Savannah African Art Museum is slated to host a free jazz concert titled “From the Bayou to the Port” featuring Teddy Adams & Friends at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19. This event will be at the Museum, located at 201 E. 37 th Street.

Savannah’s own Teddy Adams & friends returns to the museum to entertain the community with music from the Louisiana Bayou to the Savannah Port. The concert aims to show similarities of jazz found in New Orleans and the Hostess City, both with its African influenced “call and response” traditions of enslaved African Americans and its improvisational nature and rhythmic complexity.

The Savannah African Art Museum will be open and hosting West and Central African guided tours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by the free concert from 2 p.m.to 5 p.m. In addition to the guided tours and music, this event will have Royal Tasty Avenue Food Truck onsite with a delicious menu for optional food purchases.

“This cultural experience is an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultures of Africa by bringing together the community to enjoy the visual and musical arts,” said Alisa Evans-Newsome, Executive Director of Savannah African Art Museum. “We are excited to invite everyone to explore the power, diversity, and spirituality of African art and to savor in the African roots of jazz.”

Born in Savannah, Georgia on August 20, 1941, Teddy Adams began playing the trombone in elementary school and started performing professionally during his high school years. In 1959, he was honored as the most promising musician/ trombonist in Savannah by the AFM, Local 704 Musicians Union. A four-year music scholarship to Florida A&P University was postponed to pursue a career in music, however, other forces steered Teddy to the U. S. Air Force where he fine-tuned his music craft for several years in various Air Force bands throughout the U.S. and Asia. While stationed and living in Tokyo, Teddy attended a music conservatory started by Japan’s premier musician, Sadao Watanabe. After returning to the U.S. in 1976, he teamed up with Bassist, Ben Tucker and co-led a mainstream jazz group called the Telfair Jazz Society. This collaboration led to the birth of what we now know as the Coastal Jazz Association. Teddy has performed with other greats that include Cab Calloway, Art Blakey, and James Moody, to name a few. Teddy is presently teaching, lecturing and leading his own group. He also is on the Board of Directors for the Coastal Jazz Association, co-leads the Savannah Jazz Orchestra,
and is one of the first inductees in the Savannah/ Coastal Jazz Association Hall of Fame.

A tent and limited seating will be available, so it is recommended that attendees bring their own chairs. Only street parking will be available for the event because the jazz concert and food truck will be stationed in the Museum’s parking lot. Alcoholic beverages, smoking, and vaping are not permitted on the museum grounds.

The Savannah African Art Museum is a non-profit institution devoted to spreading awareness and appreciation of African culture. They hold a vast collection of objects that hail from West and Central Africa. The museum's collection spans numerous countries and cultures. For more information about the museum, access virtual tours, workshops, and initiatives, please visit www.savannahafricanartmuseum.org or follow them on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest using the handle @SavannahAfricanArtMuseum.