Pat Barberot

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Pat Barberot was the founder and band leader of one of the New Orleans’ longest running big bands, the Pat Barberot Orchestra.^[1] From 1940 until 2007, Pat’s band, with his saxophone out front, was a staple of New Orleans night life, performing its own arrangements of classics from big band greats like Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton, Louis Prima, and Sy Oliver and many others. In 1970, Barberot realized that venues for big band were fading away, so he opened his own club, The Jefferson Orleans North. There fans of the era have danced the nights away to hits like “In The Mood�? “Moonlight Serenade�? “Sing, Sing, Sing�?, “Midnight Tango�? and “Eager Beaver�? at their weekly concerts for over 35 years.

In August 2005, the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the Jefferson Orleans North. Popular demand encouraged Pat to rebuild the club and reunite his band, and they resumed performances four months later. After taking ill in fall of 2006, Barberot died on April 5th, 2007. ^[2]

The Pat Barberot Orchestra continues to play weekly, now under the direction of Pat’s son (and drummer), Bryan Barberot. The Orchestra and its fans are the subject of a new PBS documentary called “A Place To Dance,�? will air on public television stations nationwide in summer 2007.^[3]