On Saturday, May 17 The Mainstay in Rock Hall is thrilled to welcome Creole jazz banjo legend Don Vappie. Vappie is descended from a long line of jazz musicians from the river parishes of New Orleans. He plays with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (one of the most illustrious bands ever to appear at The Mainstay) and Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, fan favorites of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. His music credits include performances at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis and recordings with Bette Midler, Terrence Blanchard, Diana Krall, Peggy Lee, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Eric Clapton, and many others. His film credits include American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, Zora Neal Hurston: Jump At The , and the television series Treme.
Vappie also teaches jazz guitar at Loyola University in New Orleans and is an expert on the history of Creole music.
In addition, he has received awards for his contributions to the preservation of New Orleans Creole Culture through music and film. He has produced 7 of his own albums, co-produced and starred in a PBS documentary, performed as a featured artist with orchestras on movie and television soundtracks, and at concerts and festivals around the world. It is said that Vappie’s highly regarded unique and original tenor banjo style is equal only to his love of his Creole heritage and tradition.
