The Louis Armstrong House Announces 2011 Summer Season

Louis Armstrong House Museum (LAHM) announces the programming for the 2011 Summer Season. Since opening to the public in 2003, LAHM - a National Historic Landmark - has been a staple of arts and culture for the Queens community and beyond. The 2011 Summer Season will include an assorted line-up of guest musicians and special collaborations. Summer programming includes the monthly concert series Hot Jazz/Cool Garden, a Fourth of July Birthday Celebration for Louis Armstrong and the free annual Jazzmobile concert in front of the museum. On Sunday, June 26 LAHM will debut the latest biography on Louis Armstrong -- What A Wonderful World -- written by LAHM archivist Ricky Riccardi. In addition, LAHM will take part in New York City's Play Me, I'm Yours, in which pianos on the streets invite spontaneous performance, as well as Queens Art Express, a popular community festival.

Louis Armstrong House Museum offers daily guided tours. Today visitors from all over the world can come visit the home where Louis Armstrong lived with his wife, Lucille. The house radiates with Armstrong's unique, infectious energy. It remains frozen in time and every item in the house belonged to them. On tour you'll travel back in time with private recordings of Louis practicing his trumpet and conversing with friends. Visitors can also experience an Armstrong exhibit displaying Louis's many keepsakes including: photographs, awards, and one of his gold-plated trumpets.

Hot Jazz/Cool Garden
Now in its 4th Season, the Hot Jazz/Cool Garden outdoor series is held each summer in the Armstrong Garden at LAHM. The musical extravaganza showcases up-and-coming traditional jazz bands that play the musical sounds of Louis Armstrong. This year the series will feature The Bria Skonberg Quartet (June 18), Gordon Au & The Grand Street Stompers (July 30) and Baby Soda Jazz Band (August 20). All performances begin at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10 per person and include a guided tour of the Louis Armstrong Museum. The tour can be taken before or after the concert.

What A Wonderful World Book Party
Armstrong fans are invited to come out and celebrate Ricky Riccardi's much-anticipated book, What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong's Later Years. The book party takes place in the Armstrong Garden at LAHM on Sunday, June 26 from 2 - 4pm. Tickets are $35, which includes an autographed book, house tour, and refreshments. Reservations must be made at reservations@louisarmstronghouse.org

"The story of Louis Armstrong's later years is the great untold tale of postwar jazz. Now Ricky Riccardi has told it to perfection." Terry Teachout, author of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong.

Ricky Riccardi is considered today's leading Armstrong scholar. He is the archivist at the Louis Armstrong House Museum and is the author of a popular Armstrong blog, dippermouth.blogspot.com. Riccardi holds a Master's in Jazz History and Research from Rutgers and has presented on Armstrong at the Institute of Jazz Studies, The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, and at the annual Satchmo Summerfest in New Orleans.

Fourth of July Birthday Celebration
Louis Armstrong always celebrated his birthday on July 4th. Two days before he passed away, he celebrated his final birthday right at home in his garden. To honor his legacy, LAHM celebrates Armstrong's birthday each year on the Fourth of July. LAHM will be open for guided tours and special birthday events from Noon - 5:00 pm with a special 2-for-1 admission price. Admission includes a celebratory performance by the renowned jazz trombonist Art Baron in the Armstrong Garden at 1:00 pm followed by complimentary birthday cake.

Jazzmobile
Every summer LAHM holds a free, outdoor jazz concert sponsored by Jazzmobile.This year Jazzmobile will be held on Thursday, August 4 at 7:00 pm in front of the museum. Come hear world-famous musicians as they entertain the local community!

Since 1964, Jazzmobile has been presenting free outdoor summer mobile concerts. As the pioneer mobile music organization, Jazzmobile has brought the great jazz artists of our time directly to the public throughout the five boroughs of New York City. For more information on Jazzmobile visit www.jazzmobile.org

Collaborative Events at LAHM
The Queens Art Express returns! In its third year, it will feature performances, exhibitions, art events and great places to eat in the unique cultural communities along the route of the No. 7 train. Thirty-eight art venues and 80 local merchants will be involved during this spring art festival. Visit LAHM during the festival dates from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 19 for daily house tours and a jazz concert on June 18 at 2:00 pm. For more information visit: www.queensartexpress.com.

From June 18 to July 2 LAHM will participate in The Street Piano Project: Play Me, I'm Yours. Beginning June 18, neighbors, visitors, and the general public will be encouraged to play a baby grand piano housed in the Armstrong Garden.

Touring internationally since 2008, over 400 pianos have now been installed in cities around the world, from New York to Sydney, bearing the simple instruction "Play Me, I'm Yours." Located in public parks, bus shelters and train stations, outside galleries and markets and even on bridges and ferries, the pianos are available for any member of the public to play and enjoy. Who plays them and how long the pianos remain is up to each community. Many pianos are personalized and decorated by artists or the local community. Play Me, I'm Yours has now reached over a million people worldwide. For more information visit: www.streetpianos.com.

About the Louis Armstrong House Museum
In 1943, Louis Armstrong and his wife Lucille purchased a modest house in Corona, Queens, and lived there for the rest of their lives. Today, the Louis Armstrong House is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City landmark administered by Queens College. The Armstrong House is the world's only historic site devoted to a jazz musician that is completely preserved and restored and open to the pubic six days per week; people from all over the world visit it.

LAHM, a 501(c)(3), also owns the world's largest collection of research materials devoted to a jazz musician. The research materials are currently housed in a six-room archival suite in the library of Queens College. The Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation helped to establish LAHM. LAHM is creating a Visitors Center across the street from the historic house and has already raised $15 million for design and construction. Design is complete and construction will kick-off in spring 2012. Queens College is the parent organization of LAHM.

The Museum is shown only through guided 40-minute historic house tours that start every hour on the hour (last tour of the day starts at 4 pm). The exhibit area and garden can be explored before or after the tour. No appointment is necessary, unless you are planning a group visit for at least 8 people.

LAHM, located at 34-56 107th Street in Corona, Queens, is open Tuesday - Friday 10am - 5pm. Saturday - Sunday 12pm - 5pm. The Museum is closed to the public on Mondays and the following holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Always open on the 4th of July, in honor of Louis's traditional birthday.

Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors over 65, students and children. Group rate for 8 or more is $6. Children under 4 years old are free.

If you are a Satchmo fan or a jazz lover, become a member! Join today and help us to preserve and spread the legacy of the great Louis Armstrong. By becoming a member of our family, you will be supporting our mission and will receive exclusive benefits throughout the year, including: free admission for historic house tours, special member discount to all of our events, a subscription to our Dippermouth News, a sneak peak of our upcoming events, 10% discount in our museum store, pre-show parties with other members like you and much more. For more information on LAHM and how to become a member visit www.louisarmstronghouse.org

Major funding for the Louis Armstrong House Museum is provided by the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation. Additional funding is provided by Queens College, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS); Bloomberg LP; the New York State Council on the Arts; the National Trust for Historic Preservation; the Rudin Family Foundation; the Estates of Jane and Leslie Katz and members and donors from all over the world. Support is also provided by public funds from the Office of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall; the Office of City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras; the Office of State Senator José Peralta; the Office of State Assemblyman Francisco Moya, the Office of State Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry; the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the New York State Education Department; and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.