The "New Orleans Songbook" will be led by music director, arranger and pianist Luther S. Allison, who also received his Master of Music in jazz studies from Michigan State University in 2019.

After his time at MSU, Allison went on to win a Grammy Award in 2024 as an accompanist for Samara Joy on her album "Tight."

Returning to East Lansing as a part of the tour for "New Orleans Songbook," Allison reflected on the importance of the city itself on his musical career.

"East Lansing is a second home to me," Allison said. "I feel like I learned a lot and grew a lot, musically, in the city of East Lansing and under the tutelage of people like Rodney Whitaker, Randy Gillespie, Xavier Davis, Randy Napoleon, Mike Dease (and) Etienne Charles... I learned so much and had some of the most pivotal musical experiences of my life, some of the most integral experiences, musically, in my life, while I was a student at Michigan State."

Allison said coming back as a professional musician to East Lansing, a city that helped him develop those skills, is something that he’s looking forward to.

"To be able to come back and be music directing this tour (and) playing, you know, for it to a place that helped to form me musically and also, just as a man, is very, very heartwarming," Allison said. "I'm super excited to come back and see family and friends and old professors and just to see how much the city's changed in so many great ways. (It) means a lot to me."

Bass player in the "New Orleans Songbook" Liany Mateo is also an MSU graduate, who received her bachelor's degree in jazz studies, majoring in bass performance, in 2020. 

Also returning to East Lansing for the performance, Mateo said coming back to the city this time will stand out to her.

"I've played a little bit in East Lansing since I've graduated, but I think this time is particularly really special because I'm with Luther," Mateo said. "From the moment I met him, we were the best of friends, and we started going to school together... I think to be on this tour that he's done a beautiful job MDing, for him to call me, means a lot to me, but also to come back together to the place that our friendship really formed, it is very, very special."

For both Allison and Mateo, MSU had a profound impact on their successes and careers. For Allison, MSU was able to provide him with opportunities that allowed him to gain first-hand experience in the industry.

"Some of the first opportunities that I had professionally were while I was a student at Michigan State," Allison said. "Being able to go on the road and do some touring... at that point I wasn't just a student in a classroom anymore, but I was able to actually get real-world experience, kind of like somebody else would have an internship (for) their (future) job."

Allison said because MSU was able to successfully set him up for his current career path, entering the industry made him "almost feel guilty" because of how easy it was for him, as he knew what to expect as a musician.

Similarly, Mateo said MSU’s jazz program focuses on community, which she was then able to take and apply to her current career.

"The jazz program has a very specific ideology that really centers around community, that really centers around the culture of jazz, and ‘each one, teach one’ is a motto that we hear a lot in that program, and I think those values are something that I still carry with me today," Mateo said. "Being at that program at Michigan State at that time was really important because I kind of had the built-in community, and because of that, since I've moved to New York, I've kind of valued the same things, and I've sought out very similar places, and if not, I've tried to cultivate that same feeling."

As for the performance itself, Mateo hopes the audience will not only have fun but also take away an understanding of New Orleans’ musical background.

"I hope that they take away the lineage, and how vast (the) lineage of New Orleans music is," Mateo said. "Luther did a really great job of showing the whole continuum from the very beginning to the very recent. I hope people see how integral that New Orleans music has been to (not only) American music, but the world."

Similarly, Allison hopes the audience will enjoy the show, but take away some knowledge about New Orleans.

"We don't want everything to just be the same feeling," Allison said. "I want to make sure everybody's able to feel a wide range of feelings and emotions, but is also able to... in some way, be healed by what they hear and what they experience."

For more information on the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s "New Orleans Songbook," as well as ticket information, visit the Wharton Center’s website.