 New Orleans, LA (Top40 Charts/ Columbia Records) - Legendary performer and 15-time Grammy Winner Tony Bennett graced the stage at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 2009 to the delight of fans that attended that exhilarating performance. This year, the singer who paints under his family name Benedetto, will participate as the official visual artist of the Festival by painting the image to be displayed on the Festival's annual poster. Bennett's portrait of his friend and colleague, the late Louis Prima will be reproduced as the 2010 New Orleans Jazz Festival poster in honor of the centennial anniversary of Prima's birth, a New Orleans native, which is celebrated in December of this year. To view the poster image, visit nojazzfest.com. Bennett, who is an accomplished visual artist with three of his original paintings included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution, commented, "Louis Prima was an absolute original and I was thrilled to be asked by the Jazz Festival to paint his portrait for this year's poster art - he was an exceptional performer and a dear friend and he embodied the buoyant spirit of New Orleans." Quint Davis, producer/director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, said, "Tony Bennett's performance at the 2009 Jazz Fest was a highlight for everyone who attended. We are honored to present his portrait of Louis Prima as this year's Festival poster. This tremendous tribute to one of New Orleans' great musicians by one of America's great musical artists is the kind of celebration of our culture to which Jazz Fest itself is dedicated." Bennett's silk-screened poster is the first edition in a new generation of poster series for Jazz Festival, "Performance Art: The Musical Artist As Visual Artist," which will showcase the visual artistry of musical performers. Bennett's poster, titled "The Chief of New Orleans: A Portrait of Louis Prima" will be available in four numbered editions: 12,500 unsigned posters on archival vellum paper, 23" x 35" ($69); 2,000 artist-signed prints on museum-standard 100% cotton rag paper, 24" x 37" ($295); 500 artist-signed remarques bearing a hand drawing by the artist and the estate-stamped signature of Louis Prima, 25"x 39" ($795); and, 300 C-marques (over-painted canvases) 26" x 40" ($995). The Bennett editions are available for pre-ordering on the website www.art4now.com and on site at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival which begins April 23 and runs through May 2. Further information is available by calling toll-free 1-888-art-4-now (278-4669) or 504-733-3332.
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