New Orleans Day on the Green

Dr. Michael White, born and raised in New Orleans, is a scholar who's made it his life's mission to explain the importance of New Orleans jazz, and then to prove it with his formidable skills on the clarinet. On Sunday the Michael White Quartet, featuring equally dedicated Crescent City musicians/educators Gregg Stafford on trumpet and Seva Venat on banjo, is making its California debut, closing out the 18th Healdsburg Jazz Festival at the New Orleans Day on the Green Show at Dry Creek Vineyard. MJ's Brass Boppers Brass Band strives to let everything hang out - everything being the various musical strains that have fertilized New Orleans music through the 20th century. Led by New Orleans born and bred Michael Jones on snare drum, the Brass Boppers feature Naazir Naaz Magbool on trumpet, Greg Gomez on trombone, Harold Homeboy Wilson on bass drum and percussion, Nate Suave Cameron on vocals and percussion, Mike Slice Waters and Al Lazard on saxophones, Tom Salvatore and Malcolm Stokes on trumpets, Joshua Serotiak on sousaphone, and Big Chief Ray Blazio as the Mardis Gras Big Chief. The Russian River Ramblers, a septet of clarinet (Charles Moller), tuba (Carl Elze), trumpet (Steve Schaffer), guitar (Joel Hernandez), banjo (Dave Stare), trombone (John Ray) and piano (Joe Meeker), conjure the spirits of Louis Armstrong, W.C. Handy, and Sidney Bechet, among other turn-of-the-century greats.