Concert Program - Sun, February 15, 2026 - Big Band Mardi Gras at the Allen Civic Auditorium

Big Chief
By Earl King & Professor Longhair (1964); Arr. Paul Westbrook. The song refers to Mardi Gras Indian groups; an important part of the African American Mardi Gras tradition. The African Americans in New Orleans who first formed "Indian groups" did so as a tribute to the Native American tribes in the area who took in runaway slaves in the pre-Civil War era.

Ol’ Man River
By Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II (1927); Arr. Bill Holman. New Orleans sits on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River (Ol' Man River). The song contrasts the struggles and hardships of African Americans with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River.

Carnival Time
By Al Johnson (1960); Arr. Paul Westbrook. One of the most played and requested classics of the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras Mambo
By Frankie Adams, Lou Welsch, Ken Elliot (1953); Arr. Paul Westbrook. Recorded in 1954 by the Hawketts, whose membership included Art Neville, a founding member of the Meters and the Neville Brothers.

They All Ask’d For You
By Zigaboo Modeliste & The Meters (1975); Arr. Paul Westbrook. Recorded as a joke while in the studio, it was released and became a hit anthem for the Audubon Zoo, and for all New Orleans.

Basin Street Blues
By Spencer Williams (1928); Arr. James Morrison. Basin Street is the main street of Storyville, the red-light district of early 20th-century New Orleans, north of the French Quarter. The song was first recorded by the great Louis Armstrong.

Struttin’ With Some BBQ
By Lil Hardin Armstrong (1927); Arr. Alan Baylock. Lil Hardin was playing piano in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band when she first met Louis Armstrong in 1921.

Second Line (Joe Avery Blues)
Traditional; Arr. Victor Goines. Sometimes called "The Joe Avery Blues," this tune dates back to the early New Orleans style, and was recorded by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Go to the Mardi Gras
By Professor Longhair & Theresa Terry (1949); Arr. Paul Westbrook. This song is an iconic carnival season theme in New Orleans. Henry "Roy" Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed in New Orleans.

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
By Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter (1947); Arr. Ed Wilson. First heard in the movie New Orleans in 1947, where it was performed by Louis Armstrong and sung by Billie Holiday.

Bourbon Street Parade
By Paul Barbarin (1949); Arr. Mike J.D. Roberts. The song is an example of how early marching bands influenced New Orleans jazz. It has become a Dixieland classic and New Orleans Jazz standard.

When the Saints Go Marching In
Traditional, Copyrighted by Virgil Stamps and Luther Presley; Arr. Dean Sorenson. This traditional black spiritual was popularized by Louis Armstrong in 1938.