Treme's Petit Jazz Museum

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Treme’s Petit Jazz Museum. The owner is a great storyteller with an incredible knowledge of history and music. He carefully explains where the sounds we so much enjoy today originated thousands of years ago and how they blended over time and countries. We are so happy that we stopped by and will visit again.

I was here early June and Al gave me a tour of the museum. It's a small place, as the name would suggest but it's so full of memory and music. Music is a timeless feature and as Al guides you through chronologically he plays music to accompany what he's showing you. Music from ages back and more contemporary tracks but nothing is dated. This is the music that really gets my heart going. History definitely comes to life here. A must see on a trip to New Orleans. I hope to be back in the city soon and I'll be back here for a visit.

We absolutely loved our experience at the Petit Jazz Museum. Mr. Al Jackson will really expand your mind with his discussions about the origin of music. He is such a great story teller and is so knowledgeable. We were so thankful to be able to spend time with him and tried to soak in the experience of speaking to someone with such deep ties to New Orleans and its music, as well as the history of music around the world. Lovely, lovely experience.

Visit for a chat/lecture with the curator of this wonderful, creative collection that traces the history of jazz through time and in the Treme. The deep love, respect, and good fun that has gone into this work is so very apparent in its content and delivery. Commissioned paintings, original documents, and accompanying music (on CD, tape and vinyl record) make it such a rich experience. Put it on the top of your to-do list, you don't want to miss it.

Al Jackson provided an informative, insightful, engaging tour. I’m so glad I found this gem of a museum! Don’t leave New Orleans without checking out Treme’s Petit Jazz Museum!

What an amazing experience, and something that we will remember every time we think about our trip to New Orleans. Here you have the honour of being taken on an in-depth and fascinating history of both music and the New Orleans jazz scene. The curator, Al Jackson is a fountain of knowledge and has so much passion for musical history, but is clearly so happy to share it with others. We entered the house very ignorant of a lot of where jazz came from and I'm happy to say we came out a lot more understanding and appreciative of the collective collaboration, influence and cultural sharing that the scene had in creating itself. This museum really encapsulates the best parts of history, someone taking their passion project and sharing it with others and I think it really is an essential visit for anyone visiting New Orleans. It was also great being part of a jamming session, we had a blast taking part even if my timings were a little fast! Preserving cultural history is essential to understanding where we come from and I sincerely hope that Mr Jackson's efforts in doing so are recognised. What an honour it was to come to this museum, whenever we are back in New Orleans it'll be our first stop! We'll also be sure to let everyone we know that they have to visit here. Cormac (Ireland) Maggie (UK) 😊

Al was great! My daughter and I learned so much about music and the history of it. I would highly recommend a visit and taking a tour with Al.

This is not your ordinary museum. You come here to hear Al Jackson teach you about the history of music and how the different cultures have shaped the music we call New Orleans Jazz. He will tell you stories and answer all your questions. You'll spend about an hour and a half learning and listening. It's well worth the $15 donation that they ask for.

If you are in New Orleans, you have to visit this little place in the Theme Neighborhood. The most amazing surprise. You will be greeted by Mr Al Jackson, a gentle very knowledgeable and funny man, who will take you on a 700 years trip around the world and teaching you the history of music and jazz. What an experience! If I ever make back to NoLa, I will get back to say hello.

An Amazing historical journey through music with. Super friendly, knowledgeable and incredible documentation of New Orleans music and music world wide Learned a lot and had lot of fun!

Mr. Jackson was waiting for us, he took us through his memorabilia and stories of growing up in Treme. His research was deep and comprehensive, and powered by love of his community. I so appreciated every minute he spent with us. Mr. Jackson also said they jam in the space too! Pair this with the Backstreet Museum and L'il Dizzy's for a great Treme neighborhood tour.

We were so happy that we visited this little gem today! Al is an amazing tour guide and historian. Followed this up with lunch at Lil Dizzy's and started with the bread pudding, per Al's advice :)

I love the small museum, one that isn't at the top of every tourists to do list, one that isn't even widely known by locals. This small museum may only be two rooms, but the docent has a wealth of knowledge and will start from the beginning of time with music, and describe how it all intertwines with forming Jazz, and how contributions from all sorts of places have woven their way in, and even how different Jazz is in different areas of even America. The cost is $15 as of March 2022, cash or Venmo only. I can not even begin to go into any detail, as it is all woven into his story. He is a trove of information. I look forward to bringing others here in the future. He has a passion for this collection and it shows.

If you love Jazz and love history, this is a must-see. This is where you would get to listen to the whole story of jazz, from the instruments, to the founding fathers, to how jazz branched out/ influence other music genres. This is where you would find original contracts of artists like Louis Amstrong, Ray Charles.. Al is a great story teller, his story is not just informative, systematic, but also interactive as you get to listen to music and try different music instrument as the story goes. Check it out, you will love it.

A must see when visiting New Orleans! This was a major highlight of my trip. Historian Alvin Jackson guides you through a historical tour of the city very pictures and artifacts. As a native of the city he provides insight to the changes and gives a fascinating tour. This is probably one best museums you can go to in the city because you get a one on one guide through history. It is a small museum but filled with rich history about the city that no other tours offer. You get the factual history of a museum but the personal guide of a tour. I highly recommend stopping here if you are visiting the city. Plus Mr. Jackson is a native and you get to support small business!

Deserves above 5 stars. Kind and extremely knowledgeable owner/curator has a history in jazz and has collected everything over the years. Rare and exciting collection, & owner takes you through it all on his own, retelling the artifacts' stories and the history of jazz over the continents & decades... Beautiful whimsical colorful spot in the heart of treme. Don't leave nola without a visit! I sincerely hope he's doing alright through the pandemic, and imagine it's a safe and good spot for an educational visit since it can so easily be visited privately.

Thank you for your hospitality and for educating me more about black history in New Orleans. Hasta pronto mi catracho

This is the REAL Jazz museum in Nola!!! Just two rooms but covered in portraits and memorabilia you won't find anywhere else. We got a guided tour by the owner, a Treme native with deep roots connecting him personally to the cultural evolution of Jazz in this beautiful city. This kind of untold history needs to be supported and is such a hidden gem, it's a must see!!! Please go and support! Black owned!!

While taking an opportunity to play tourist in my own city, my fiancé and I blue-biked past a little museum in the Treme (in all honesty, we were en route to the Backstreet Cultural Museum... needless to say, we never made it there). Stopping at this museum on a whim was not only the highlight of our afternoon, it was arguably one of the most impactive cultural museum experiences I've had in this city where I was born and raised. The best $20 I've ever spent ($10 a person) hands down. First let me say that walking into this Petit Jazz Museum was not at all the typical "museum experience" that I expected. I'm a huge fan of the WWII museum and NOMA and the New Orleans Historical Collection all of which are large and well funded exhibits. In contrast, this museum is one, relatively small room with musical instruments, paintings, photographs and documents lining the walls and on tables in the center of the room. There are music excerpts to be heard in classic, old-school CD-players. You'd almost be underwhelmed if it weren't for the fact that upon closer review these are (or represent) PRICELESS pieces (and individuals) of the history of jazz music that will completely upend what you know about its origins and development. As mentioned by other reviewers, Al Jackson is a wealth of knowledge. I only experienced the tip of the iceberg of the stories that he can tell about the creation of jazz, its impact on New Orleans, and the Black Musicians' Union (originally called the Negro Musicians' Union) among countless other topics. He walks you around to each wall and has endless and fascinating stories about each item. Go into this museum and ask every question you can imagine - he will answer it! I can't wait to return (many times, with many people) to pick his brain again. Sign of a fabulous experience: my fiancé and I went to Bar Tonique after our 2+ hour visit/tour and simply tried to recall as many facts as possible. We took notes on our phone and spent 45 minutes having "aha!" moments. Al Jackson's curated museum shifted my entire perspective on jazz. He truly opened my eyes. Go! Enjoy! Return! See you there!

Absolutely loved this museum. If you visit New Orleans and do not stop here, you will loose history. Al is so wonderful. I would love to come and just sit a spell with him.

My sister and I stumbled upon Treme's Petit Jazz Museum after eating at Li'l Dizzy's (make sure you do yourself a favor and eat there as well). Alan, the owner, was a great tour guide. Born and raised in Treme, he is filled with knowledge about the history of Jazz. I'm a history buff so I was delighted. He shared about Jazz's root stemming from the transatlantic slave trade, to its connection to Mexico. I learned so much about the rich culture of Jazz in Treme. We also sang show tunes with a friend of the owner's who was a talented pianist. The museum just had its one-year anniversary. Make sure you bring cash, it's $10 for admission, and very worth it. Keep this museum alive. It truly is a community treasure, owned by someone in the neighborhood who is reserving Treme's history. Treme's Petit Jazz Museum is also centrally located to other landmarks. Congo Square is about a 7-minute walk and Bourbon Street is only 20-Mins walking. After my sister and I left the museum, we walked to Bourbon Street and had a blast. There is also the Treme coffeehouse which is about a 2-minute Wall.

Small, but packed full of information, color, and history. It was said that Mr. Al "has forgotten more than we'll ever know." Art, music, and some original music contracts signed by Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, and Little Richard. A fun, quirky out of the way gem.

Stopped into this small museum with my wife and son while walking through Treme. The gentlemen Mr. Alvin Jackson and his partner who run the museum spent so much time with us going through the history of jazz. They were very informative and answered all of our questions. Take 45 minutes of your time and patronage this place. Thank you gentlemen for the tour!

Al, the owner, is awesome! He's incredibly knowledgeable about the intersection of jazz and New Orleans history. The museum is small, but jam packed with fascinating pieces of history that will leave you in awe. Definitely is worth a visit to hear about the richness of this beautiful city.

This museum has a great collection and the owner is friendly and very knowledgeable about the history of jazz. Admission is affordable and I was able to get a personal tour through the collection of one of a kind items. If you're a fan of jazz and its long history, definitely check out this place. I learned a lot.

This is a must see. The history inside is phenomenal. You can see original contracts of the greatest jazz and dock and roll musicians. Definitely check this out

If you love jazz and love history this is the must-see Jazz Museum in New Orleans. I saw this museum on a tv special about New Orleans and just HAD to visit on our trip.  We learned more about the musical history and culture of New Orleans and the roots and influences that make up the gumbo of jazz then we did by visiting any other Museum in the city. Alvin Jackson, curator (& historian, educator, Jazz aficionado),  takes you on a personal tour of the sounds, people, pictures, history, memorabilia, countries and world events that shaped Jazz (AND New Orleans) even BEFORE the era of Louis Armstrong.  Play an original piano from the era. The building that holds this unique collection is itself a piece of history, discovered accidentally to be the abandoned former Musician's Union Hall filled with the original contracts and gig sign-in books for many of the great artists like Louis Armstrong,  Little Richard,  Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald,  Lionel Hampton, and many more.  I would recommend enjoying the walk downtown to this historic Treme neighborhood, to the neighborhood where Trombone Shorty grew up, see the houses, the people, and treat yourself to a step back in time and an hour with Al Jackson. You'll never listen to Jazz or think about New Orleans the same way again!

What a wonderful place. The owner, Al Jackson, provides tours himself with perfectly nuanced and personal touches to jazz's impressive history. I highly recommend this fantastic New Orleans gem. The full space takes about a half hour to tour and it is more than worth that modest time commitment. I just loved it.