Treme's Petit Jazz Museum

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 :)

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.

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!!