis Armstrong
Arranged by Wycliffe Gordon
Featuring Wycliffe Gordon and Herlin Riley
A Kiss to Build a Dream On – composed by Bert Kalmer, Harry Ruby, Oscar Hammerstein
Featuring Herlin Riley and Wycliffe Gordon
Swing that Music – composed by Horace Gerlach and Louis Armstrong
Arranged by Wycliffe Gordon
Featuring Wycliffe Gordon
Set Two
Second Line – composed and arranged by Edward “Duke” Ellington
Featuring Herlin Riley and Wycliffe Gordon
In New Orleans – composed by Tonya Boyd-Cannon
Arranged by Shelly Berg
Featuring Tonya Boyd-Cannon
Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans – composed by Eddie DeLange, Louis Alter
Featuring Tonya Boyd-Cannon and Shelly Berg
Cheek to Cheek – composed by Irving Berlin
Arranged by Shelly Berg
Featuring Wycliffe Gordon and Tonya Boyd-Cannon
Tootie Ma – composed by Danny Barker and Harold Mandolfer
Arranged by Shelly Berg
Featuring Herlin Riley
When the Saints Go Marching In – Traditional
Arranged by John Clayton
Featuring Wycliffe Gordon, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, and Herlin Riley
Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler celebrates the rich and diverse musical history of New Orleans. Jazz music was born in New Orleans, in large part because of the “gumbo” of cultures residing there at the turn of the 20th century, including African Americans, Creoles, Spaniards, French, and various South American citizens. The combination of Western, Hispanic, and African rhythms, melodies, song forms, and harmonies were the catalytic forces in the birth of jazz. This exciting show features a trio of illustrious artists joining the Barclay Jazz & Beyond Orchestra, which is made up entirely of Orange County musicians!
Set One opens by featuring the band, with Alan Baylock’s exciting reinvention of Lil Hardin Armstrong’s “Struttin’ with Some Barbeque,” one of Louis Armstrong’s signature songs. The title refers to dancing with a sexy partner! Next, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, a brilliant and soulful, New Orleans-based singer performs her composition “Jazz Party,” which gets into the funky side of New Orleans second line rhythms. In New Orleans the “second line” is a very distinctive march beat, performed by a group of musicians and dancers holding parasols behind a funeral possession. Herlin Riley, a New Orleans native and one of the most exciting drummers in jazz joins Tonya with a virtuosic demonstration of the New Orleans hand drum tradition. “New Orleans” is Hoagy Carmichael’s tribute to the charms of the Crescent City, and it features all three of our guest artists.
Wycliffe Gordon is a titan in jazz music, a thrillingly great trombonist as well as singer and composer. Wycliffe’s song, “Hello Pops” is a tribute to his idol Louis Armstrong. Next, Wycliffe is joined by Herlin to perform an early Louis Armstrong classic, “Dippermouth Blues.” “Dippermouth” was a nickname that bandleader and fellow cornetist, Joe King Oliver gave to Armstrong.
Herlin shows off his singing style in “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” a sweet and engaging song associated with Louis Armstrong. The first act closes with Wycliffe singing and playing Louis Armstrong’s combustible “Swing that Music,” which is a tour de force for our great band.
Act Two opens with “Second Line,” a composition by the great Duke Ellington in tribute to New Orleans jazz. Wycliffe Gordon and Herlin Riley will lead the ensemble through this swinging band number. Next, Tonya Boyd-Cannon comes onstage to perform her composition, “In New Orleans,” a very funky song in a New Orleans-tinged R&B style. Tonya, and Jazz & Beyond Music Director Shelly Berg team up for the classic and beloved “Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans,” which evokes the sights, sounds, and aromas of the city. Next, Wycliffe Gordon joins Tonya to perform “Cheek to Cheek,” originally a Fred Astaire classic made even more famous by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
“Tootie Ma” is a humorous and somewhat racy second line song, very much associated with the great Herlin Riley, who will both play and sing on this tongue and cheek classic. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler closes with the song most associated with New Orleans, “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Our closing number features the band and all of our guests artists in a thrilling new arrangement by jazz master John Clayton.
The Barclay Jazz & Beyond Orchestra is a premier ensemble comprised of Orange County musicians that is dedicated to exploring jazz and popular music through the creation and presentation of unique and entertaining concert programs. Led by Music Director Shelly Berg, The Barclay Jazz & Beyond Orchestra brings a fresh approach to the genre through new compositions, compelling arrangements of jazz classics, and collaboration with world-class guest soloists.