On a warm Monday evening in the centre of Valencia, the narrow street of Carrer de Santa Teresa filled with the unmistakable sound of a brass-heavy brass band swinging through the classics of 1920s New Orleans. The weekly NOLA Jazz Sessions are now hosted at Ca Revolta in the Ciutat Vella neighbourhood that brings the city’s Monday night social scene to life with an energy that felt both deeply local and gloriously transported. The resident act, The Hot Notes Trio, have made Monday nights in Valencia their own. Week after week they deliver a repertoire rooted in the hot jazz, ragtime, and blues that once poured out of the bars and street corners of the French Quarter with Louis Armstrong, Spencer Williams, and Irving Mills songs designed not just to be listened to, but to be danced to. And dance people did.

Ca Revolta, a cultural association space tucked into one of the old town’s most characterful streets, proved a perfect vessel for the experience. The intimacy of the room made every note feel close to the kind of setting where you can feel the vibration of the double bass and watch the sweat on the trumpet player’s brow. There was something electric about hearing music born in one port city echoing through the walls of another, Valencia and New Orleans sharing more than most people realize: both Mediterranean-influenced, both deeply proud of their food and culture, both cities where life is lived loudly and joyfully in the streets.

24/7 Valencia: So, you bring the authentic New Orleans to Valencia?

Guillermo, The Hot Notes: “Well, I don’t know if the authentic, but I try to learn from the musicians there and musicians that started jazz in history. I think Valencia and New Orleans have a lot of spirit in common. Like, we are port cities, mix of cultures. So, I think it’s easy to understand them. And the cities have a heartbeat. They have a soul, yeah.” —

What makes the NOLA Jazz Sessions stand out beyond the music is the ethos behind them. Run as a donation-based event benefiting Música pel Clima, a non-profit environmental association, every session directly funds the planting of a tree. Culture and conscience, wrapped in a trumpet solo. For anyone looking for an authentic, unpretentious live music experience that captures the true spirit of Valencia’s vibrant after-dark culture, Monday nights at ‘Ca Revolta’ are a non-negotiable addition to the calendar.

Report by Faith Callaway

Article copyright ‘24/7 Valencia’

NOLA Jazz Sessions — Every Monday, 20:30h–22:00h | Ca Revolta, Carrer de Santa Teresa 10, Valencia |

Tickets/Donations: entradium.com/events/nola-jazz-sessions