The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation presents the 2024 Jazz & Heritage Concert Series celebrating contemporary jazz at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center! The series continues on Friday, January 12 at 8pm CT with a performance from the Jasen Weaver Sextet.

Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, Jasen Weaver is one of the most in demand bassists in his hometown and abroad. Under the tutelage of world-renowned musicians such as Donald Harrison and Jason Marsalis, Weaver has become a respected component of the New Orleans jazz community. Jasen is currently living in Brussels, Belgium, and is a member of ensembles led by Belgian pianist Joachim Caffonnette and Spanish guitarist Toni Mora. In addition to this, he has been touring in Europe with Black Art Jazz Collective, China Moses and Jeremy Pelt. In June 2021, he obtained his master’s degree in jazz performance from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and was named as the recipient of the Toots Thielemans Jazz Award.

A graduate of the prestigious New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) as well as the University of New Orleans, Jasen was positioned to be an impact player in the music scene from a very young age. While in high school he was a member of the Tipitina’s Internship Program led by the great Donald Harrison, whose band he joined from 2017-2019. Aside from being an active performer, Jasen also gives back to the music community by teaching. He was a student teacher at the Don Jamison Heritage School of Music while in college and a faculty member at the Sanaa Music Workshop.

Weaver has toured in Europe, Australia, South Africa, Honduras, Japan and many cities in the United States. He has played legendary venues such as Yoshi’s (Oakland, CA), The Jazz Showcase (Chicago,IL), The Apollo Theatre (New York, NY), Ronnie Scott’s (London) and Duc De Lombards (Paris). He also has made a name for himself as a recording artist having appeared on albums by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Joe Dyson, Dr. John, Jason Marsalis, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Adonis Rose and many more.

As a bandleader, Jasen released his debut album, “The Voscoville” in March 2018 and made his first appearance at the world famous New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival that same year. Weaver’s band also held the regular slot on Saturday nights at Bacchanal Wine from 2012-2019. Sammy Stein, of Something Else! reviews, may have summed it up best: ”Jasen has the authority and privilege to surround himself with talented and also serious musicians. You can hear Monk, maybe Shorter and definitely NOLA in these tracks. More than that, you hear the heart of a young jazz musician who, if this is his first release of his own compositions and arrangements, we are definitely going to be hearing more of.”

Other notable artists Weaver has performed with include: Amina Figarova, Bill Summers, Christian Winther, Delfeayo Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Lucien Barbarin, Quiana Lynell, Sasha Masakowski, Shannon Powell, Sullivan Fortner, The Session, Victor Goines, Wes Anderson and more.

Tickets are available for $10 at events.jazzandheritage.org. If you can't be there in person, WWOZ will be video streaming from the concert at wwoz.org/livevideo and on our Facebook page!