🌍🎹 Jazz International is on the road, and our first stop was Orléans, France! What an incredible weekend at the Grand Piano Festival, where pianist Sam Kuslan represented the contemporary American music scene during the festival’s opening night with a free performance on the Place de Loire stage along the beautiful Loire River. On Saturday, Sam led an interactive conference at the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Orléans, exploring the evolution of New Orleans piano traditions, from stride piano and the iconic 12/8 groove of Fats Domino to the energetic, unmistakable style of James Booker. The festival concluded with a special collaboration celebrating the sister-city relationship between New Orleans and Orléans. Sam joined the talented Orléans Jazz Band featuring Bertrand Hurault (drums), Sacha Gillard (clarinet), David Sevestre (saxophone), and Victor Gourgeaud (bass). Together, they performed New Orleans classics, including Didn’t He Ramble and Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orlea...