Nicholas Payton & the New Orleans All-Stars Big Band

Nicholas Payton is a New Orleans–raised trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist whose work moves between straight-ahead jazz and broader American song forms. A Grammy Award winner, he is also known as a public writer, using essays and commentary to address music alongside race, politics, and everyday life.

Jon Batiste is an American musician and bandleader whose work moves between jazz vocabulary and pop-rock songcraft. Known in New York for appearances at rooms such as The Bitter End and on major stages nearby including NJPAC, he also held a long-running nightly post as musical director and bandleader on late-night television.

Nicholas Payton’s Louis Armstrong Centennial is a jazz program led by the New Orleans–raised trumpeter and Grammy Award winner Nicholas Payton, built around Armstrong’s legacy and the city that shaped it.

The New Orleans All-Stars Big Band is a jazz ensemble led by New Orleans–raised trumpeter Nicholas Payton, built in the big-band tradition but shaped by contemporary bandstand priorities. The group’s repertory moves between straight-ahead jazz language and broader American song forms, with space for featured guests such as Jon Batiste.