NEW IBERIA, La. --- Join the Bunk Johnson Jazz, Arts, and Heritage Festival and Shadows-on-the-Teche in celebrating New Iberia’s own jazz legend, Bunk Johnson, with dinner, a movie premiere, music, and cake on Sat., Dec. 16, 2021, at 6 p.m. on the front lawn of the Shadows-on-the-Teche (317 E. Main St., New Iberia).
The night begins with red beans and rice, Bunk’s personal favorite. Music from the Bunk Johnson Brazz Band, who will be joined by Barry and Emile Martyn on drums, will follow. Participants will then savor a piece of cake while viewing the premiere of a new film documentary "The Legacy of Bunk Johnson in New Iberia" produced by Barry and Emile Martyn.
“It is a joy to hear Barry introduce jazz music according to the history of New Orleans legends of character, creativity, and commitment to New Orleans Heritage," said Ret. Judge Charles Porter, president of the Bunk Johnson Jazz and Heritage Festival Board. "New Orleans and New Iberia Jazz are an essential part of the future of Louisiana. Now let us pass the torch to the young dreamers."
Tickets to Bunk’s surprise party are available online at
ShadowsOnTheTeche.org. Admission is $25 for adults and $5 for children (ages 6-17). Ticket includes both the program and food.
All proceeds from the event will be used to support the Bunk Johnson Creative Arts Academy, a place where musicians will benefit from individual attention, numerous performance opportunities, and exceptional peer mentoring. The Creative Arts Academy is open to students ages 12-18. For more information, please visit
BunkJohnsonBrazzBand.org.
About Barry & Emile Martyn:
Barry Martyn has been a jazz drummer, bandleader, producer, and historian for over 65 years. Born in London, England, in 1941, Martyn was first introduced to New Orleans jazz at the age of 12 while listening to Alistair Cooke’s Letter from America on the radio with his mother. It has been an integral part of his life ever since.
He began playing drums in 1955, was leading his first band, Kid Martyn’s Ragtime Band, in 1956, and made his first recordings in 1959. Two years later, in 1961, Martyn visited New Orleans where he met Bill Russell, studied drums under Cie Frazier, and founded Mono Records, quickly becoming part of the New Orleans traditional jazz community. He performed with Kid Sheik and Noon Johnson at the Black Masonic Hall in downtown New Orleans, and toured Europe with New Orleans jazz veterans George Lewis, Albert Nicholas, Louis Nelson, Captain John Handy, Percy Humphrey, and others.
In 1972, Martyn moved to Los Angeles where he founded the Legends of Jazz, an ensemble which made several worldwide tours and numerous recordings. He has authored and co-authored numerous well-regarded books including Song of the Wanderer and Bill Russell’s New Orleans Music. At the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Martyn occupies a prominent seat under the Jazz Tent with the Andrew Halls Society Brass Band.
Emile Martyn, Martyn’s son, is a jazz drummer who grew up in New Orleans and spent the first part of his career playing the New Orleans music scene with some of the top jazz musicians in the world. He started a band with the late great trumpeter Paul Bonner and soon recruited his brother Ben Martyn for vocals and bass. The three have played venues of all kinds all over the world.
About the Bunk Johnson Jazz, Arts, & Heritage Festival:
The Bunk Johnson Jazz, Arts, & Heritage Festival, Inc. celebrates the South's arts and heritage, folk life and music with regional artists, artisans, performers and students. It recognizes Bunk Johnson, Clifton Chenier and other renowned artists, and is aimed at general audiences with an emphasis on children, teens, at-risk youth, and disadvantaged populations.
About the Shadows-on-the-Teche:
The Shadows-on-the-Teche, National Trust for Historic Preservation site, opened to the public in 1961 with the mission to preserve the buildings, landscape, collections, and historical integrity of the site; to research and interpret through education programs a 19th century southern Louisiana plantation economy and community and their evolution; and to encourage an appreciation of and interest in historic preservation.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns and operates the Shadows-on-the-Teche, is a private, non-profit organization. The Shadows does not receive funding from federal, state, parish, or city government. The site supports itself through admissions, special programs and events, and donations to the Friends of the Shadows.
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