About Sound of New Orleans-SONO

Gary Edwards. Arezzo, Italy January 2012. Photo by Jennifer Edwards.

Original Gary Edwards card for "Is Music, Inc."  Many New Orleans musicians bought instruments there.

Sound of New Orleans Records is a New Orleans independent record label producing and promoting indigenous New Orleans and Louisiana gospel, zydeco, rhythm and blues and brass band music since 1980, owned by Gary Edwards. Edwards has worn many hats in the music business. He's booked bands, owned a music store and an instrument rental company, and generally been on the scene in New Orleans music circles for 40 years. Sound of New Orleans recordings are available in record stores, on the Sound of New Orleans website, and on LocoBop as downloads.   

Edwards has assembled a strong catalog of recordings by New Orleans church and community-based gospel quartets, soloists and ensembles, as well as unsung  heroes of rhythm and blues and brass bands, back when nobody much paid attention to brass bands.  Through his efforts in recording and promoting New Orleans and Louisiana music, he's brought their sounds to several overseas festivals over the last three decades. For the last twenty years, he's brought groups to Umbria Jazz, a premier jazz festival held in July in Perugia, Italy and in December in Orvieto, Italy.

He's also brought brass bands to the Istanbul Jazz Festival for 15 years.

The festival is going into its 19th year in 2012, and SONO has been a part of it almost since the beginning.