April 3, 2022
All you need is a radio or an internet connection to dig into this weekly radio program…
For a music lover, American Routes is a deep dive into the sources of our music - jazz, country, rhythm 'n blues, country, swamp pop, Cajun, zydeco and the subtle ways they interconnect. Every week, Nick Spitzer curates two hours featuring the work of songwriters, singers, musicians and a featured interview - this week with Corey Henry, who grew up in the Tremé district of New Orleans.
You don't grow up in the Tremé without having music pulsing through your veins or, for that matter, the smell of rice and beans cooking in a pot every Monday. Henry's father, grandfather, uncles, and now nieces are familiar names to New Orleanians.
Spitzer's lens is wide open. This week's show, "Antique & Modern New Orleans Style: "Corey Henry and The Tremé Funktet", sounds like an homage to New Orleans music - until you check the set list in the first hour that includes Cannonball Adderley, Lester Young, Peggy Lee and Benny Goodman, Waylon Jennings and Nancy Sinatra (yes), Betty Carter. Spitzer is setting the table for the next two hours. The wonder is how he weaves them together to support his theme of the week.
The second hour is New Orleans specific, featuring Spitzer's interview with Corey Henry that shows that music runs in the family in so many New Orleans bands. And that performers like Henry consciously intend to offer something uplifting and positive to combat the crime in the city. New Orleans has its share of gun violence.
Other weeks feature two hours of music ranging from blues and jazz, gospel and soul, old-time country and rockabilly, Cajun and zydeco, Tejano and Latin, roots rock and pop, avant-garde and classical wrapped in a theme that Spitzer chooses. For 20 years, Spitzer's been opening our eyes to how New Orleans music has influenced American culture and the influences that informed New Orleans musicians to create it
Today’s interview is with Corey Henry is more than keeping the spirit of New Orleans music alive. Henry wants his people to stay alive so they can enjoy it. "Trumpets Not Guns" is a direct appeal that comes from a respected voice who uses his pulpit to preach for an end to gun violence.
Henry's "Sunny Side of the Street", an upbeat bouncy take on Louis Armstrong's song of the same title, shows Henry's grasp on the many strands that simmer together in the pot of New Orleans music.
The show ends with Corey Henry's "Suite for the Candlelight Lounge", a homage to longtime proprietor Leona Grandison. I spent many Wednesday nights listening to The Tremé Brass Band play at Leona's place on North Robertson in the Tremé.
Get on board American Routes any time right here.
- American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!
- American Routes—produced in New Orleans since 1998
http://americanroutes.wwno.org
- American Routes is blues and jazz, gospel and soul, rockabilly and country, Cajun and swamp pop, Tejano, Latin… and beyond. Songs and stories from musicians describe a deep and diverse nation with sounds and styles shared by all Americans. From the bayous to the beltways, from crossroads to crosstown, on interstates and city streets, turn up your radio for the sonic journey!
- American Routes—produced in New Orleans since 1998
http://americanroutes.wwno.org
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