pt at large

Willie Nelson singing for his supper...

WHAAATT!?

C'mon, Willie...

I was startled then downright dismayed...two seconds into a commercial break on CNN, here you come singing "You Were Always On My Mind." for a Fed Ex commercial…."Willie Nelson x FedEx | Delivering for Earth"

What are  you thinking?

Your voice belongs in lots of places, from Farm Aid that you founded in 1985 to Honky Tonk road houses, but this Fed Ex business is a bridge too far.

The only damn thing that will make me feel at all better is if every penny Fed Ex pays you goes straight to the United States Revenuers to pay for your federal taxes this year. We all remember what happened in 1990 when the IRS raided your home, seized your  possessions and auctioned them off to pay a $16.7 million dollar tax debt.

You've never been short on telling us what's on your mind. I'm not entitled to do anything but listen to your vast and adventurous catalog of songs but I sure would like to know why oh why you agreed to hitch your wagon to Fed Ex.

You support environment causes and farmers who depend on a stable environment.

The Fed Ex commercial touts its commitment to reducing its carbon imprint  but hey, FedEx had more than 200,000 motorized vehicles in its fleet in 2019. To its credit it added 2944 electric vehicles that included delivery trucks, forklifts and airport ground service equipment.

Fine and dandy, but FedEx's airline cargo division boasts a huge fleet of 691 aircraft, twice as many as Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, and nearly three times as many as British Airways.as of 2017. In 2018, it's estimated that global aviation – which includes both passenger and freight – emitted 1.04 billion tonnes of CO2. This represented 2.5% of total CO2 emissions in 2018. Aviation emissions have doubled since the mid-1980s. That ain't hay.

As my dear readers have figured out after watching tons of hours of TV since March 2020, the songs pitched to sell product aim for our hearts then make a break our our wallets or try to improve our opinion of the aspirations of the corporation.

Hearing a song by Willie or Smokey Robinson transports us to the first time we heard it, who we were with, what we were doing, and the world in which we were living at the time... a cagey strategy to co-opt our buying choices by playing on my emotions.                       

Corporations began to capitalize it in 1926 when they knew most of America was tuned into their radios. Since March 2020 most of us have been glued to our TVs. Branding by using songs deeply embedded in our consciousness is a sneaky, powerful soft sell. Not fair. But effective on TV.

Willie, maybe Fed Ex delivers your monthly supply of weed.

For god's sake, grow your own.

PS

Amanpour & Company interview shows Willie's amazing memory

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/legendary-musician-willie-nelson-his-letters-america-nie80g/

 

 

 

 

 

Singer/Songwriter Hannah Bethel: On The Verge

Hannah Bethel
Holiday Express Hotel Lobby
920 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee
January 12, 2019 

For a singer/songwriter, Nashville is the first stop toward recognition, a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or the last stop before you press the dream like a rose between the pages of the Nashville phone book. A nameless busker, you sing everywhere…anywhere in search of the possible…airport terminals, street corners, taverns, bars, restaurants, hotel lobbies. 

 

You want to breathe the air of Music City USA, uncork the bottle that will release the genie and spin your straw into gold. If you’re not driven and don’t have the long view, stay home.

 

You’re singing to an audience of two or two-dozen, unfazed by an audience with faces in their phones or watching the plasma TV blaring in the corner. You’re singing from the deep uncharted place in your psyche, following your North Star, singing from a manger and hoping that the three wisemen, one of whom who’ll tell a cousin in the industry about the fabulous singer he just heard, will pass your name along.

 

Right now you’re the only person in Nashville who believes in you. 

 

Setting foot in Nashville is the secular version of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage that you have to take, one foot in front of the other, on the road heading for stardom. Singing on that chair in the corner is the moment that counts. You’re singing from your guts, grateful for a smile, a tip jar filled with folding money, a smile of acknowledgement, any small tokens of appreciation until lightning strikes.

 

Willie Nelson couldn’t break through the Nashville ceiling in the early 60s. In a few hours, at the galactic “Willie: Tribute To An American Outlaw” show, 18,000 fans will fill every seat of the Bridgestone Arena. How’s that for inspiration?

 

That’s why Hannah Bethel is perched on a high backed chair in the corner of the Holiday Express Hotel at 5:30 PM. Guests are grazing appetizers in the lobby. To most of them, she’s acoustic wallpaper. In her mind, and to my ears, she’s singing for a full house. 

 

A request from the audience… Kris Kristofferson's “Help Me Make It Through The Night.”

 

The atmosphere in the room turns on a dime. The guitar chords are bare bones. But the voice… supremely supple, original pacing and phrasing, emotive cry breaks, tenderly evocative, focuses an imaginary spotlight to her corner of the lobby. By the time she hits the final chords, people have stopped chatting mid fork. I swear that some nights she must sing herself to sleep with the lyrics. She kills the song. VIDEO

 

Most guests are passing time in the lobby before heading to the Bridgestone Arena for the “Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw” tribute show. Kristofferson, one of the original  Highwaymen back in the day with Willie and Waylon and Merle, can’t sing that song with more genuine soulful depth than Hannah Bethel.

 

“I moved here from Michigan ten years ago,” Hannah says as I put folding money in the tip jar and ask for her web site address. She’s been paying her dues for years, dove headlong into climbing the ladder, trying to gain altitude at roadhouses around the country. 

 

Bethel's web site notes her recent successes but I was surprised by the two songs on it. In that little hotel lobby she was a woman with a voice and style that set her apart from the crowd. For me, "Train" and "Witchy Woman" are too much Nashville and too little Hannah. The purity of her supple voice gets lost in a Nashville-ized version of  her best feature...just sayin'.

 

This song of Kristofferson's? Bethel’s voice lilted, skimmed, and caressed the lyrics with a style all her own. Conversations stop in mid-sentence. Her range, depth and tonal purity, it’s all right here, in one tender, evocative, emotive, vulnerable song, with sub-strata of conviction, not desperation. Anyone who can sing with such conviction can survive. 

 

She’s got the goods.  Will she thrive?  If one of her pared down originals leads off the samples on her web page, she’s got a running start. 

 

 

Hannah Bethel, Holiday Express Hotel, Nashville, TN

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Sing with conviction, hold nothing back, no matter where, no matter when...you were born to be here right now

Photos, videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

Jesse Lége and Bayou Brew Cajunize The Burren

The Burren
Back Room at The Burren
https://www.burren.com
247 Elm Street, Davis Square
Somerville, MA 02144
February 7, 2019

You could be blindfolded but when you hear that voice you know damn well that’s Jesse Lége singing. He’s in rarified territory in the voice department. Deeply sonorous, freighted with emotion that channels the pains and joys of his Cajun forebears, Jesse projects his music like an old soul, all the way back to the enormously emotive Améde Ardoin.

His piercing singing register comes physically from his voice box and his diaphragm but psychically from DNA rooted in a rural upbringing, no electricity, in a one room house deep in the prairie. The week’s entertainment – tuning in the Grand Ole Opry or The Louisiana Hayride if the batteries for the family’s transistor radio had enough juice.

This is not a pretend act. He was born at home near Gueydan, LA, was suckled on the sounds of music heard on the porch on Saturday nights under skies so black you could see all the way to the Milky Way, back in the days when electricity hadn’t reached the prairies of Louisiana.

Tonight he’s playing with his trusty band mates The Bayou Brew who bring their own Cajun sensibilities to the stage. Jesse’s as much a story teller as a singer. He’s an ambassador to Cajun culture, especially in places far flung from Louisiana, where his audience knows such history.In an accent as thick as a good roux,he’s likely to introduce a song with an anecdote, background about the song, and who first sang it. A good one tonight was his explanation of the subjects of many Cajun songs. "The Rayne Bounce" - getting the title since Rayne, LA, is called the "Frog Capital of the World".

Usually, to hear music like this you have to be at the Café des Amis in Breaux Bridge, LA, or the Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette. Not tonight.

What a gift.

Photo, videos  by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Band L to R

Darren Wallace, fiddle; Missy Roser, fiddle; Jesse Lége, Accordion; Erica Weiss, rhythm guitar; Evelyn Schneider, bass

Kudos to the manager of The Back Room, who cleared away enough tables for the roomful of dancers to whirl the night away while Jesse and Bayou Brew played from the stage.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o22q1cHuboE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=P9YxiHNg1Ro

MORE VIDEOS COMING AFTER FEBRUARY 21

 

 

Willie Nelson: The 2015 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize

Let’s hear it for serendipity doo dah. On the previous post, a reader commented she had seen part of the “Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw” on public TV. I still can’t find it but did stumble upon this video recording of Nelson being honored as recipient of the 2015 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

The all-star tribute to singer and songwriter Willie Nelson, 2015 recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, features performances by Nelson, Edie Brickell, Leon Bridges, Rosanne Cash, Ana Gabriel, Jamey Johnson, Alison Krauss, Raul Malo of The Mavericks, Neil Young, Promise of the Real (Young, Lukas and Micah Nelson), Buckwheat Zydeco (Stanley Dural, Jr.) and past Gershwin Prize honoree Paul Simon.

I had no idea Willie was the recipient of the 2015 Library of Congress Award that “honors the enduring legacy of George and Ira Gershwin and the continuing legacy of this year’s honoree, Willie Nelson.”

http://www.pbs.org/gershwin-prize/shows/gershwin-prize-willie-nelson/

And I had no idea of the award when I wrote the last paragraph,
https://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2019/01/willie-life-and-songs-of-an-american-outlaw-the-setting.html

“Look at the range of songs the man’s written and sung. Willie’s sort of a one-man Rogers and Hammerstein or a singer with the range and sensibility of George Gershwin who wears cowboy boots and a red bandana. With his country lyricism, jazz influenced phrasing, and soulful sensibility, Willie doesn’t even fit into the category of Americana. “One of a kind” sounds about right.

The Gershwin Prize event had the feel of a pre-quel to the January 2019 tribute “Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw” and definitively connects to a man who has made a Gershwin sized mark on American music. The tribute is more polished but to a way more buttoned up audience than the one in Nashville on January 12, 2019.
~~~
Holy Cow. I spent last few hours watching this 2015 video, taking notes on the fly, and remembering similar moments from the tribute to Nelson  on January 12, 2019.

Don Was, the same guy who directed the tribute in Nashville, directs the house band. It showed. Spontaneous notes I banged out while viewing the one hour twenty five minute video appear below…

Oh boy, I warn you if you have any Willie Nelson bones in your body you’re gonna have to put your life on hold, actually you’ll tumble down the Willie Nelson rabbit hole without consent and get in touch with how much of Nelson’s songbook filtered through our music DNA and has a way of making us laugh, cry, comfort us, or nod our heads in absolute agreement with those lyrics of Willie’s.

Another cast of luminaries here, one of whom, Buckwheat Zydeco (Stanley Dural, Jr.), never made it to 2019.

The Library of Congress our nation’s oldest federal cultural institution presents the 2015 Prize for Popular Song with an all-star salute to this year’s recipient Willie Nelson.

1st minute
Promise of The Real, upbeat light-hearted “Stay All Night” Lukas and Micah Nelson and Neil Young, get the show off the ground then host Don Johnson takes over to celebrate the 2015 Gershwin Prize For Popular Music tonight honoring the remarkable American songbook of Willie Nelson,

6 minutes
Leon Bridges "Time Slips Away," soulful take on the song that breathes fresh life into the phrasing and shows how many ways there are to sing a truly classic song. Leon keeps it going with this soulful take with longtime harmonica virtuoso Mickey Raphael’s phrasings, swings sweet evocatively sweet. Orchestration is toned down, lets Bridges take the lead.

10 minutes
Raul Malo of The Mavericks sings “Crazy” backed by the Don Was top-tier band and the soft croons of the female chorus. Funny how these classic songs, all written in one week, repeat, ONE WEEK, are trademark Willie lyrics.

14 minutes
Vignettes of Nelson’s daughter Paula and Amy Nelson-Niccore, photos of growing up and being on stage with their dad, cool that he involved them, that they had no idea how unique it was till they began formal schooling and learned that’s not the way other kids grew up early. Warm, loving.

15 minutes
Annie D’Angelo, current and fourth wife, video tells how they met 23 years ago, two “surprise” sons Lukas and Micah… “him I like,” she says after first meeting Nelson.

16 minutes
Gershwin recipient Paul Simon and Edie Brickell, “Remember Me” from 1975 “Red Headed Stranger” album. Good lord, all these songs, the lyrics, the melodies, and a little totally Willie and Trigger riff by Edie in the middle, not just so listener friendly, but heart friendly. I can’t help thinking that these early songs, maybe certain others, are rooted in Willie’s own history, he was just about 30 years old at the time, had no real prospects for success, but was willing to put it all on the line, and in the grooves of those 45 or 33 rpm records, sort of a diary set to music, of what he was thinking about, of what came to mind as he was living day to day, allowing his thoughts to bubble to his conscious level, spinning his thoughts, dreams, realizations into words and melodies. His songwriting wasn’t a fit for Nashville and his life experience certainly wasn’t conventional, raised by loving grandparents in Abbott TX at the tail end of the depression in 1933, grand parents were music minded, from country to church choir, music was probably what kept him grounded, surrounded him with a comfort zone, and he had the uncommon ability or the uncommon drive, to stay with it, let it stay with him, through his youth way down in Texas, where, actually, people take music pretty seriously.

21  minutes
Rose Ann Cash sings Pancho and Lefty, a Townes Van Zant song someone sent to Willie. The more you get to understand Willie, the more you get an idea why that song appealed to him, get a sense of Willie’s sensibility. What are we talking about? Friendship? Relationships? Loyalty? Taking Risks? Loss? Good Times? Adventure? Longing? Sustaining Love? The mystery fits perfectly.

26 minutes
No one can better describe the way Willie thinks about music than he can in this video. “I was always around music, I cant remember any time when I wasn’t hearing music or trying to play music or trying to write music and it was just a language that i grew up with, I found out through the years that its a universal language, the same music that affected me in my early days in Abbott Texas." Powerful close ups of Willie talking, vintage photos of 1930s Texas, you almost have to brush the dust off your coat after watching.

27 minutes still can't identify the speaker who nails the essence of Willie down to a few paragraphs
“America is an idea and America is one of the few countries on earth that was built around an idea… the singing cowboy was a very important element in the culture….” who is the guy with these great comments at 27 min mark and says that "Willie is a magic messenger who appeals across the spectrum to young and old and he is one of the few who has sustained a long time and appealed to a spectrum young and old and he did it through wandering through the raw poetry of time” wow other great observations too. who is this man? a wonderful video follows this

29 minutes
video, great close ups, Woody Harrelson tells story about being invited by Annie to join the crowd in the bus, through a haze of smoke, Willie shouts “Hey, come on down…”; other guys listening to the story add their own comments they call “Willie-isms”

29:35 minutes
Kris Kristofferson nails how to describe Willie’s songwriting, “I wouldn’t call him country or soul or exclusively anything, he’s had some of the most popular songs that have ever come out of country music…he’s one of a kind.”

31:00 minutes
Don Johnson reads a letter from Jimmy Carter a long time fan, saluting Willie.

32 minutes
Jamie Johnson, “Georgia On My Mind” with backup singers, organ and band, slow, not much electricity, church organ and harmonica solo by Mickey Raphael gains traction in last 32 bars. The song would have fizzed without the vivacious 3 female singers soulful chorusing from the back row of the set.

37 minutes
Michael Feinstein says that " in 1978 Willie recorded an album called Stardust, includint a standard (Feinstein sings a few bars of “Someone T Watch Over Me, ” that album has sold over 5 million copies, so that ain’t hay.  In 1985 the US Congress posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to one of  America’s most beloved songwriting teams, George and Ira Gershwin, for 'outstanding and invaluable contributions to America music and theater and culture.' In commemoration of the Gershwin brothers, the Library of Congress named its prize for popular song, which is the nations highest honor for popular song, after these two extraordinary and prolific recording artists. Ladies and gentleman please join me in honoring the enduring legacy of George and Ira Gershwin and the continuing legacy of this year’s honoree, Willie Nelson.”

38 minutes
clips of Willie introducing Farm Aid Festivals along the years with other great performers including Johm Mellencamp, Dave Matthews; Willie, wearing his Farm Aid cap running the show, tens of thousands audiences, raises millions for farmers of the USA. The man’s instincts are generous, his heart open. Other than Bono, can you name a world class artist who’s waded in to highlight a humanitarian cause year after year? And those musicians on stage are bringing it for real.

41 minute, first truly show stopping moments
Alison Krauss "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground" and she kills it just like she did in the Nashville 2019 tribute, great atmospheric pedal steel solo this song burrows into your heart kindling any memory of a lover whose memory clings into your heart this song brought tears to eyes of Willie’s wife Annie and to be honest mine too such a richly evocative in melody and words, a marriage made in heaven for the angel flying too close to the ground oh my
the sweet, high keening, emotionally pitched sound of her voice and perfect timing of her phrasing stirs up memories from some deep place in my heart that I hadn’t realized were there, the words being the conduit into a tender inner space in my heart.  This is one song that in the right hands rises like early morning dew into the clouds this is one of those die and go to heaven songs for your playlist. I guarantee you’ll play this song again and again.

46 minutes
Alison Krauss is joined by raspy voiced Jamie Johnson, perfect for this song, for a version of Willie and Ray' Charles “Seven Spanish Angels” a song reminiscent of Marty Robbins' “El Paso” that I had never heard until Horace Trahan and The Ossun Express played it at La Poussiere in Breaux Bridge, LA. Jamie sings the words but Allyson sings them with feeling; the band backup  with Mickey Raphael, spare, with great trio chorus a romantic western song story with the greatest title of any western song ever written.

50: 00 minutes
Don Johnson salutes Don Was and the band and ‘the 3 beautiful sisters’ back there in the chorus’

51 minutes
Johnson introduces “I Never Cared For You,” a curious title, mid-60's, one of Willie’s most beloved songs sung by 4  time Grammy nominee, one of the most acclaimed Mexican singers in the history of Mexican popular music, Anna Gabriel. Willie’s neighbors in Abbot, Texas, were Mexican. Willie remembers listening to the music; distinctly Mexican flourishes in his guitar riffs pop up all over the place as he channels memory, culture, and personal history, his fingers deftly finger picking with flourishes instantly recognizable as his own…no one, absolutely no one, including his hero Django Rhinehart, sounds like Willie.

51:51 minutes, another show stopper
Anna Gabriel “I Never Cared For You,” sings in Spanish oh boy this is just the jolt this show needed, the band in overdrive to the passionate singing from the inside out from Anna, powerful passionately driven, animated body language, arms outspread to encompass the whole theater, gets the audience clapping along, Anna is killing it. This song captures the unapologetic romanticism, Spanish rhythms, emotive, country operatic then veers into pounding salsa rhythms that course through your veins then she changes up slows down to finish with a grand operatic flourish. Oh boy. Absolutely lit a fuse. Whoever put the set list together is a genius.

54 minutes
Video clips from Austin City Limits 40th anniversary, Willie was one of the originators of the event! video medley of Willie songs of course leading off with his trademark opener “Whiskey River” with various artists including Lyle Lovett and Emmylou Harris, what company!

55:15 minutes
Graybeard Neil Young and the band Promise of the Real in a vaguely rumba-ish version of ‘Whiskey River,’ a slow rolling train with Lukas Nelson and the band Promise of the Real with other son Micah rocking it along and jamming gleefully with Neil Young, you gotta see this one, two generations voluntarily drowning in Whiskey River with the band in full pursuit, or descent, take your pick. You ain’t gonna see Neil Young rock out as gleefully as this.
Lukas Nelson sings lyrics with entirely fresh phrasing and a voice eerily reminiscent of his dad’s. If Lukas picks up the torch, he’s not going to be afraid to put his own stamp on his old man’s songs. Check out Willie nodding to the timing. That’s one proud daddy. 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=who+sings+whiskey+river+with+neil+young+at+gershwin+award+2015&view=detail&mid=30C6D39599761264E0AC30C6D39599761264E0AC&FORM=VIRE
a bunch of other songs from the award program here too

1:00 hour
 “Man With The Blues” Paul Simon, Buckwheat Zydeco (Stanley Duran, Jr. RIP), whoa a rumba-ish zydeco mash-up that rocks. The show is lifting off, baby, fasten your seat belt. The un-emotive Paul Simon shows signs of life even if he doesn't seem to pay attention to Dural right beside him. Buckwheat’s accordion is a joyful instrument with his rubboard sidekick recognizable in any Louisiana dance hall. This is the most upbeat song about A man with the blues you’re ever gonna hear. I woulda loved to hear Buckwheat sing this one.

1:02:38 Willie in a nutshell...
Don Johnson recalls the kinship between Ray Charles and Willlie and says, “Ray Charles said it best, “Willie has the sincerity, the soul, the wit, and the wisdom …when I hear Willie, I hear the voice of America."

Don Johnson, with a photo montage rolling on the huge screen, reads…
"Born in 1933 depression years, raised by loving grandparents, nurtured by western swing of Bob Wills and the honky tonk of Ernest Tubbs, he picked cotton, pulled corn. Even as a boy he wrote songs, songs of loneliness, songs of faith, songs of despair, songs of  hope. As a young man, he scraped and scrabbled his way across the country, played with whatever band would have him, even worked as a disc jockey in radio station in the far northwest."

"In the 60’s our hillbilly hero drove his broken down Buick to Nashville where his songs like the enduring classics like “Hello Walls” and “Crazy” “Nightlife” and “Funny How Time Slips Away” were covered by superstars yet Willie fell short of becoming a super star. His quirky style did not conform to the Nashville norms."

"Well all that changed in the 70’s when he moved to Austin and embraced the gap between hillbillies and hippies, rednecks, and rascals.  His music and his irrepressibly generous spirit embodies all the opposing factions, from then till now he has maintained a zen-like presence as a peace loving music-maker for all generations."

"His surprising 1978 album “ Stardust,“ for example, helped revive interest in the great American songbook and stayed on the pop charts for no less than 10 years. In the mid-80’s his impassioned concern for the lives of marginalized  and struggling small farmers led him to help establish Farm Aid. Three decades later with $50 million raised for a great cause is still stronger than ever. Now as he roars into his 80s, Willie is stronger than ever. He continues to live his life as he loves to say, on the road again, playing over 100 one-nighters a year."

"This past year alone  (2015) he has cut three new albums. A duet session with Merle Haggard, A tribute to his mentor Ray Price, and in honor of this august occasion an album of the songs of George and Ira Gershwin."

"Willie Nelson has earned his heroic status. In doing so, and this is the beautiful part, he has sustained a spirit of deep humility and common decency. His songs like his singing and guitar playing reflect a simple decency that warms the heart and informs the mind. With 11 Grammy awards, 68 studio albums, more than 40 million records sold in the United States, and for his remarkable contribution to American Music, and to the cultural life of this nation, the Library of Congress is proud to present The 2015 Gershwin prize for popular song to Willie Nelson.”

1:07
Seven congresspeople including Nancy Pelosi appear on stage, Acting Library of Congress Director David Mao presents the award.
Willie’s acceptance thank you speech is short, direct, and that’s all it needed to be. We know we love him and why. He doesn’t need to add a damn thing.

1:08
Willie thanks Don Was and his crack band then settles in to sing “Night Life.”
Perfect. Willie’s spent most of his life on stage at night, “the night life ain’t no good life but it’s my life…” say the lyrics but we know better. It’s the kind of life that’s made ours, at least mine, all the richer for  Willie's songs, singing, styles that cover just about every spectrum of the American songbook.

1:10 – 1:14
Willie can still play the blazes out of that battered guitar, appears creatively inspired every time he gets his fingers on it. This is his acceptance speech. His guitar Trigger was his speech writer.

1:14
Willie just cut album of Gershwin songs, invites Cyndy Lauper, flaming pink hair glowing in the spotlight, to the stage and they have spirited fun with “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” in the midst of which Willie takes a guitar solo that reminds you why he’s here. Have you ever seen two people dueting have any more fun and chemistry with this Gershwin classic? The audience is giddy…this is the way to land the show.

1:17
Willie invites Lukas and Micah, says he wrote this a long time ago, says “I think this is the most appropriate songs we could do in this period in America.”
http://www.songlyrics.com/willie-nelson/living-in-the-promised-land-lyrics/

“Living In The Promised Land” The song hit like a thunderbolt from Austin... Lukas Nelson, the timbre of the voice, the subtle timing and phrasing, that are his alone have the stamp of living and listening to his dad since the boy was in a crib. You’ll be pardoned when your jaw drops in wonder and awe. Then pardoned again when Lukas takes a solo…guess who his licks remind you of. The final licks are fierce. The sisters in the choir charge the song the ways they’ve been adding all night long. That was all back in 2015. Good lord we need those sentiments of that song now more than ever.

1:21
Finale - Willie and sons sing "On The Road Again" what else did you expect... “Feel free to sing along if you want to” says Willie and every one in the audience is on their feet singing and clapping! …. then the whole cast rolls onstage for one big time finale. I am still  floating along in Willie Nelson ecstasy...enjoy the ride yourself. https://www.pbs.org/video/gershwin-prize-willie-nelson-library-congress-gershwin-prize-full/

WHOA NELLIE ! 

 

Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw, The Setting

Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw

PART 2; THE SETTING
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN
January 12, 2019

There’s Red State America, Blue State America…and Willie Nelson America. 18,000 members of WNA crammed into every seat in the cavernous Bridgestone Arena to pay homage to the man who has been writing songs since 1962. If the event would have been on pay per view, Willie could have bought the state of Texas with the proceeds. The level of anticipation in the arena was as thick as those two long pigtails hanging from under Willie’s cowboy hat. 

Anyone who owned Willie merchandise was wearing it. The forty-ish woman wearing a light blue Levi jacket with a Willie Nelson portrait on the back was walking to her seat in the hallway ahead of us. “I had it painted especially for me last year,” she said. “The same artist painted that one of Johnny Cash on my husband’s.”  For the rest of us, our devotion to Willie and what he stands for is painted indelibly on a small cameo in an invisible locket hanging on a delicate chain around our necks. 

 

Listen and you’d hear people telling Willie anecdotes. The couple sitting next to us had driven two hours from eastern Tennessee for the show. Judging by the conversation with Willie as the fulcrum you’d think we’d known each other for years. 

 

WNA comes in all ages and income levels and is mostly white. They have their favorite songs, can tell you the first time they remember hearing it and can recite the verses. They are here to honor the man whose songs have been on their playlists for years. The fact that the man is 85 years old is another driving force for reasons that need no explanation.

 

The Tennessee accents I hear around me would be perfect for making a Jack Daniels Black Label Bourbon radio commercial. As the arena fills up, a good ol’ boy with a bushy beard and grey streaked pony tail poking through the back of his baseball cap is belting out a George Jones song much to the amusement of his neighbors. “I drove up to his house one day, knocked on the door and he answered it. I asked if he’d sign my fiddle and damn, he did.” 

 

Read the lyrics to Nelson's songs, listen to his own renditions. The man’s a philosopher, a poet, a seer, a romantic sometimes of the hopeless kind but has the sensibility to avoid the saccharine and write the core truths. If you’ve loved, loved and lost, or just plain lived, he’ll be singing your song.

 

His songwriting phrasing and timing can croon or swing or muse whether balladeering or country two stepping. The man’s not just a songwriter, he’s a storyteller. To say that he’s country… well you haven’t listened to what he’s written or co-written since 1962. Those 367 songs are not about pickup trucks. They’re steeped in his own life experiences. Can you name another Texas songwriter who covers Hogie Carmichael and, hold your breath, his next project will cover ol’ Blue Eyes himself. To think Willie is country misses the point. 

 

I’m thinking that Willie is the Buddha of American music, toking on weed instead of drinking tea. That unmistakable Willie voice, slightly nasal bourbon baritone, is best listened to neat, just the voice and his trademark guitar ‘Trigger.”

 

Check out the man’s catalogue. Chances are you’ve heard his songs covered by artists way better known, Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” for example, more than you’ve heard Willie singing them himself. Look at this list of 367 songs and categories.

 

Look at the range of songs the man’s written and sung. Willie’s sort of a one-man Rogers and Hammerstein or a singer with the range and sensibility of George Gershwin who wears cowboy boots and a red bandana. With his country lyricism, jazz influenced phrasing, and soulful sensibility, Willie doesn’t even fit into the category of Americana. “One of a kind” sounds about right.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/2018/10/30/willie-nelson-recording-academy-grammy-2019/1817954002/

Farewell Alligator Man: A Tribute to Jimmy C. Newman: Photos, Video2

Farewell Alligator Man: A Tribute To Jimmy C. Newman
Acadiana Center For The Arts
Lafayette, LA
Louisiana Crossroads Series Presented by Downtown Lafayette
Friday, January 18, 2019

https://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2019/01/farewell-alligator-man-a-tribute-to-jimmy-c-newman.html

Farewell, Alligator Man2

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Farewell Alligator Man: A Tribute to Jimmy C. Newman: Photos, Video

Farewell Alligator Man: A Tribute To Jimmy C. Newman
Acadiana Center For The Arts
Lafayette, LA
Louisiana Crossroads Series Presented by Downtown Lafayette
Friday, January 18, 2019

https://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2019/01/farewell-alligator-man-a-tribute-to-jimmy-c-newman.html

Farewell Alligator Man: Jimmy C. Newman

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• This was one special night of music. It had superstars Marty Stuart and Doug Kershaw who played Newman’s music with sparkling energy but the night belonged to local musicians Kelli Jones (Fiddle, Guitar and Vocal), Joel Savoy (fiddle, vocals), Gary Newman (Bass and the son of Jimmy Newman), and Chris Stafford (Piano and Guitar), who were joined by Caleb Klauder (Mandolin, Guitar, and Vocals), Reeb Willms (Guitar and Vocals, half of the Klauder/Willms Duo), Rusty Blake (Pedal Steel and Guitar), Matt Meyer (Drums), and Jesse Lége (Accordion) all of whom played Newman’s music and sang his lyrics with utter affection and supremely original takes on old time music.

Reeb Willms takes the lead on "Cry, Cry Darling", Jimmy's song that reached #4 on the Country Charts in 1954.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9nQNsvBJio

https://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2019/01/farewell-alligator-man-a-tribute-to-jimmy-c-newman-photos-video2.html

Photos, video by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

"Farewell, Alligator Man": A Tribute To Jimmy C. Newman

Farewell, Alligator Man: A Tribute To Jimmy C. Newman
Acadiana Center For The Arts
Lafayette, LA
Louisiana Crossroads Series Presented by Downtown Lafayette
Friday, January 18, 2019

The Blood Red Moon expected to illuminate the firmament on Sunday was preceded by a blazing comet streaking over the skies of Lafayette on Friday, January 18. The comet had its own virtual soundtrack, familiar to local residents, the songbook of Jimmy C. Newman, born in a small Louisiana town far from the bright lights of Nashville. His songwriting output of American country music, later infused with songs influenced by his Cajun upbringing, covered as much territory as the comet that streaked over Lafayette.

I can’t read the notes I scribbled in the dark interior of the Acadiana Center for the Arts but I can tell you that I witnessed a night of dazzling music sung and played with cohesion, presence, expertise, and genuine love that swirled between spontaneity and synchronized beauty.

“Farewell, Alligator Man” was a tribute to Jimmy C. Newman (August 29, 1927 – June 21, 2014) a man whose type of rootsy music is never going to go out of style. I was surprised at the solid country sound and feel of his songs. I expected to hear music that sounded like the iconic Cajun singer Dewey Balfa and here I got a night reminiscent of Hank Williams. What else would you expect from a man who listened to Gene Autry when he was growing up in the small town of Mamou, LA.

This was one special night of music. It had superstars Marty Stuart and Doug Kershaw who played Newman’s music with sparkling energy but the night belonged to local musicians Kelli Jones (Fiddle, Guitar and Vocal), Joel Savoy (fiddle, vocals), Gary Newman (Bass and the son of Jimmy Newman), and Chris Stafford (Piano and Guitar), who were joined by Caleb Klauder (Mandolin, Guitar, and Vocals), Reeb Willms (Guitar and Vocals, half of the Klauder/Willms Duo), Rusty Blake (Pedal Steel and Guitar), Matt Meyer (Drums), and Jesse Lége (Accordion) all of whom played Newman’s music and sang his lyrics with utter affection and supremely original takes on old time music.

The carousel of Newman’s songs was played at what felt like rehearsal level and that’s a compliment. Every musician was in the moment, waiting to cover a song, add a lick, take a solo, or just beam a wide smile as they listened to a band mate interpret a Newman song with breathtaking freshness. This was way more than a concert, more like a piece of in-the-moment performance art for voice and instruments.

There is something universally appealing about Newman’s pure, direct singing and writing from half a century ago. Savoy, Jones, Klauder and Willms discovered Newman’s music independently, fortuitously met at venues across the country, and bonded over their mutual admiration.

Joel Savoy, fiddle player extraordinaire, and founder of the Louisiana-based label Valcour Records in Eunice, LA, promotes music and musicians with similar sensibilities. One of his first grand ideas after being named curator for the esteemed Louisiana Crossroads concert series at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Downtown Lafayette was to put together “Farewell Alligator Man, A Tribute To Jimmy C. Newman.”

Valcour Records had last year just recorded “Farewell, Alligator Man: A Tribute to the Music of Jimmy C. Newman” with Savoy, Caleb Klauder, Reeb Willms, and Kelli Jones. Savoy asked heavy hitters Jesse Legé, Marty Stuart, and Doug Kershaw, who had known Newman over the years, to come along for tonight’s ride. They were honored for the invitation and had a blast playing alongside the whippersnappers.

Newman got his start playing on the radio program Louisiana Hayride out of Shreveport. You might know the names of a couple other young singers who launched from the hayride, George Jones and Elvis Presley. In an astonishing 50 year run at the Grand Ole Opry, Jimmy C. Newman had a big run of country songs. The song that launched his career was “Cry, Cry Darling’” in 1956.

From 1954 to 1970, he hit it out of the park and charted 33 songs on the Billboard Country Chart. He began to integrate Cajun influences into hit songs like the 1961 release of "Alligator Man" and a year later, "Bayou Talk." He claimed that the C in his name stood for “Cajun” and the man never forgot his roots and never stopped including Cajun songs in his shows.

Tonight’s “Farewell, Alligator Man” might have been more aptly titled, “Hello, Cajun Country Man.”

A loping rendition of “You Didn’t Have To Go,” opened the show firing on all cylinders, Savoy, Jones, Klauder, Willms trading lyrics and virtuoso solos. As they would do all night, Rusty Blake’s eloquently mood setting pedal steel, Gary Newman’s rhythmically thumping standup bass, Matt Meyer’s steady subtle drumming, Chris Stafford’s solid work on keyboard/electric bass, provided the musical roux, the perfect atmospherics for Newman’s songbook.

Kelli Jones, with her soaring Appalachian tonality that must have come from listening to music in her hometown of Raleigh, NC, mesmerized us with “I Wanna Tell All the World.”

This short sweet song was as country it comes. The dye was cast. We were in for a night of pure, heart on your sleeve, inspirationaLly delivered music played by musicians who have found what, for them, is the Holy Grail.

Swapping vocals and playing jaw dropping solos on mandolin, fiddle, accordion, guitar, and keyboard, they covered just about every song on the Alligator Man CD and several chosen by the performers. SET LIST BELOW

Hall of Fame musicians Marty Stuart (whose elegant black tour bus was parked in front of the ACA for two days) and Cajun legend Doug Kershaw knew that tonight they were part of the show, not THE show. They knew they were part of this campfire evening in which musicians took turns shaking new life into old songs or recreating them with the same purity Newman wrote them. "I've Got You On My Mind"...exhibit A.

Most of the songs were about three minutes long, just the way they were played on the A and B sides of the 78-rpm records back in the day.

Willms can swing sweet or sassy depending on Newman’s lyrics. Klauder and Savoy match Newman’s intent with vocal range and back it up with their crafty playing. Savoy and Jones fiddle playing was crisp, spritely or plaintive depending on the song. Part of the fun for me was watching their eye contact as they played duets standing close together as one unit on stage. Caleb Klauder’s mandolin playing was melodic or insanely flying fingers picked.

Marty Stuart and Doug Kershaw were inspired choices. There was Stuart representing Newman’s country side, wearing his white suit with black piping around lapels, black shirt, and flowing gray and black scarf, and 83 year-old Kershaw representing Newman’s Cajun side wearing a bright yellow open collared shirt with crawfish embroidered above the black pockets.

Then there was Jesse Lége. Lége is the Caruso of Cajun singers, his voice at once raw, sonorous, plaintive, and richly evocative. When he sings Jimmy C. Newman waltz, I feel like I’m embedded in amber listening to a house party on a porch down in Gueydan, LA. Descended from the tradition of Dewey Balfa, the man is the most senior balladeer carrying the flag of Cajun music still touring around the world.

My belief that SW Louisiana is Cajun and Creole music territory into which country sounds were imports from honky tonks across the state line in Texas has taken a serious revision. Jimmy C. Newman was an authentic country star, not as luminous as Hank Williams, but bright enough to light up the Grand Ole Opry and the sky over Lafayette tonight.

The evening’s last two roof- raising songs saluted Jimmy C. Newman with hits that celebrated his Cajun roots. “Alligator Man”…do I have to tell you how a title like that resonated with this crowd?

Doug Kershaw put a foot stomping charge in the evening’s final song, Newman’s spirited Cajun anthem, "Diggy Liggy Lo", that featured the entire cast singing and playing the daylights out of the song, and the audience standing, cheering, and singing along.

People from these parts revere music that celebrates their roots and musicians that proudly call Louisiana home. The Alligator Man crossed over country and Cajun genres. His star still shines bright in the Louisiana night.

Set 1 (courtesy of Joel Savoy)

You Didn’t Have to Go- Key of G
I Wanna Tell all the World- Key of D
I thought I’d never fall in love again- C
Let’s Stay together- Key of E
Got You on my Mind- Key of E
Jolie Blonde Ayou Toi T’es- Key of A
Great Big Fais Do-Do- Key of D
Cry Cry Darlin- Key of Bb
If you Tried as Hard to Love Me- Key of G
Cajun Baby- Key of D

Set 2 (courtesy of Joel Savoy)

Louisiana Man- Key of D
Colinda- Key of A
Day Dreamin- Key of A
Let the Whole World Talk- Key of D
Blue Darlin- Key of G
H Brown Shuffle - Key of F
Hole in my Heart- C/G after 2nd Chorus
Again in your Arms- Key of C
Alligator Man- Key of A
ENCORE: Diggy Diggy Lo Key of A

VIDEOS, PHOTOS

Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw...A Not To Be Missed Tribute in Nashville

January 12, 2019

"Willie: Life and Songs Of An American Outlaw": do you even need a last name?

Saturday, January 12, 2019, 7 PM CT, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN, the event honors 85 year-old country music legend Willie Nelson...and a cast of luminaries are gonna testify at the altar of Willie, probably much to his embarrassment.

Let's start with this 1997 video, Willie, his guitar, and a small audience. To me, this is the definitive Willie Nelson, the inimitable sound of that guitar, the flawless picking, the honeyed sandpaper slightly nasal voice, the Django Reinhart chord changes, the vaguely Mexicali riffs. Country? Nope, the man can sing anything in the American Song Book, standards to country, and can cross over genres as easy as you can walk out your front door. Trust me. He hasn't lost a lick since 1997.

MORE to come...I'll be in the audience

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/willie-nelson-funny-how-time-slips-away-austin-738679/

Dan Gabel and The Abletones: Swing With Class

Dan Gabel and The Abletones
Swing City at The Cambridge Youth Center
680 Huron Avenue, Cambridge, MA
December 8, 2018

http://www.theabletones.com/Dan_Gabel_and_The_Abletones/About_Us.html

Swing City, Saturday, December 8, 2018, Swing City advertises that Dan Gabel and the Abletones is the feature band. I’d never heard of ‘em so I checked out a few clips on youtube. The sound of the full orchestra was a little bright for my taste, but am I ever glad I decided to take a chance and show up anyway.

The Abletones come in two varieties, a compact ten-piece band (dectet) featuring music of the 1930s - 1950s that's playing tonight and a full eighteen-piece orchestra.

From the proscenium stage of the new Cambridge Youth Center, Gabel is fronting a versatile, effortlessly smooth bunch of musicians. The guy plays a mean trombone but his gift is his love of the music of the swing era that translates to a supremely glorious evening of dance music – swing, fox trot, cha cha, a sprinkle of rumba and waltz tempos – all of them with solid back beats and rhythms that make dancers deliriously happy.

The band leader introduces every song with a brief synopsis of title, band that made it famous, the band that made a rendition he’s about to play, the date of recording, and a bit of trivia that connects it to the zeitgeist of the era. He’s not showing off or professorial. He’s just wearing his devotion to the music on his sleeve.

By the time he’s finished, we’ve learned something and are ready to do justice with our feet to the music he’s described. In the hands of a pedant, this approach could be stultifying. With Gabel, it’s satisfying and lights a short fuse leading to a wondrous few minutes of Fred and Ginger inspired moves on the smooth, polished oak floor.

Every swing band needs a vocalist whose crooning can transport us in an invisible time machine to a bygone era. Elise Roth, in a tailored deep ruby dress and black pumps, nails tone and style in the few songs she sings every set. Close your eyes and you’re tripping the light fantastic in a cloud of nostalgia on a dance floor in the 1930s and 1950s.

“I really love the sound of your band, and the way you’re curating the music you’re playing tonight,” says I to him at the break. And joke with him about a comment he made to his band a moment before they launched into a song. “Chart 10A, guys, not 10B.”

Dan points to a rumpled stack of sheet music a few inches high on his bandstand. “We’ve got a pretty deep repertoire,” says he with a grin. He’s had a hand in arranging most of it. And that sound? I learn later that he has toured with the World Famous Glenn Miller Band and has been collecting and documenting vintage big band recordings for years. If Gabel’s parents paid for his education at the New England Conservatory (Masters Degree, 2014), they must be pretty proud of their son.

Tonight’s ten-piece band is nimble and smooth. The honeyed sound is a perfect blend of reeds and brass that swings like the old time bands and has a trademark groove masterminded by Gabel. Result? Dan’s dectet swang and swayed with class and style at the Swing City tonight.

Courtesy of Abletones web site

Courtesy of centersandsquares.com

David Bromberg and His Band: Americana Tour de Force

David Bromberg Big Band
Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
November 8, 2018

David Bromberg and His Big Band is a dazzling three-ring circus. For sheer musicianship, you’d be hard pressed to find a tighter, more accomplished group of players on any stage.

Bromberg is the ring master holding it all together center stage with his collection of guitars and stage presence; the quintet of saxophone/clarinet, French horn, trumpet, slide trombone and bass guitar lines up on his right; lead guitar, violin/fiddle to his left; timekeeper and drummer barely visible sits atop a platform behind; another platform to accommodates three Bromberg-ette singers.  Several band members add vocals, and boy do they ever get into it.

The whole stage becomes is a marvelous kaleidoscopic performance - Bromberg soloing, playing with the quintet, playing with lead guitar and fiddle/violin, playing with the force of the his entire band.

Bromberg is having fun, singing with gusto in his slightly nasal baritone, with a good deal of body English to punctuate the lyrics. Gusto is good. His devotion to the spirit of the music and the sentiments from which it was born is better. 

A student of American musical heritage and genres, Bromberg’s repertoire is wide and deep.  In his fifty-year and counting career, he’s played with Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Emmylou Harris, and inspiring bluesman and mentor Reverend Gary Davis. Blues is Bromberg’s home territory.

Blues is story-telling set to music. Bromberg is channeling the emotions that created them with an easy going controlled vibrato, some downright righteous gospel inflected testifying he probably learned from his days of leading his blind mentor Reverend Gary Davis to the Sunday church services where he preached and sang, or crooning that perfectly projects the sentiment he wants to convey. I feel his energy all the way back in the second row of the mezzanine of the Wilbur Theatre.

For him, blues is like an ice cream parlor filled with equally delicious but different flavors. Classic songs by iconic Robert Johnson, or country blues (Kentucky Blues) or gospel infused blues (Yield Not) are from the same parlor but have their own distinct musical flavor. Bromberg loves them all.  

Over the years Bromberg has played it all - Americana, Appalachian folk, bluegrass, jazz, pop, funk, gospel, and a ton of blues. All of it seeps into the band’s set tonight. If you detect an occasional nod to New Orleans style playing amongst the brass and clarinet and saxophone, you’d be right. The trumpet has plenty of lip, the slide trombone plenty of invention, the saxophone/clarinet flashes of Pete fountain. The French horn never had a chance to solo but softened the edges of everything the band played.

David Bromberg is clearly in command. Lots of eye contact with us in the audience and that big smile on his face is because he’s doing what he was born to do, play with feeling, mastery of his instrument, and deep knowledge of the origins of every song he sings.

In the business of live shows, attitude, engagement with the audience, pacing of the show, song selection, and a perceptive ability to read the audience to synchronize what you feel like playing with what your audience might want to hear requires confidence, not a small amount of ego, and abundant ESP.

Set list?  

A moment after the first song, a fan in the audience shouts out a request. 

“Thanks, you but you don’t know shit about how to construct a set list.” Can you think of any other top tier musician who’d have the chutzpah for that riposte to a die-hard fan? Most chuckle. They know the man.

The set is a totally organic version of the child’s game of Telephone. A moment after each song finishes, Bromberg turns to his right, says something to the bass player who passes it along to the rest of the quintet. Bromberg turns left, says a title to lead guitar who passes it on to violin/fiddle player.

The trumpet player riffs through his charts. Everyone else knows it cold. Bromberg plays a flawless intro, the ensemble gets in gear. He strides toward a musician, nods, and a spontaneous fresh solo floats, careens off or caresses the walls of the theater. Bromberg smiles like a proud papa after they play the daylights out of their solo. He’s a genius with the guitar, dobro, and mandolin resting on stands behind him. Endlessly inventive, he appears lost in the moment. I’ll bet he never plays a song the same way twice.

Bromberg sings “Walking Blues,” “Kaatskill Serenade,” “Why Are People Like That,” “This Month,” and "The Blues The Whole Blues and Nothing But the Blues"from his 2016 “The Blues and Nothing But The Blues” album. He uses the stops (the rests) in his singing and playing as effectively and demonstratively as any musician I’ve ever heard.

In the middle of “Kaatskill Serenade,” a lyrical song that begins with “Where are the men that I used to sport with, what has become of my beautiful town…”Bromberg pauses, says, “This isn’t the same country I was raised in.” He gets pretty specific about his dim view about current politics. He’s not concerned whether you agree or not, but needs to say what’s on his mind. The applause shows that a bunch of his fans know what he’s talking about. 

His rendition of “The Tennessee Waltz”, sung solo, is the purest, most affecting version I’ve ever heard.  By the time I thought Bromberg had delivered as many surprises as he had up his sleeve, along came a slightly rumba-ish version of Sam Cooke’s “What A Wonderful World.” Awesome, dude!
 
I might have been the only first timer in the house. The crowd often applauded when they figured out what Bromberg was about to play. Favorites like the encore “Send Me To The ‘Lectric Chair” have fans singing the choruses.  Showman and musical shaman, Bromberg is the best musician I’ve barely heard of.

Tonight is living proof that he’s earned the title of godfather of Americana music.

Photo by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

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Video and links about Bromberg

https://store.compassrecords.com/products/the-blues-the-whole-blues-and-nothing-but-the-blues

includes audio clips of each song

https://www.pbs.org/video/-canvas-david-bromberg/

Wonderful World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jgk_p3kMmw

Kaatskill Serenade

David Bromberg concept album "Use Me"

Biography, Discography from AllMusic

 

 

 

Joan Baez: Fare Thee Well

Joan Baez "Fare Thee Well Tour"
Boch Center - Wang Theatre
September 15, 2018

I was in an alternate universe the moment she walked onto the stage. 

Let’s start out with how is it possible that a voice that began electrifying people nearly 60 years ago is still a thing of beauty, fully capable of moving an audience to tears and laughter washed with diamonds and rust. She may be a relic but she sure can still rock the house.

Thirty seconds. That’s all it took for me to fall in love with the contralto of her new old voice, with its gravelly edge softening the angelic soprano of yore. She’s not shy about being 77 years old. Hell that’s the point, that’s why she’s here. With dark humor and personal anecdotes, with the songs she chooses and ease of talking to us as if we were at the kitchen table, she’s pointing a light down the tunnel of mortality. Hers. Ours. Mine.

To have that gift of a once in a lifetime voice is wonder enough. And the sound is enough to pitch you into another time zone.  The woman is in the rare company of singers who defined a generation of activists.

The vibrato and tone of that voice is recognizable within seconds. She freely talks about sliding her voice down a range to a still supple contralto with that familiar trademark vibrato that makes me shudder with delight when I hear it. 

Just as I’ve come to terms with Joan’s new normal, she reaches up to the stars and down into a small sweet spot still residing in her vocal chords to nail those soprano notes that put her in her own universe. I would have been able to hear 3500 jaws drop if not for the reflexive collective roar that came from our own throats.

Collusion is a huge buzz word these days and there’s Joanie up there colluding with age to downshift, without losing speed, to share that voice with us in the home stretch of her journey, burning every last drop of fuel left in the tank. A drop in octave doesn’t mean a drop in octane.

I love her for the way she makes me feel. A huge a la carte carousel serving joy, pain, indignation, sorrow, laughter, social justice, camaraderie with people on the margins, evoked with a voice of compassion, forgiveness all the way to in-your-face righteousness. For ninety minutes I am a tuning fork, resonating deeply with thoughts and feelings that flow like currents in the subsurface of the aquifer of my psyche. 

Who melds wistful and hopeful better than this woman? Tonight in easy patter from the stage, she recounts loves, losses, causes, and her sense of social justice and the way she has bridged them all from the past to the present – universal and personal, poignant and powerful, with a palpable generosity of spirit.

Leaning forward, elbows on her knees and hands cupping her face, the woman next to me is in a world of her own with Joan. Her husband in the next seat is mouthing the words to every song.

Joan doesn’t call this a Fare-Thee-Well Tour for nothing. It feels like she’s picked songs to be sung at her own wake.  And don’t think for one skinny minute that we aren’t thinking the same thing since so many of our heroes are dying. And don’t think for one skinny minute that we don’t know that we are closer to our own end lines, just as she is. My head is spinning. Halfway through the 90 minute set, I can feel the deep hum of that tuning fork vibrating in my seat in the mezzanine.

Love lost and found, hits and misses in life, sadness for what hasn’t worked out, Baez has concocted an alchemy of gratitude and acceptance for the vicissitudes of the life she’s lived.

This could easily descend into a morbid valedictory to life’s dissonant chords. That’s not what the troubadour has in mind. This is not a revival. Her songs haven’t disappeared down the drain of popular culture. From socially conscious to just plain beautiful ballads, the songs meant something when she first sang them. They have the power to elevate our spirits today.

She looks fabulous. Close cropped grey-streaked silver hair, tailored black jacket, form fitting jeans, comfortable black flats, she doesn’t look like any grandmother I’ve ever seen.   

I’m channeling two concerts, one from the stage, another playing out in my psyche and heart. 

A strange stew of triumph and elegy begin roiling around inside my guts and this woman is making them feel like the perfect elixir paving the way for me to consider my own fare-thee-well from this good earth. Honest to goodness this has the rich atmosphere of a wake when warm reminiscences are shared by friends of a lifetime with way more laughter than tears. I actually begin thinking about a playlist for my own wake.

Her voice has always been her gift and still is. In accommodation to age, she’s tuning it down to a lower range but it’s still THAT voice, one that gives me the chills as if I can feel her breath and her body temperature all the way back to my seat in the mezzanine

So here she is, the daring young woman on the flying trapeze, once invincible, now vulnerable.

Which is not to say irrelevant. “Goodbye Rosalita” that she will sing later is still utterly topical and touches on her lifelong themes of social justice, dignity of the marginalized (immigrants today, she will tell you flat out) delivered with the power of a sledgehammer wrapped in velvet. 

Fare Thee Well, Joan…but not just yet.

Yvette Landry and The Jukes Take Off At The Whirlybird: Videos, Photos, More...

August 18, 2018

Yvette Landry and The Jukes Take Off At The Whirlybird...a night of  music and dancing on Cloud 9.

The Holy Trinity of Cajun cooking is made up of onion, celery and bell pepper. There’s another Holy Trinity in southwest Louisiana: food, shelter, and music. The first two are self explanatory. Music - playing it, singing it, dancing to it, was the way the first French speaking settlers from the maritime provinces countered the trials of life living on the bayous in the early 1800s. If they couldn’t hunt it, trap it, fish for it, they went hungry. On Saturday nights, a family would put whatever furniture they owned outside, invite a fiddler or accordion player and their neighbors to sing and dance the night away. Amazing how working up a sweat doing waltzes and two steps could lift their spirits, remind them of their roots, and invigorate them for what lay ahead.

Yvette Landry doesn’t have to worry about her next meal but she's damn proud of the music that’s bound up with her Cajun roots. You better believe that Swamp Pop stole a place into her heart when she first heard it in dance halls and on the radio. A bunch of those songs are featured on her latest CD, Louisiana Lovin’.

When dancers hear the first eight beats of a Swamp Pop song, the same thing that happened when Swamp Pop was introduced sixty years ago happens tonight. Chair legs squeak as they’re pushed back and men and women look for a partner to hold in their arms for some good belly rubbin’ music.

Yvette and Roddie Romero sang most of the song's on Yvette's 2018 Louisiana Lovin' CD. Yvette got on a swamp pop roll with "My Last Date With You." The title alone gives you an idea of the Swamp Pop genre, just one of the kinds of music gifted to dear 'ol USA by the musicians and singers of southwest Louisiana.

Recording on an iPhone can't do justice to the performer's voices and the high caliber musicians around them but Karl Fontenot, the man in charge of tonight's sound at the one-of-a-kind music venue called The Whirlybird in a little town north of Lafayette, gave us a cloud of sound that combined vocals and instruments that put us in Juke Box Heaven.

And yes, that's 83 year old Warren Storm, the Godfather of Louisiana Swamp Pop, on stage with Yvette. The legend can still bring it.

Yvette and Warren team up for "I Need Somebody Bad Tonight, 'cuz I Just Lost Somebody Good." I mean, could you ever pick a title that represents Swamp Pop any better? And have the man who wrote it perform it with Yvette?

The sound is distorted since I was standing right next to a huge sound stage speaker. What's not distorted? The fervor these big time musicians from New Orleans and Lafayette are bringing to the stage with Yvette Landry and Mr. Swamp Pop.

Back in the mid 1950s, when teenagers around Lafayette tuned in to the radio, they heard singers who changed the course of popular music. Fats Domino, Elvis, Little Richard were knocking on the door. Like they were whipping up a good roux, those teenagers stirred up everything in their music cupboard  - Cajun, Creole, country, New Orleans, and rhythm 'n blues - and came up with a totally original sound. It’s not too far a stretch so see how they cranked up the emotion and slowed down the pace to invent Swamp Pop. To this day, it's one of the signature sounds of southwest Louisiana.

Warren Storm was one of those kids. Road trips to New Orleans as a teenager in the mid 1950s was a game changer for Storm (born Warren Schexnider in Abbeville, LA). He credits those visits to New Orleans's nightclubs to the formation of his drumming and singing style that at first sounded like this. Over time, he developed his distinct style and repertoire and never again had to look for work.

You could write a book about how tug-at-your heart Swamp Pop music and singers like Warren Storm have carried the emotionally tuned freight for three generations of men and women who grew up in Acadiana.

Storm stepped on stage and pretty much wrote chapter one tonight. Yvette was paying attention.

"Rainin' In My Heart" (number 17 on R&B chart in 1961) ... the energy on stage is pegging the needle on high...wailing sax, perfectly tuned fiddle riffs and guitar solos... a band on fire. A man enshrined in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame a Grammy nominated singer/songwriter on stage together...what else would you expect?

Swamp Pop artists past and present

Videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

• Roddie Romero – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Yvette Landry – vocals, acoustic guitar
• Eric Adcock – keyboard, Wurlitzer electric piano
• Chris French – upright bass
• Derek Huston – tenor sax, baritone sax
• Fiddle – Beau Thomas

Yvette Landry and The Jukes Take Off At The Whirlybird

Yvette Landry and The Jukes' CD release party at The Whirlybird
August 18, 2018

Louisiana Lovin’

Yvette Landry had a coming out party last night. The Yvette that’s been on slow boil for about eight years, creating her singing voice, her stage persona, her style, got stoked to a full rolling boil tonight. She has sung with lots of really great musicians and been part of shows with lots of other fine voices.

She’s always sung with whatever the song called for, tender Cajun ballads and frisky two steps, classic country, Americana, dyed in the wool rock ‘n roll, a touch of rockabilly, and classic swamp pop.

A couple of years ago, Yvette’s teaming up with Roddie Romero and his band to create The Jukes sparked a transformation. Roddie Romero, guitar; Eric Adcock, keyboards; Chris French, standup bass; Beau Thomas, fiddle; Derek Huston, saxophone; and Gary Usie, drums, can light up any stage with the best of them.

When they play together as The Jukes, the stage all but ignites….and they are decidedly Yvette’s band.

“This group met at 4 PM for a sound check. We've played together at different times but not on the same stage. What ever you hear tonight is going to be the first time we’ve done it together,” she says.

You could’ve fooled us. What ensued was full-bore heavenly music that traversed genres from one end of the rainbow to the other, swamp pop in one pot of gold and southwest Louisiana rock 'n roll dating from the 1950's and 60's in the other.

The sense of occasion is not lost on the band. Born and raised in Breaux Bridge, Yvette has an ardent following. Playing to this particular audience, they were damn well going to pull out all the stops. The solos from Roddie Romero, Eric Adcock, Chris French, Beau Thomas, Derek Huston, and Gary Usie, can always mesmerize with sheer talent. Tonight they dug in to deliver inventive, inspired musicianship that all but levitated the Whirlybird and at its peak sprinkled us with rapturous fairy dust.

The Jukes sang every song from their new album and a bunch of rock and country classics, including Yvette's rowdy rock 'n roll-y “Do Anything But Stay Offa My Cowboy Boots.” When Yvette and Roddie launched into Swamp Pop, Louisiana’s gift to the American songbook, the thermal capacity pegged the meter on the compact Whirlybird's dance floor.

If the seven stars of the Pleiades were to form a band, Yvette Landry would be its most luminous. Tonight, in the hothouse August atmosphere inside The Whirlybird, she sang from a deep place in her core that I’ve never heard before.

I said as much as I talked with her as she signed the cover of “Louisiana Lovin’” after the show.

“I didn’t have to play guitar that much, it gave me time to let it all come through my voice,” she says after the show. Oh, yes.

Yvette has always had a streak of Loretta Lynn in her. Tonight she unleashed her inner Wanda Jackson. She went from singin’ pretty to singin’ gritty.

Roddie and tonight’s band were the gasoline. Yvette was the match. To my ears, this was a defining career moment, a voice and a presence whose depth that quite possibly took her by surprise, a new benchmark from raw, to raucous, to lyrical, to lonesome and back again. She’s never gonna’ be the same. And that’s a good thing.

 

The Whirlybird...the lull before the Jukes Storm...that tiny dance floor was mighty packed with deliriously happy dancers all night long.

The Jukes on stage...oh, my… and I haven’t even begun to talk about special guest, godfather of Swamp Pop Warren Storm…stay tuned...

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Group Therapy at the Joie de Vivre Café

Group Therapy at the Joie de Vivre Café
Joie de Vivre Café
107 N Main Street
Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
August 4, 2018

Happens every Saturday morning at the Joie de Vivre Café in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. No need to lie down on a therapist’s couch, just pull up a chair, and breathe easy. The pharmacology here is music.

A big circle of music makers is sitting on a small dais. A Cajun jam is in full swing. By tradition, all are welcome to join. By all, I mean men or women who’ve been playing for a few weeks, accomplished players who know the lyrics and chords of the songs, and pros like Gina Forsyth or Christine Balfa who live nearby and show up once in a while. No one bows or curtsies to the pros, who just sit down with everyone else and play.

By custom, the jam is led by a fiddler or an accordion player who sings the ballads and two steps as everyone else plays along ensemble style. It’s a bundle of egalitarian energy.

Whether you understand French or not, you grasp that the high-pitched mournful keening voice has got to be a response to hardship, dislocation and gritty survival after "The Grand Derangement" forced the Acadians to flee British ruled Canada in the mid 1700s. The frisky two-step tunes show that they knew how to let loose and let joy seep into their lives before they headed home to tend to the uncertainties of weather and life.

There's a mountain of research that listening to music makes us feel better.
.
That’s what’s happening at a table where Elaine and Jim are sitting. Elaine takes turns strumming her guitar with the group on the dais. Her husband Jim, in a wheel chair, isn’t moving a muscle. “He was diagnosed with ALS five years ago,” Elaine says, “recently he’s had trouble speaking.”

Jim, who has the lean frame of a man who has run 43 marathons, is having no trouble taking in the music. Jim is dancing with his bright blue eyes.

“Jim looks for the gifts in life, “ Elaine says, “coming to this café and listening to the music is one of them.”

The joyous sound echoing through the Joie de Vivre is a gift to all of us. For Jim, it’s a therapy to stay in the moment, moments that get more precious each day.

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a neuromuscular disease. Muscles waste away. Total immobility ensues. There is, as yet, no cure. Ability to speak goes. When the diaphragm can’t keep up, breathing stops. All of our days are numbered. Jim’s number is smaller than ours.

The music, camaraderie, and cozy confines of the Joie de Vivre Café are an uplifting mood enhancer, nourishment for soul and body. The world and its cares will be there when we walk out the door. We’ll walk into them with a lighter step.

John Armstrong, a Scotish inventor (1709-1779), wrote, ‘Music exalts each joy, allays each grief, expels diseases, softens every pain, subdues the rage of poison, and the plague.’

Today’s Cajun jam will not expel Jim’s ALS. But nothing will keep him from looking for the gifts in life, a soaring example of the will to endure. Jim is living life in C major…C for courage.

PHOTOS and VIDEOS

Fiddles and guitars make up the majority of the instruments played in the Cajun jam.

Today's jam led by Joel Breaux (fiddle), Ryan Simon (accordion, also drummer for Pine Leaf Boys and plays with T’Monde), Lester Gautier (washtub bass)...leading ballads and waltzes. If you close your eyes, you can imagine neighbors trekking to a friend's home on a Saturday for a night of music of bygone days in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Every skill level is welcome...

From 8 AM till about noon, people gather for food, dancing, and old time music, in what Cajuns call, "Passing a good time."

Glen Fields (drummer for The Revelers and T'Monde) and Russell Ducote, both play the "T-fer", the Louisiana French name for a triangle, originally made from tines of a hay fork and used to provide rhythm in a Cajun band. "He's one of the best," says Russell,who is pretty darn good himself.

Conversations between songs...

Antoine Melancon...

an institution all by himself on the dance floor...leaves the building.

Cheerful decor, cheerful atmosphere...

The music is good medicine for all of us, the smiles say it all...

Jim and Elaine...Jim looks for the gifts in life. This is a big one for him. So is his presence for the rest of us.  

Cajun jam video 1 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_wGnPgf1-s

 

Cajun jam video 2
"The Bosco Stomp"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv9oZfQZ1Zo 
By custom. only one T'fer is played at a time in a Cajun jam.

Alan Crochet interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWj0LfjCOXA

No better example of the range and depth of the pervasiveness of music in the lives of a chunk of people in southwest Louisiana...Alan Crochet. Alan Crochet has been playing harmonica "off and on" for most of his 80 years. "I was born and raised in Loreauville, about 30 miles from Breaux Bridge." He’s been coming to the jam for ten years. " i drive here by myself," he says with quiet dignity.

He explains how to use the tongue to block some holes while blowing through others in the harmonica. To give an example, a moment before, he played "Begin the Beguine."  In this video he plays what sounds like "It's The Loveliest Time of the Year" but Alan says its title is "Over the Waves." He shows me his German made Hohner Big River Harp. "Most players use the key of C harmonica; it has ten holes. This harmonica cost $35, my first one  cost about 35  cents!," he says.

Today’s fiddle player and one of the jam leaders Joel Breaux is his cousin. "Joel’s grandfather and I are first cousins, my mother was a Breaux.” 

"Who's your Mama?” or “Who are your people?” are the ways people connect the dots around here. The concept Six Degrees of Separation operates robustly in southwest Louisiana. When it comes to musicians, it’s more like Three Degrees of Separation.

Fellow musician Russel Ducote says that Alan spoke no English for a long time. "Do you speak French?" Alan asks as we part. "Oui," says I and we have a brief conversation. "I can understand you," says he, encouraging me, then, as he walks to his car, "Au revoir"and in case i didn't get it, adds "It means I’ll see you again." I look forward to that.

Music, mood, well-being

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-consciousness-question/201703/what-is-the-effect-music-the-listener
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170412181341.htm
https://www.verywellmind.com/surprising-psychological-benefits-of-music-4126866

Photos and videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

"The King": The Comet Named Elvis and The American Dream

July 30, 2018

I only knew that the film was about Elvis Presley, had read no reviews. it turned out to an ambitious, churning, probing, deep dive into Americana that gathers steam then rolls you over in the final minutes. I woke up at 3 AM the morning after seeing the film… still all shook up, headed for my computer. I needed to process what I’d just experienced, an enormous portrait of a man, a myth, a country.

From impossibly beautiful man to one impossibly bloated, the story of Elvis Presley is an allegory about the cultural history of America from the 1950s to today. “The King” has all the subtlety of car crash. It poses questions, it offers answers. Some are not pretty. It puts a serious hurt on the notion that if you work hard you can achieve what you want….aka The American Dream.

It’s poignant. It’s revelatory. It’s complicated. It digs into the taproot of the divide in America: race. At times, I squirmed in my seat as the dots were connected between race, music, commerce, and the myths and platitudes we tell ourselves to this day.

Twenty minutes into the film, I realize this is a documentary whose ambition is to connect the zeitgeist between the 1950s and America of 2017, forty years after Elvis dies at 42 of a heart attack caused by abuse of painkillers. This is no gauzy portrait encased in amber. As one reviewer comments, “We go from Graceland to Trumpland.”

How did Elvis happen? How did he become The King? Whose King? Why did we love him? Who were his people? What made him tick? How did he become packaged and merchandised to within an inch of his life? Why did he never take the reins and become himself? Did he ever comprehend his power and the possibility of using it for social or racial betterment? Was he simply the most successful cultural appropriator in history? (David Simon’s comment about that is probably as close as you can get to an answer).

Somewhere under the popular image was a country boy whose ambition, noted in archival footage, was to sing the music he loved. It all started in 1954 while 19 year-old Elvis was trying to make an impression on Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis.

After he sang some unimpressive country-ish popular songs, the demo tapes stop rolling. Elvis loosens up, probably to decompress, and begins singing with the unbuckled energy and style of the blues, gospel, and rhythm ‘n blues he’d been listening to on black music stations and in his neighborhood churches since he was a kid.

With irrepressible abandon, he begins to sing his version of Big Mama Thornton’s “You Ain’t Nothing But A Hound Dog”, a white boy covering a decidedly black influenced song with all the unbound juice it called for. Philips runs in from his office and tells Elvis to keep singing. He had finally found what he’d been looking for. A white kid whose sound could bring the music of black America to a wider audience. The legend was born.

The film’s brilliant conceit is Elvis’s 1963 Rolls Royce. Director and co-writer Jarecki gathers a collection of celebrities, including Chuck D, Emmylou Harris, Alec Baldwin, Ethan Hawke, Van Jones, James Carville, Mike Myers to sit in that car and paint a multi dimensional, occasionally contrarian portrait of The King, much like the country he ruled (and that ruled him).

Jerecki tricks out that dream car with state of the art audio and video equipment and takes it on a road trip from Memphis to New York to Las Vegas and down the rural lanes of Tupelo, Mississippi. The real time segments shot in the Rolls Royce are quilted with archived black and white and color footage that contrasts reality with myth. That car is a rolling sound stage. It feels like part of the cast. Its occasional breakdowns may be the exotic car’s commentary on its owner’s life.

Rapper Chuck D and Van Jones speak the truths about race and culture I reckon were true. They sting. The most jarring observations about America are made by a truck driver and several residents of Tupelo, Mississippi, the King’s sleepy hometown.

One minute, people like me who grew up when Elvis turned the country upside down, relive the liberating youthful moments he changed our worlds. The next moment, in news clips of the time, we feel extraordinary pain to confront an America that, like Camelot, was never what we believed it was.

A giant qualifier: That “we” is a huge chunk of white men and women of a certain age. The larger lens includes comments from today’s black community and a younger generation that never saw the arc of popular American music change with the comet named Elvis. The conversation about cultural appropriation? Relevant then, relevant now.

The film is brutally honest and complex. Director Jarecki shines light on history found not in books but in newspaper accounts around the country. Black and white photos of lynched black men with a bunch of white people standing around are a bone chilling collision between race, music, history and culture.

The 1 hour 47 minute film’s clips weave Elvis's early career, first recordings 1953-1956, his commercial breakout 1956 –1958, his mother’s death and military service 1958-1960, film career 1960-1967, his comeback to the stage 1968-1973, with archival footage and hit you upside the head contemporary comments by those passengers rolling along in that Rolls Royce.

“There are three kings, BB King, Elvis, and Martin Luther King, Jr.,” says one commentator connecting the dots as we see vintage footage of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis and hear the voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering the “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” speech in April 1968.

Jarecki exposes the self-promoting role Colonel Parker took in commanding Elvis’s career choices before Presley’s ignominious self-destruction in Las Vegas. Elvis doesn’t get off the hook, choosing the most lucrative next step for his career, no matter what the cost to his soul or his art. 

How is Jarecki going to end this, I wonder as the film hits 140 minutes. The footage of Elvis five minutes before the film ends (spoiler alert here) will keep you transfixed in your seat long after the credits roll. Jarecki lets you draw your own conclusions.

This film is a reality check. Jarecki takes us on a trip showing us how we got here. The question we're left with...where do we go from here.

Elvis Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)

http://www.theking.film/thekingscountry

 

Femme: A Celebration of Women in Acadiana Music

Femme:  A Celebration of Women in Acadiana Music
Acadiana Center for the Arts
Lafayette, LA
March 7, 2018

Women’s voices have always had a place in this part of the world. In the rural areas of southwest Louisiana, surviving was a challenge. Women were in charge of managing home and hearth. Cajuns and Creoles settled here, two distinct cultures, not always seeing eye to eye, had one thing in common, the way music lightened the load.

Singing dispelled grief, spoke to the almighty, sang fancifully about love, sadly about loss, gave women who sang together a sense of community, and made the tedious hours of cooking, laundering, and tending the garden pass by easier. A woman needn’t have a great voice. That was not the point. Finding a place in her emotional center, a place to live vicariously, express hope, desire, dreams... that was the point.

Anna Laura Edmiston, musician, mother, has lived in those internal places. Her experience singing in a popular French speaking band is the tip of the iceberg. Below the surface was her desire to uncover the roots of music that saturates this city every day of the week and acknowledge the women for whom it was a staple of everyday life.

Watching Linda "Ronstadts’s Canciones De Mi Padre," a production that used visual backdrops and staged performances, inspired her to create an homage to the rich regional history of Cajun and Creole music. Femme is a quietly powerful acknowledgement of the deep roots of the music of two cultures that rang true so naturally.

Edmiston's collaboration with stage manager Lian Cheramie, video editors Chris Segura and Pudd Sharp, original illustrations by Erin Broussard, and digitization by Anne Boudreau animated "Femme" in a singularly satisfying production.

Finding women to fill out the cast of Femme: A Celebration of Women in Acadiana Music must have been difficult. Not because there weren’t enough women who are tuned into their culture and perform it but because there are so many that she ran the risk of offending women not invited to sing in the program. Most of the women are members of well-known bands and skilled players on accordion, fiddle, banjo and guitar.

Edmiston arranged the program in four parts: Kitchen, Outdoors, Church, and Living Room. The stage setting was as simple as the kitchens and living rooms in which they were sung.  A few small tables, a bench, a few chairs, the women sang and we filled in the rest with our imaginations. Edmiston’s sense of pacing was pitch perfect, balancing the emotionally charged songs with those with humor and levity. Since the songs were mostly in French, for the non-French speakers, the facial expressions and tempo of the songs were enough to tell the difference and respond accordingly.

Some of the songs in the Kitchen set were sung a cappella as two women folded the laundry, probably just the way they would have been sung in the countryside. The Broussard Family’s demonstration of Juré dancing and singing was kinetic, playful and soulful all in one. https://thecurrentla.com/2018/in-her-words-a-zydeco-heiress/

As good as the singing was, some of the most poignant moments in the program were three video and audio excerpts used with permission of the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, courtesy of The Association for Cultural Equity. Watching Mercedes Vidrine explain how to make a roux (1987), Dorestine Ledet explain Juré music and dance (1979), and Lula Landry hilariously  explain her memory of “Le Petite Anna à Mogène Meaux “(1979) were positively captivating and perfectly calibrated to tune us into a mindset whose explainers have passed away but whose cultural presence is alive and flourishing.

Lafayette is still the cradle that holds the traditional music and women who cherish it. Tonight’s multi-generational musicians sustain it, and remind us of women’s seminal role in holding it together with their voices lifted in song. 

The full cast (missing the Broussard Sisters). The visuals projected behind the performers added a sense of time and place.

The women of FEMME: Ann Savoy, Jane Vidrine, Kristi Guillory, Anya Burgess, Megan Brown, Desirée Champagne, Anna Laura Edmiston, Sasha Massey, Lori Lemelle, Christine Balfa, Amelia Powell (Christine's daughter), The Broussard Sisters Juré, Lisa Trahan, Renée Reed, Jill Merkl

Acadiana Center for the Arts

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Stop The Clock Cowboy Jazz Band: Sets Alarm at Feed 'n Seed

Stop The Clock Cowboy Jazz Band
Feed ’n Seed
Lafayette, LA
February 11, 2018

 Text, photos. captions to follow!

Gary Newman, bass
John Buckelew, fiddle
Gary Granger, guitar
Paul Anastasio, fiddle
Charlene Howard, vocals
Sabra Guzman, guitar, vocals
Kurt Boudreaux, keyboard
Wayne Leblanc, drums

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayoPcPcHk4Q?rel=0

Revelers Revel At Joie de Vivre

Joie de Vivre Cafè, Breaux Bridge, LA

February 9, 2018

For a dancer, having The Revelers contained in a tiny place like the Joie de Vivre Café is somewhere along the lines of The Second Coming.

They just about dare you to sit down when they play their brew of Cajun two-steps and waltzes, honky tonk, swamp pop, a dash of country, and the occasional rock ‘n roll number. Every time I sat down to take a break, they cranked out another song that insisted, “I don’t think so, PT.” I was not alone in this regard.

You want a great sound mix? How about accordion, fiddles, guitar, bass, drums and saxophone that’s so resonant that some it is probably embedded under the quirky murals on the walls?

Some of the musicians have come from far from CajunLand but they all ‘get’ the music. They’ve made their bones around Lafayette, respect the roots of Cajun culture, and sing in French and English.

Accordionist Blake Miller is the engine of the band and the other Revelers throw in musical anthracite to keep it chugging full steam ahead. The best thing about the Revelers? They are kaleidoscopically fresh. Their pacing, range, and stylings pivot on a dime. Ho-hum is not in their lexicon.

“Can you feel the difference in the energy in different places you play in?” I ask saxophone player Chris Miller.

‘When we play for a seated audience it’s a different level but when we play to an audience of dancers who are really into it , we feel it. We love playing music with each other and that alone fires up our playing.”

Every one in the café adores their music. The fact that this is Mardi Gras week adds extra combustion to the atmosphere. There's a handful of out-of-towners present but most of the audience is men and women who were born and raised here or who have moved here because they were struck with what I call the magic of the Breaux Bridge Stick.

Make no mistake about it, this place is Brigadoon without the time constraints.

Chas Justus, guitar; Chris Miller, saxophone; Daniel Coolik, fiddle; Blake Miller, accordion; Trey "Boom Boom" Boudreaux, bass;  Glenn Fields, drums

Great organic fusion of music, musicians, dancers, listeners...a wrap around experience of rhythm, melody and harmony.

 Age? Everybody dances!

Picking up on their own energy...

the band is feelin' it.

And we feel it too when Chris Miller gets into a smokey swamp pop number
f

Singing in French or English, Blake Miller leads the way.

with Trey "Boom Boom" Boudreaux, bass;  Glenn Fields, drums hitting every beat that keeps the train rolling

 Family friendly

Cafè, yes...and a fabulous music destination, check them out.

The smiles say it all...

there's genuine joy in the Joie de Vivre.

Larry Miller, Blake's grandfather and builder of world class acccordions, talks shop with his grandson.

Blake Miller's mom and  his nephew getting a head start on the accordion! 

 

 

 

Photos and videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr. 

The Great Grandmother Of All House Parties: Videos

Katie and Chris Richard’s House Party
Lafayette, LA
December 30, 2017

STORY http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2018/01/the-great-grandmother-of-all-house-parties.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gylv7PZb7E0 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ-5pFyojW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id5XY8r2lvU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFdTJyeugWM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwV0gKMmIHQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra9ISh8AuHk 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKVBnMEKol8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w34H3bFkQWI

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXyH6VuZAN4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhsv_oi6MyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrBLACclCjE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKTBT34WfVU

 

VIDEOS by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geno Delafose: Vermilionville New Year's Act of Kindness

New Year’s Eve Dance at Vermilionville
Lafayette, LA
11 PM

I don’t have to remind you that 2017 has been a year of tumult. If ever the world were in need of an act of kindness, this was the night and this is precisely what we got. A little miracle.

What’s happening on the stage? The band is rearranging its configuration. A moment later a caregiver is wheeling a man onstage and setting him up between Geno and his rub board player.

Wow. This is the same young man who has been sitting against the back wall of the dance hall in his wheelchair, two fingers covered with the metal thimbles that have been making his rub board sing since the dance began at 9:30 PM. Cerebral palsy hasn't dented one bit of his love of the percussive throb of zydeco music.

Geno’s manager noticed him, asked if he’d like to join the band on stage. A dream is about to come true.

Geno, leader of Geno Delafose and French Rockin'Boogie, one of the most popular bands in southwest Louisiana, welcomes him warmly and off they go with a lively zydeco song.

“Philip Meaux!” Geno shouts as they finish. We cheer.

What happens next is even better.

"Let's slow it down a bit," Geno says, pulls up a chair next to Philip so he’s at eye level with him. VIDEO
Watch Geno nod and make eye contact as they play and watch Philip glance at Geno.

This is as warm a connection as you're ever going to see on a stage. Look at the smile on Philip's face as they finish the song and watch Geno tell everyone, "Philip Meaux! Give him some love, everyone!"

A moment after Geno has helped him off the stage, he turns to us, his face beaming.

" 'This is a dream come true', Philip just said to me."

For anyone with a beating heart, this was a wave that lapped the shore of our own sea of dreams. The act of kindness was a mini sermon reminding us that small gestures can make a big impact on the lives of others. New Year's Eve was a good place to start.

PS
Once he’s settled back in his chair at the back of the dance hall, he tells me music is in family, his father plays bass and his uncle plays guitar. Philip’s caregiver Rachel, who’s been amazed and happy at the turn of events, says Philip is self-sufficient, lives in a condo, and has daily caregiver visits. Men and women like Philip often seem invisible or isolated.

There’s a message here. I may have had to ask Philip to repeat his answers to my questions so I can understand them but he’s sharp, observant, and personable. He has dreams of success and acknowledgement and fulfillment as we all do. One of his came true tonight.

Philip and Rachel; Philip and PT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM_5JTT7-NY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm8Rzr_KI94

 Photos and videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Horace Trahan at La Poussiere, Breaux Bridge LA

Horace Trahan and The Ossun Express
La Poussiere Dance Hall
Breaux Bridge, LA
December 29, 2017

Horace Trahan and The Ossun Express is one tight band tonight. Horace is a big guy so when he stands tall with his band mates left and right, he’s the anchor on stage.

He may be known for playful songs like “That Butt Thing” published early in his career but more often than not, he’s singing not just to us but also about us. “Keep Walking” released in 2010 is all of that.

Horace’s music is often characterized by themes of human connection, bonds between people and what, on some occasions, might be called sermons set to music.

Don’t get me wrong. He’s making any dance crowd very happy with a range of zydeco, two steps, waltzes and what Herman Fusilier calls ‘belly rubbin’ music.” (Fabulous smoky blues) complete with riffs by saxophone player Doug Garb.

Horace Trahan is an old school accordion player. He stands at center stage, no wasted motions, sings one song after another, and keeps patter at a minimum.

So, when he gives an extended introduction to a song, you listen up. I couldn’t hear his words from the back of La Poussiere’s dance floor and made my way toward the stage. Here comes “Seven Spanish Angels,” written in 1984 and sung by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson on Ray Charles album titled “Friendship.”

Musically, the song, with its lovely Mexican accordion flourishes played by Horace, is unlike any other song in his catalog. But the theme – love, loyalty, redemption - is right up Horace’s alley. Horace arranges to have the whole band sing the lyrics together, a Zydeco choir in full voice.

The gauzy lyrics invite you to make up your own narrative about the man, the woman, their desperate situation, and those Seven Spanish Angels.

Contemplating end of life isn't one of my favorite topics but when it's time, it's a toss up between a brass band or those Seven Spanish Angels to take me home.

James Prejean, bass; Rodney Bernard, rub board; Shane Bernard, drums; Horace Trahan, accordion; Doug Garb, saxophone/flute; Gabriel Perrodin,Jr. (aka "Pandy"), guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKhjrv1yC5o

Video taken with tiny Canon camera, quality and sound not great!

Photos and video by Paul A Tamburello, Jr.

The Brass Room: A Monday Night Neighborhood Jam

The Brass Room: A Monday Night Neighborhood Jam
1301 Surrey Avenue
Lafayette, LA
Monday, November 13, 2017

8:45 PM

“That’s the President of the United States and the First Lady of the Brass Room.”

So says Gloria LeBlanc Wheeler, proprietor of The Brass Room in Lafayette, LA, as I point to the two portraits hanging prominently on the wall. I don’t know who was the boss inside the White House but I damn well know who calls the shots here.

Thirty seconds after I entered the door and navigated to the back of the room, a man whose biceps strain the sleeves of his T-shirt holds out his hand.

“I’m Alex Montgomery, how you doing?”

“Paul Tamburello from Boston. My friends call me PT,” says I.

“This band is old school,” Alex says, “ you’ll see.”

Actually, I can hear it as I’m trying to listen to him over the decibels the band is cranking out.

When’s the last time I walked into a bar in Boston and been greeted like that by a perfect stranger?

My usual haunts in Lafayette are dance halls and bars where I know the bands, people by face if not by name and know the territory. The Brass Rail is far from that territory. There’s not much open on this stretch of Surrey Street far from downtown Lafayette. I was the only guy my color in the place and not many patrons blinked an eye.

Several men nod a hello as they walk past my chair at the far end of the colorfully decorated room and just in front of a tiny window revealing a small kitchen.

I’m an outsider, a northerner, a visitor here, have no close black friends. My life experience may be a world apart from Alex’s or Gloria’s. But I feel welcome.

An old school front line saxophone, trombone, trumpet, keyboard, backed up by drums is playing a catalog of hits from the 70s and 80s. The guitar player and lead singer directs the show with buoyant enthusiasm. Covers of Smokey Robinson and James Brown and others of the era come one after the other. My guess is that most of the men in the band play here after they finish their day jobs. They’re not professionals but they’re certainly having fun.

Despite the fabulous dance beat, I’m surprised the dance floor is empty. Two women at a table in front are busting moves as they sit in their chairs waving arms and wiggling their behinds in unison with the music.

The two dozen tables are filled with couples, singles sit at the ten stools at the bar. The men are dressed casually, the women in slacks and carefully chosen tops have put more effort into it.

“Hope you’re hungry, food’s coming out later,” says Gloria as I order a Bud Light.

The Brass Room has a lively vibe, feels like a Monday night hangout and destination. Men arrive and give hearty sometimes elaborate handshakes and bro hugs with their friends and hugs to the women they know.

The Brass Room won’t be found on the Trip Advisor list of must see locales. But it’s as integral a part of Lafayette music and culture as any of them. I never would have found it at all had I not met Chester Chevalier and his wife Mary the night before at Mr. Rodney Bernard’s 80th birthday party in Scott, LA.

Chester had just played with one of the bands, his commanding guitar getting my attention.

I introduce myself, he confirms that he plays at The Brass Room Monday nights, his wife Mary wife encourages me to head over there and here I am.

“Chester isn’t here because his wife has to get up at 5 AM tomorrow, to help with a food drive at El Sido (another neighborhood bar on the other side of Lafayette),” says Gloria. No matter. I’m getting a feel for Lafayette nightlife I’ve never seen before.

Lo and behold at 10 PM, three women emerge from the tiny kitchen with a cart filled with bowls of gumbo. Another custom as it turns out in neighborhood places like this.

A sixty something woman from Opelousas is introduced and sings and shimmies, covering “Don’t Mess With My Man”, “Boney Maroney” and a few other oldies.

As the night progresses more guitar, bass, accordion and even a washboard player show up. Some of them well known professionals. There are about 20 people present when I arrive and by the time I left twice that many have dropped in to what appears to be a weekly event that’s circled in their calendar.

Music switches genres as an energetic fellow bounds up to the stage around 10:30. Laurie Sigu and the Creole Stompers have arrived. And my goodness, there’s Lee Alan Zeno playing bass in the back row. Does that man ever sleep or take a day off?

“Meowww!” I hear the woman shout from the kitchen when the zydeco band is announced.

“What’s that mean?” says I.

“It means ‘I like it’” exclaims Betty LeBlanc, Gloria’s sister.

A few minutes later there she is playing a frattoir (rub board) with a big meow grin on her face and a few minutes after that we’re dancing together. Live music has a way of lifting our spirits and lowering the cultural walls between us, even if for a few hours.

One last vignette.
“May I sit here?” A young fellow asks about the empty seat at the deuce I sitting at.

“Ronald Paul,” he says and shakes my hand.

“Paul Tamburello,” says I.

“Thank you for introducing yourself. It doesn’t happen like this in my hometown Boston. Its a really friendly gesture, several men who’ve never seen me before have done the same thing,” says I as I get up to leave.

“That’s what we do,” he says. “My friends call me RP.”

I grin. “My friends call me PT.”

After a bunch of days in Lafayette, I usually leave for home on Monday morning. Next time, I’d like to return to the Brass Room, say hello to the First Lady and Ronald and maybe even see Chester Chevalier. Even better, I’ll try to take a page out of the Lafayette playbook and introduce myself first.

 

The band covers pop music from the 70s and 80s...

while patrons relax at the bar...

presided over by proprietor Gloria LeBlanc Wheeler...

with help tonight from her sister Betty

who helps serve the tasty gumbo rolled out around 10 PM...

and plays the rub board for a tune by Laurie Sigu and The Creole Stompers.

 Photos by Paul A.Tamburello, Jr.

Mr. Rodney Bernard's Past to Present Throwdown Throwdown

November 12, 2017
Mr. Rodney Bernard—Rubboard Elder Statesman--Music Celebration
Cowboy’s Nightclub
Scott, LA
3 PM until the cows come home

If you ever doubted that music in southwest Louisiana is a family thing, consider the party for Mr. Rodney Bernard, "Mr. Bernard's Past to Present Throwdown Throwdown." The man’s been playing music since he was 8 years old and is known for the quiet kindness of his nature and the less quiet way he can make a spoon sing as he drags it across a frattoir (rub board).

There are scores of musicians around here who are playing well into their seventies and a few right into their eighties. People don’t defer to them because of their senior status. They defer to them because they can still play the daylights out of their chosen instrument or vocal chords. 

Rodney’s pals, 70 year-old guitar player Paul “Lil Buck” Sinegal, 63 year-old youngster  bass player Lee Allen Zeno,  and 69 year-old keyboard player Lynn August, who sang and played a glorious set with Mr. Bernard, are a prime examples.

Mr. Bernard has played with some of zydeco’s best bands, including Thomas “Big Hat” Fields (his long-time great band mate),  accordionist Marcel Dugas, keyboard player Lynn August, had his own career as a band leader, and since 2009 has played the frattoir (scrub board) with Horace Trahan and The Ossun Express. Mr. Rodney is Horace’s father-in-law. Did I mention that music down here is a family thing?

Today's party was a Who’s Who of Zydeco. You don’t get musicians like Lil’ Buck Sinegal, Lynn August, Kevin Naquin, Lee Allen Zeno, Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express, Dexter Ardoin, Jamie Bergeron, Jeffery Broussard, Eric Singleton, Corey Arceneaux, Rusty Metoyer, Tiger Dopsie, Gerard Delafose, Randall Lee Jackson II, and Kaleb LeDay make time to celebrate your birthday unless you’ve earned their respect. Hanging out at the side door is like watching stars arrive at the Oscars as musicians say hello to the family and get ready to play. The red carpet is replaced by a simmering vat of gumbo.

Music and food around here go together like roux and gumbo. Outside the side door, a constellation of Bernards and their close friends are tending to a huge vat of gumbo they’ve been simmering since 9 AM. Chantelle Bernard Trahan, Horace’s wife, is the field general, checklist in hand. She’s good at this stuff. Chantelle also handles marketing and PR for Horace’s band, The Ossun Express.

The scene out the side door under the small blue and white striped tent looks like a family reunion. Chantelle’s sister Sheila Bernard Nelson and her husband Peter and long-time friends Mike Hurst (of Mike Hurst & the Zydeco Cut Point Band) and his wife Carolyn Hurst are ladling gumbo into bowls for a line of grateful celebrants. 

“I did the cooking, she did the stirring!” Peter says playfully as they serve bowl after bowl. Louise Begnaud (married to Doug Garb on saxophone and flute in Horace's band) along with two of her sisters, joins the tag team serving gumbo for several hours.

Today, with all these luminaries of zydeco performing on stage, Mr. Rodney is the brightest star. 

Around 4:30 PM he’s front and center with a positively stellar group, singing a set of zydeco classics and a some sultry awesome Swamp Pop…with energy, class, and a huge smile as he gives a nod to Lynn August (keyboard), Lee Allen Zeno (bass), Paul “Lil Buck” Sinegal (guitar), Shane Bernard (drums), Gabriel Perrodin, Jr. (Horace's newest guitar player), and Doug Garb (saxophone), take their solos to the roof. 

This is stunning. When Rodney sings or Lynn August sings and jams mightily on his electric piano, I don’t know whether to dance to the lights out music pouring from the stage or stand still and witness history.

August and Bernard have traveled the world together playing their music. During a presentation (VIDEO) in the program, August (who is blind) thanks Bernard for his friendship, recalled that he idolized Mr. Bernard's playing when he was ten years old, notes their mutual musical heritage, and recalls how they bonded as they toured Europe promoting zydeco.

Nattily dressed in black hat, jacket and slacks, physically fit Rodney Bernard doesn’t look like any 80 year old I’ve ever seen. For a precious half hour, he powers joyfully through a set of music that by now is buried deep in his DNA. Rodney is in his element, fully in the moment, and he’s carrying us along on his shoulders for the historic ride.

Rodney’s sister Rose, and his daughter Cheryl LeMelle from TN, sit with spouses and close friends at a big table at the edge of the dance floor the size of a small skating rink. It's packed with friends and admirers. Daughters Sheila and Chantelle, who’ve been planning this for months, are outside greeting well-wishers, friends and dozens of musicians. 

Every time Mr. Rodney walks off stage or meanders through the crowd, cell phones are hoisted, cameras flash, selfies are taken, group photos with Rodney front and center are guaranteed to happen.

His son-in-law Horace Trahan senses that today belongs to his father-in-law. After The Ossun Express’s first set at 3 PM, he’s relaxing out the side door where the food is being served and his fellow musicians arrive and hang out. 

Horace greeted me by name, remembered that I volunteered with Our Savior’s Church to muck out homes ruined by the flood of August 2016. He enthusiastically tells me that his father in law picked out 20 hens for the gumbo, informing this Yankee that hens would not fall apart as fryers would as the gumbo was cooking!

The bond between musicians around here is deep. They’re united by their craft, their respect for the music, whether traditional or evolving, and the hard work it takes to succeed.

An outsider like me sees only the stagecraft part. I don’t see the fact that most, including Horace (Cajun and Creole Lawn Service), need a second job/income to make ends meet. This story by Herman Fusilier about veteran sidemen like Lee Allen Zeno and younger musicians like Chris Segura opened my eyes to the less glorious aspect of a musician's life.

A terrific story by Daily Advertiser Music and Entertainment editor Herman Fusilier recounts Mr. Rodney’s career arc and the times a young Rodney would drive back from a gig in Houston to return an hour or two before his full-time, day job at Schoeffler Cadillac. Popular as he was, his music earnings would not support a growing family.

If there weren’t masters of ceremonies, with this many bands showing up, the party could go on for a week. Herman Fusilier and Todd Ortego, local radio personalities who have their own loyal followings, keep the show on the rails.

They’ve known each other for decades and know the music and the musicians. As a duo they’re like the buddy act of NFL’s high profile announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. They have great chemistry as they introduce each band with patter that connects the band and its musicians to the occasion and about 20 minutes later give them the ‘one more song’ signal.

Hundreds showed up at Cowboy’s to celebrate Rodney Bernard's 72 year career and listen to some of the best zydeco musicians on the planet honor him by playing today. For $10, you’re never going to get a better bang for your buck and a bowl of homemade gumbo to boot.

I first met Rodney Bernard at Mardi Gras 2012 where Horace Trahan and The Ossun Express was playing a late morning gig in a parking lot in front of  Meche’s Donuts (yes, I said a donut store) in New Iberia. 

“Have you met my other daughter?” he says that day and introduces me to his daughter Sheila and her husband Peter, who introduces me to his father.
http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2012/02/mardi-gras-2012-king-cake-street-party-with-horace-trahan-at-meches-donuts.html

I’ve witnessed this kind of southwest Louisiana hospitality since my first visit in 2009. Today was a celebration of a man who has been part of the fabric of music for nearly 8 decades. 

The lovely glass engraved plaque presented to Mr. Bernard reads, "Celebrating 72 Years of Playing Music....presented to Rodney Bernard......In Grateful Recognition of Dedicated Contributions to Louisiana Music and Culture......November 12, 2017."

Mr. Rodney Bernard: Musician, Legend, Father, Grandfather, Mentor, Role Model… who picked cotton as a youngster in Carencro. LA, has traveled the world as an emissary of Louisiana’s cultural and musical heritage, and can still command a stage at 80 years young.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Rodney Bernard, flanked by daughters Chantelle Trahan and Sheila Nelson, had the kind of party that musicians (and fathers) dream of. Family from near and far, friends of a lifetime, fans and music lovers, gathered for a "throwdown" that delivered all it promised.

Some of the hundreds of attendees step out the side door of Cowboy's Nightclub in Scott, LA, to  line up for free gumbo served by Sheila Nelson...

 

family friend Carolyn Hurst...

and Peter Nelson, Sheila Nelson, and Louise Begnaud (married to Doug Garb on saxophone and flute in Horace's band). Mike and Carolyn Hurst got the gumbo going at 9 AM in a vat the size of a small bathtub, enough to serve hundreds. Rodney Bernard and Mike chose 20 hens from Breaux's Mart in Lafayette, LA (because hens wont fall apart in the long cooking process, Horace tells me). This event has as many details to plan for as a half time performance at a Super Bowl and, thanks to Chantelle, her family and friends,  it ran just about as perfectly.

Highlight of the day, Rodney Bernard is the man, singing classic zydeco and swamp pop songs with a cast of all-stars.

Paul "Lil Buck" Sinegal (guitar), Lee Allen Zeno (bass), Rodney's son Shane Bernard (drums, Doug Garb (saxophone), Lynn August (partially obscured) on keyboard...

and Gabriel Perrodin, Jr. (Horace's newest guitar player) on the right side.

Rodney can still bring it...his swamp pop rendition of "Irene" rocked the house. I've said this before but forget 'Six Degrees of Separation'...in the southwest Louisiana scene it's more like two or three degrees of separation. Band member Gabriel Perrodin, Jr.'s dad, Gabriel Perrodin, Sr., known as Guitar Gable, recorded "Irene" with songwriter King Karl this Swamp Pop classic song!

He enjoys every minute playing with this fabulous band...I have to wonder if memories of his performances as a band leader and drummer over the years flash through his mind as he feels the energy of the crowd.

Swamp  Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues, by historian Shane K. Bernard, describes the history of Cajun and Creole Swamp Pop music and lyrics of songs like "Irene," (VIDEO) that Rodney sang today for the how many hundreds of times he's probably sung it.

including Paul "Lil Buck" Sinegal. He toured internationally with Clifton Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco and is known as a consummate blues player. He was one of the musicians featured in the film "I Am The Blues", a film that took years to make as it traveled the Deep South to spotlight rural blues musicians in places you've never heard of but were petrie dishes for what we now know as The Blues. The unanswered question is what becomes of the blues tradition when these men and women pass on. Lil Buck Sinegal was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of  Fame in 1999 and the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 2012.

Everybody was lovin' the show including John and Bunny Broussard of Lafayette, LA (good friends of Horace).

Peter Nelson and Sheila Nelson with Gerald Gruenig of KLFY TV 10, who interviewed Mr. Bernard for the station on November 10.

Chantelle captures a moment with Clare and Adam Migues of Coteau, LA, with Gerald Gruenig

KLFY TV 10 reporter Gerald Gruenig, his wife, and bass player Lee Allen Zeno

Lee Allen Zeno with pt, who first met the bass player at the Café des Amis in 2010.

Guitar player Paul "Lil Buck" Sinegal

Rodney Bernard's sister Rose, Peter and Sheila  Nelson and Carolyn Hurst

 

Teamwork. Sunday was a sunny, gorgeous shirt sleeve day in Scott, LA.

Radio host Todd Ortego, sales director at KBON-FM, escorts Lynn August to the stage. August began playing music at 12 years old, has played drums, piano, accordion, led his own band, played with the late Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural and tonight kills it when he plays the Hammond B-3 on swamp pop and blues when he sings with Rodney Bernard.

A student of music, he studied the field recordings made by Alan Lomax in 1934. The result: two songs done in the Creole 'juré" style (rhythmic singing, hand clapping, foot stomping) on each of two albums released in the early 1990s.

Cowboy's Nightclub was packed for this extravaganza.

Herman Fusilier, music and entertainment editor of The Daily Advertiser and host of The KLRZ Zydeco Stomp, and Todd Ortego, sales director at KBON-FM and host of Swamp and Roll program, are the perfect choice to MC the long line up of top bands today. They know the music and the culture heritages of southwest Louisiana. Their easy camaraderie and personal connections to the musicians keep the long list of bands on track. The best 10 minute summary of Zydeco and Cajun music you'll ever hear is captured as David Dye interviews Herman Fusilier.

Todd Ortego introduced me to Horace Trahan's music on my first visit to KBON-FM in Eunice, LA, in 2010. Ortego and Fusilier are two walking, talking encyclopedias of southwest Louisiana music.

http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2010/12/kbon-louisiana-proud-the-voice-of-the-prairie.html

http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2010/12/kbon-louisiana-proud-a-tutorial-with-todd-ortego.html

Herman Fusilier, host of the weekly Zydeco Stomp on KRVS FM and Todd Ortego, host of Swamp and Roll on KBON FM with a man Herman says is known simply as "Bird."

Another legend around these parts, Paul Edwards, 51, is a native and lifelong resident of Eunice. Fusilier wrote this profile of "Bird"  http://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2017/04/12/birds-beats-inspire-balfa-week/100347148/ Bird sat in with several bands today.

Swamp and Roll on KBON and Zydeco Stomp on KRVS are the two best ways for a newcomers and long time listeners to learn about the life blood of southwest Louisiana, its music and the culture that produces it.

pt, Lynn August, Rodney Bernard

Highlight of the day: presentation of this award to Rodney Bernard, presented by Herman Fusilier and Todd Ortego, A big hall filled with hundreds paid rapt attention as Lynn August paid a heartfelt tribute to his longtime friend and touring companion from America to Europe.

A smile of accomplishment for recognition of seven decades and counting for spreading the joy of zydeco music on at least two continents.

Rodney Bernard, Gerald Gruenig, Lee Allen Zeno

A big table filled with Bernard family members and friends.

Jamie Bergeron keeps the pedal to the metal...

Rodney and Jeffery Broussard after Jeffery's performance.

Horace enjoys moment with James "Jim" Sepulveda. Jim hosts a "Horace Trahan and the Ossun Express" fan page on Facebook.

and of course a photo opp!

 

By the time the crowd had left Cowboys late in the night, everyone had "passed a good time."

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

The Nouveau String Band Infuses Joy into the Joie de Vivre Café

November 10, 2017

The Nouveau String Band Infuses Joy into the Joie de Vivre Café

There was explosion of joy in the Joie de Vivre Café in Breaux Bridge, LA. The Nouveau String Band hit the bandstand with melodic mischief in their hearts and red hot instruments in their hands. OK, the instruments might not have been that hot but the music…well, that’s another thing.
.
These five middle-aged guys are old enough to have heard the rich cloud of music that floats around Lafayette and southwest Louisiana. We’re talking a stew of Cajun, honky tonk, pop, and blues and, wonder of wonders, jazz.

Most bands around here have range. Put the Nouveau String Band in the ICBM category. Don’t be surprised to hear them cover Hank Williams, Count Basie, Robert Johnson, Marvin Gaye, Oscar Peterson, Jimmy Martin, and a raft of others.  And every damn bit of it makes me want to find a woman and squeeze onto the dance floor.

What makes these guys special? In a small café like Joie de Vivre, their bandstand is a few feet from the tables that surround it and the slice of worn brown wood floor that fills up with dancers.  That’s where the nitro meets the glycerine. The energy rush of this band and the nearly involuntary response of the audience creates an atmosphere that can be measured by a seismograph under the old floor boards. And don’t think the guys in the band don’t feed off the energy. 

Any one of these musicians could hold an audience’s attention for an evening. Put John Buckelew (fiddle), Dave Trainer (fiddle, mandolin), Jimmie Duhon (bass), Lee Tedrow (guitar) and Danny Kimball (drums) together and you’ve got a killer band.

“I’ve heard these guys play dozens of times, “ says a regular from Lafayette, “tonight they were especially tight and full of energy.” I watched them smile at each other, nod in approval at each other’s solos and play the daylights out of every song.

In this part of Louisiana, you can find music live music performed in bars, restaurants, saloons, dance  halls and best of all, tiny places like this café where dancers navigate with the precision of self driving cars around tables, chairs and each other.

Around here music might be a form of therapy from a troubled world. I’ve met teachers, oil field riggers, hydrologists, FEMA workers, nurses, therapists, photographers, waitresses, farm workers, aviation mechanics in places like this. The only politics allowed in the door is party politics, and I mean Party.

The music is the conduit. Sit down where you please, I guarantee someone will ask, “Where you from?”and pretty soon you’ve met a cultural ambassador who makes you feel welcome. 

Which is why I’ve kept returning here since my first visit in 2009. There are dozens of places in and around Lafayette where this kind of vibe flourishes. As it turns out, “Laissez les bon temps roulez,” is the ritual that keeps us centered in a fragile world. 

Tables have been pushed back a few feet from the raised stage...

so dancers weave through any patch of floor they can find. Creativity is useful.

To quote one regular, " the band is on fire tonight!"

And by the way, this is a café, with a side of great music on a regular basis.

John Buckelew, Dave Trainer...

Jimmie Duhan, Lee Tedrow...

and Danny Kimball are rockin' out tonight.

 

Video courtesy of Bernard Ussher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e2AukSJRdU

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

Jo-El Sonnier: Warming Hearts at River Ranch, Lafayette, LA

Jo-El Sonnier November 10, 2017

Jo-El Sonnier: Warming Hearts at River Ranch, Lafayette, LA
November 9, 2017

I arrive at my host’s home in Lafayette at 7 PM. “Here’s a quick snack," says he,  “Jo-El Sonnier is playing over at River Ranch until 8:30 PM!” 

Unsaid, no lollygagging. This is gonna be good, stow your luggage in the guest room, we’re leaving in a few minutes.

7:35 PM Park the car. I can hear music a block away. Loud music… carrying sonically through the moist air on this chilly November evening. Which is when I discover the show is outdoors. A five-minute walk away, we’re in the center of an upscale development called River Ranch. The music is pouring out from a brightly lit bandstand in a tiny park in the midst of the development. 

And there’s Grammy award winning accordion player Jo-El Sonnier cranking out some good ol’ Cajun songs upbeat to ballad, a sprinkling of waltzes, a few country two steps, and a surprising song or two with a distinct rumba beat heard in saloons like Tipitina’s in New Orleans.

Born to French speaking sharecroppers in nearby Rayne, LA, Sonnier, like so many other musicians from this region, could play the accordion not long after he learned to walk.

He began his career as a country singer-songwriter, switched to Cajun mid career, has won several Grammys and is in the Louisiana Hall of Fame. No wonder there’s a sweet vein of country in his repertoire. And here he is playing to a local crowd who understand the music, respect the musicians whose music is a natural fit with what they grew up with and certainly how they relax and let off steam.

A crowd of listeners wrapped in blankets sit on their camp chairs. It's around 55 degrees F, which certainly doesn't stop people from spending a Thursday night outside, in their winter coats, to enjoy the kind of music they listen to on KBON-FM. Teenagers and their grandparents stand around wiggling to the beat and a bunch of them dancing on the grass or the little strip of brick sidewalk in front of the bandstand.

In other words, a typical scene in Lafayette, LA, where music and dance are as much a part of life as grocery shopping and doing the laundry.

My flight arrived in Lafayette at 6:10 PM, I picked my baggage and rental car by 6:45 PM and at 7:45 PM I’m dancing on the grass with women I’ve never seen before. I smile, hold out my hand, they say yes, and off we go.

 I’m here to celebrate Mr. Rodney Bernard’s 80th birthday and his 72 years of musicianship on Sunday. What a great start.

 I’m lovin’ this. 

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest 2017: Flash Flood Takes Center Stage

Satchmo Summerfest, New Orleans, LA
Saturday, August 5, 2017

Benny Jones, Sr., leader of the Tremé Brass Band, checks in to the festival grounds. An hour later, as they began their third song, the rain intensified, thunder then lightning rolled in like a rowdy and scary cosmic second line parade. An organizer stepped to the stage, "We are canceling the show. Please walk into the U.S. Mint building, we want you to be safe. Take your camp chairs with you,  they might not be here when you return." Standing in a couple of inches of rain, it occurred to me that one lightning strike could fry about 300 of us under the tent.

"Didn't It Rain" Oh my, it was pouring buckets, I'm thinking that John Boutté put this on his playlist as he heard the rain pelting down on the pavilion over his head.

Boutté and his band of first line New Orleans musicians...Oh yes, one hour later, lightning, thunder and ten inches of rain canceled Satchmo Summeriest, organizers told us to leave the tent, head inside to the shelter of the U. S. Mint...an ironically prophetic song choice.
 

Rain cascades off the tent covering the stage and audience sitting inside.

Fifteen minutes later, The August 5 pounding torrential rain drowns out John Boutté singing "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught," a song whose theme resonates more today than the time in which it was written for Rogers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I" first performed in 1951.

 

New Orleanians love their music but this is getting a little crazy. Proof is that here they are huddled under a pavilion while a monsoon rages outside it. They might even stand in the rain to twist and shout to the lyrics of the theme song to the TV series "Tremé,"practically a New Orleans anthem. The lucky ones are under the tent, stay there partly because of the fabulous music, partly because they'd be drenched the moment they tried to exit the tent. The grass is squishy super saturated - I am up to my ankles in water as I stand in it.

 

By the time the Tremé Brass Band sets up, thunder and lightning are on the way, sanity will surface when the promoters tell us the festival is canceled and to head for shelter inside the brick U. S. Mint (now a museum) immediately for our own safety. We do that.

 

Shortly after John Boutté and band end their set, The beloved Tremé Brass Band takes the stage.

 

Three songs later, the show is cancelled. The torrential rain has won this round. Street flooding begins.

Two inches of rain in the cement

 

Photos and videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

Jackson Square, Sunday August Bands Are The Choir

August 5, 2017

Audio, visual, and psychic senses are dialed up on Jackson Square on any given day, Sunday being especially high octane during tourist season.

 Brass bands, art vendors, tarot card readers, who will probably be relieved when the bands, who make a mighty and joyful racket, take a break and give them some peace and quiet to resume reading palms and minds. http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2017/08/jackson-square-sunday-august-bands-are-the-choir-.html

 http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2017/08/jackson-square-sunday-august-bands-are-the-choir-.html

Everyone has a hustle, figure that Jackson Square is as good a place as any to make a buck, tarot card readers, psychics, brass bands, painted pantomime artists, and now, tap dancers.

Photos and videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Corner of Royal and St. Peter: The Sidewalk Swing Band Airs It Out

Corner of Royal and St. Peter: The Sidewalk Swing Band Airs It Out

Thursday afternoon August 3, Friday night August 4, 2017

 

Thursday afternoon August 3...a man of the street steps up to sing impromptu verses of "What A Wonderful World." He'd been clapping time as he listened to the music and sidled up in front of the band to sing the first choruses of the song. "I've been singing all my life,"  Rodney says when I chat with him afterward, "someday I'd love to sing with a group on the street."

It's a fair bet that he's never studied music but, like just about everyone in this city, feels entitled to express himself with a voice that makes up in conviction what it might lack in finesse. When you think about it, Louis Armstrong's own voice was honed in the streets, not the choir, and he made his gravelly voice one of the most distinctive in the world.

"Sing it, man!" says the trombone player as the fellow steps up to sing, and later, "Let's hear it for the man!" Only in New Orleans.

Friday night August 4, same corner, 9:30 PM. The last act at the Satchmo Summerfest at the old U.S. Mint concluded at 8:00 PM but music around here hardly ever takes a breath. Lo and behold, here's The Swing Band holding court in front of Rouse's Market again.

One by one, New Orleans' siren call drew members of this band into the streets of the French Quarter and Jackson Square last year. Kismet and a stew of years of the tradition of busking in the street collided by happenstance when they met and found a groove together.

"We met in New Orleans last year, played on the streets for about three months, then the trumpet, guitar, and drummer traveled the country in an RV busking tour around America. The band all met up again in February." So says Sarah Shaffer, wife of the trumpet player and artist of their lovely CD cover, as she chatted with me and kept an eye her three-year-old daughter.

All of them have moved to New Orleans, some share living quarters, and they're here to stay. Some of New Orleans' best known musicians got their start on the streets. It's hard to fathom this from afar. I would never have understood the power music has over this city had I not witnessed it myself.

Jim Shaffer, trumpet; Rob Montgomery, drums; Tyler Hotti, guitar; Vincent ?, trombone; name?, tuba player.

It may not be an easy life style but for young men and women like this, it's all about the music, and it's all that matters.

 "Louisiana Fairytale" composed by Haven Gillespie / J. Fred Coots / Mitchell Parish, 1936

 "Summertime," with an extended solo by the tuba player whose bass lines pace the song with deep, resonating, syncopated riffs.

"Bourbon Street Parade" written by Paul Barbarin

"Bourbon Street Parade," composed by Paul Barbarin, a staple of bands of every stripe in  New Orleans.

Friday night...

Photos  and videos by Paul A.Tamburello, Jr. and one photographer with a gift for photo bombing

Doreen Ketchens: Clarinet Royalty on Royal Street, New Orleans

Twenty four hours after Doreen Ketchens played, the streets of the French Quarter were flooded when 8-10 inches of rain fell in a three hour period. I was in the midst of it at Satchmo Summerfest, when the festival was canceled as torrential rain, thunder and lightning tore through New Orleans, the streets flooded, and the city’s pumping stations could not drain the water fast enough. Story to follow.

 

The remnants of Harvey are heading toward southwest Louisiana and New Orleans. Doreen’s version of “The Sun Gonna Shine On My Back Door Someday” (link below) may be a fateful and wishful foreshadowing for southwest Louisiana, and are certainly so for coastal Texas all the way inland to Houston, America’s fourth largest city and flood prone. Scary.

August 4, 2017
Corner of Royal and St. Peter Street
New Orleans, LA

You can hear some of the finest music in New Orleans right on the streets of the French Quarter. Free. Fabulous. Soulful. Traditional to Funky.

Once you’re under its spell, you’ll gladly reach into your pocket and drop some green into the tip bucket. You’ll be rewarded by a hearty ‘Thank you’ or a grateful nod as a musician is in the midst of singing or playing a tune that stopped you in your tracks. New Orleans has a music heritage as rich as any cream sauce you’ll get at the dozens of restaurants that serve to die for food every day.

In a city with scores of bars and clubs devoted to music, this is not heresy, it’s a fact.

Exhibit A:
Doreen Ketchens, whose spot on the corner of Royal and St. Peter Street is her permanent bandstand. Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans Band has played there so long and so successfully that it’s inviolable territory to any other act if she’s there.

Like many other New Orleans bands, Doreen’s band is made up of family. Husband Lawrence plays sousaphone and trombone and of late, teenage daughter Dorian Ketchens-Dixon sits in on drums.

Try to square this up, Since 1987, this stout woman rocking out in her camp chair in the street (literally) has played for four presidents, in every continent except Australia, and in concerts sponsored by the Jazz At The Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State.

She’s played before audiences of thousands. I’ve watched her play to a street audience of a dozen and I’m telling you, she still brings it with the pride, force, and heritage into which she was born in the Tremé neighborhood a few blocks away. Her energy is palpable. The size of the audience makes no difference to the volume of her voice and clarinet and her commitment to serenade the street with the vibrant music of her heritage.

It’s surreal. Cars roll past her band on Royal and St. Peter Streets, customers enter and exit Rouse’s Market ten feet behind her, destination-oriented tourists walk past and I feel like I’ve got a better seat than I’d have if I were watching her in Economy Hall at Jazz Fest.

Doreen’s made over two dozen CDs. Doreen’s Jazz Volume XX gives you an idea of her range, traditional jazz, Dixieland, gospel, popular, a good helping of Louis Armstrong covers, all of it stamped with her vocal styling that set her apart from other vocalists in New Orleans (and that’s saying something). She’s developed a touch of Armstrong gravel with a unique pitch that you can hear a block away. The signature sustained high notes she pipes from her clarinet make me hold my breath.

“Doreen's Jazz XX Triple Threat Series Part III 
Who Dat Playin On The Streets?”

1.  A Kiss To Build A Dream On

2.  Stand By Me

3.  Sir Duke

4.  I Can't Give You Anything But Love

5.  What A Little Moonlight Can Do

6.  My Girl

7.  Puttin' On The Ritz

8.  Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans

9.  Over The Waves

10. What A Friend We Have In Jesus

If you can’t make your way down to Royal Street, this gives you a good idea of what you’re missing.

Admirers chat after songs, many pose for photos and, more importantly, drop folding money in the tip jar - notice the three different labels on the jars! As culturally entertaining as the scene is, it's a main source of income for Doreen and other musicians who busk in the streets here and on Frenchmen Street, a fifteen minute walk away.

Sales are usually brisk here. CD sales are musician's bread and butter; Husband Lawrence Ketchens on tuba and daughter Dorian Ketchens-Dixon on drums. Doreen and Lawrence bring the culture and music of New Orleans to classrooms across America and the world as they travel.

"Saint James Infirmary" Listen to the clarinet at the 2:30 mark.

As sweet and gracefully swinging version of "The Sun Gonna Shine On My Back Door Someday" that you're gonna hear.

The corner of Royal and St. Peter Streets - note that one lane of the street is marked off for musicians to set up and play...ever see that anywhere else? Several bands play in that space, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, one of its most widely known acts, has a lock on that space any time they want it.

And when rain threatens, Doreen's band, Doreen's Jazz New Orleans, moves under the porch across the street, in an intense version of "Home of the Rising Sun," complete with her signature solos.

Hours later, a flash flood would cancel Satchmo Summerfest and flood the streets.

Photos and Videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

"The Sidewalk Swing Band" on Royal Street: A Satchmo Warmup

"The Sidewalk Swing Band" on Royal Street: A Satchmo Warmup

Thursday afternoon, August 3, 2017, French Quarter, New Orleans

One of the most popular corner for street buskers to play, corner of Royal and St Peter. It's the permanent spot for the iconic Doreen Ketchens, whose camp chairs are stacked on the side of Rouse's Market. "Little Miss Liza" is a staple of swing and brass bands all over town. My singing on the video will not get me invited to sing along with the band anytime soon. The enthusiastic fellow in the black cap and New Orleans T shirt (clapping along at around the 4:45 mark and throughout) will become a self-appointed vocalist for the next song. Things like this happen in New Orleans, where from time to time it seems like music is the glue that holds the city together.

A man from the streets named Rodney, who's been dancing along with the music, steps up to render his impromptu version of "What A Wonderful World," at the 1:28 mark a band member shouts out, "Sing it..." in acknowledgment. The spirit of Louis Armstrong still casts an upbeat life enriching shadow over many parts of this city, especially the French Quarter.

Video by Paul A.Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest: Sunday, August 7, 2016, PT volunteers

South entrance to Jackson Square Park

Saturday afternoon, August 6, 2016

"Would you take a minute to take a survey with me?" asks a smiling fellow as I sit on a bench in the shade of the trees in Jackson Square Park. Clipboard in hand, Richard Eglé from Lafayette now lives in New Orleans, is associated with the French Quarter Festival Board of Directors, and makes it easy

"Why don't you volunteer tomorrow, we can always use the help," he says after we compare notes about the lively music scene in Lafayette. He is so good at it that I want to take him up on the offer. Besides, I loved the fabulous blue volunteer T shirt he wore and figured this was a good a way to snag one (an admittedly lame reason for volunteering).

1 PM Sunday, August 7, 2016

I arrive at the volunteer tent, offer to take surveys and am greeted with a cheer from the women at the desk.  A fellow named Tucker Mendoza hands me a clipboard, explains the survey sheet, and dispatches me into the park. But not before handing me a bright blue "Volunteer" T shirt, identifying me as a bona fide volunteer.

In the outside world, approaching a perfect stranger and asking for their time to do a survey, or actually anything, has a high rate of refusal (trust me, I've refused to talk to strangers who ask me to do this kind of stuff myself).

But here, in the confines of this lovely park with fabulous music and singing echoing in the background and the gregarious spirit of Louis Armstrong as strong as the sunshine overhead, people are much more receptive.

After a few tries, I develop my own introductory patter. “Good Afternoon. I wonder if you'd mind taking three or four minutes to take a survey that will help the organizers of this event make it even better next year and convince the people who are sponsors that it will be worth their while if they continue sponsoring next year.” I was an official volunteer, who could refuse such an entreaty?

No one declines. The next two hours are a blast. I survey 20 people, young and old, black and white, local and from afar. My first is with a woman that went so well that daughter asks to take a survey too. I’m on a roll. I spot her sponsor tag, she works for Chevron. They ask me to take their photo. I'm out of the gate and rarin' to go.

On a day like this, finding candidates cooling off in the shade is a breeze.

Hmmm, there's a young woman relaxing on a bench in the shade - thus begins a survey with one of the most important people at the festival, the professional piano tuner who keeps every piano just the way the performers want them to sound.

“I get up early to tune the pianos in the morning. The keys go sharp because of the humidity, 85% today, and I tune pianos several times a day.” Kimberly Gratton came here from the Florida Keys via Atlanta five years ago, doing what she called, “a rebuild of my life… and what a better place to do it!” www.Kimberleykey.com

The six degrees of separation story of the day: a woman with her daughter, relaxing in the shade, agree to take a survey. Marta and her daughter are scouting colleges.

“Ah, you’re Italian!” she says as she spots my name tag. “We are from Rome!”

Marta and her daughter Elena (my mother’s name!) have been on a major road trip, driving “on the shoestring,” she says. Elena, 16, is applying next year to Harvard, a few miles from my hometown. They’ve been on the road from Miami to Cambridge and were heading back but, after 4000 miles of listening to music on radio, they veered off to listen to the real thing in New Orleans.

“This is like a dream!” Marta says.

Marta listens to popular music in Rome. “You can’t listen to radio without hearing Louis Armstrong at least twice a day,” she says. “I grew up with this music and had a piano in house that continually needed 'a doctor' to tune it and was costly!” Harvard could be even more costly.

We trade addresses. I’m on the lookout for a place that covers Satchmo's catalog and know some great places to hear music in Cambridge. If Elena is accepted to Harvard, we'll all be singing, "What A Wonderful World"!

All you need to know about Satchmo Summerfest

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

Satchmo Summerfest Sunday, August 7, 2016 Comes to a Close

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Leroy Jones, a veteran horn player, New Orleans ambassador, and man who’s good at connecting the dots in this historic city. "Give Me a Kiss That I Can Dream on"

“This is the kind of song that played a part in our rebuilding efforts after Katrina,” he says as an intro to this well-worn song. “Lots of the songs in the Armstrong catalog were made before we were born!”

“Paradise on Earth For Me,” a love song to the city Jones was born in, written by The Helsinki Connection, with local references to Donna’s Bar, and Creole food that tastes so good. Jones sang and played trumpet on this catchy number. originally recorded in New Orleans in the 1920s, and must have been known to Armstrong  - Leroy Jones has plenty of respect for this song written in 1914.

This year, he’s the recipient of the Harrelson trumpet presentation, a handmade trumpet by the famous   instrument maker Marcy Schramm (French Quartet Festivals, Inc) is one of the presenters (photo to follow)

Wendell Brunious  Chop Suey Stage NO PHOTO

There are many trumpet princes in this town, Brunious is one of them, with a deep sense of New Orleans culture, history, and the legacy of Louis Armstrong. This isn’t a cursory acknowledgment, it’s coming right from the man’s heart. He knows how damn hard this city is for poor people and Louis was one of them, grew up the streets, was sent to reform school, found finding food in garbage cans. The whole story is improbable and true. And incredibly unlikely. No one on any stage today, including Brunios, will reach the status of a Louis Armstrong.

Brunious is still amazed that Armstrong was invited to play in Copenhagen in 1932. “Imagine that…being invited to travel and play that far away in that day and age!”

"That was Armstrong - What else can you say? My God!"

Ironically, Louis was derided at the end of his career, berated for being an Uncle Tom in the decade of the activist 1960s. Being an entertainer who could mesmerize an audience with his impromptu patter, inventive scat singing, saying paragraphs with the contortions of his eyes face and mouth, camaraderie with guests and his musicians. This is not to say he didn’t experience racism, see it, hear it, feel it. Listen to his song, “Shine.”

Red Beans and Rice Stage Last act of the day, James Andrews and the Baby Dolls and a bunch of all stars who’ve graced the stages all weekend long.

When a New Orleans band leader says, “Are you ready to sing?” it’s is a rhetorical question – you join a few thousand others and chime in on “Happy Birthday” to Louis Armstrong (a ten foot tall white birthday cake has been on stage all day) and “Ooo Pa Pa Do” and a score of other songs I've heard all weekend long.

Music is it participatory Sport here. Kid Merve, Yoshio Tamaya, a few trumpeters from Tremé Brass Band and between all of them they sing and play the most delightfully disjointed rendition of “Happy Birthday” you've ever heard.

My goodness, there's Yoshio Toyama, who just performed with James Andrews, walking from the Red Beans and Rice stage after the finale. I ask a spectator to take photo, priceless memento.

 Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr and one friendly stranger

Satchmo Summerfest: Saturday August 6, 2016, Sun and Song

Out of the archives, written last year and never posted. I'm here again on August 2, 2017 for this year's edition of Satchmo Summerfest!

16th Annual Satchmo Summerfest

Walk to Jackson Square in the heat of the day. Upper 90s feels like 100F, this is New Orleans in August, baby! Here's a sampling of today's music.

1:45 PM Catherine Russell, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage
http://www.metrolyrics.com/catherine-russell-lyrics.html

"Give Me a Kiss That I Can Dream On" wafts over the lush grass in Jackson Park. Great day to begin a Satchmo Fest. More of Russell’s songs like "Everybody loves my baby (but my baby don't love nobody but me)" get the afternoon off with just the right calibration.

3:45 PM Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage
Yoshio Toyama and wife Keiko and the New Orleans Jazz stars. Toshio and Keiko discovered and fell in love  with New Orleans jazz while they were studying music in New Orleans in 1963. They werevbefriended   by their neighbors, learned to enjoy Creole food and were invited to return by then owner of The Preservation Hall Jazz Hall, Alan Jaffe, to return and get deep into it. The story is the stuff of legends and certainly a documentary film. Their Wondeful World Foundation has been gifting instruments to New Orleans high school bands since post Katrina 2003.
Toshio has known some of the band members for 30 years. Clarinet player Mr. Fischer brings his band to Japan every year.

Yoshio does a great job of mimicking Satchmo's gravelly voice and incredible trumpet style with "Wonderful World" followed by "When the Saints Go Marching In," two Armstrong covers he sings to an appreciative crowd every year.

Yoshio, trumpet, Keiko piano and banjo, Mr. Fisher, clarinet

Incredible how many versions of the songs are played today, each one a blend of the spirit of Louis Armstrong and the imprint of the New Orleans artist covering it. I have heard versions of some of the songs a dozen times and each one has the spirit of Louis and the style of the artist. Louis did the same thing himself – put his own stamp on songs written before him but with a style and delivery no one had ever heard before.

In the midst of all this, I meet  Richard Eglé, who asks me if I will volunteer to do a survey tomorrow.

4:45 PM Chop Suey Stage Topsy Chapman and Soul Harmony

“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” This was one of Louis’s favorites,” she says. Then a quick march to check out the Pinettes Brass Band.

 
5:30 PM Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage The Original Pinettes Brass Band
http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2009/05/pinette_brass_band_puts_female.html

"We’re Gonna Rock Tonight, Everything Is Going to Be All Right" followed by a cover of Amy Winehouse “Be My Baby” which they call renamed "Baby." http://www.metrolyrics.com/be-my-baby-lyrics-amy-winehouse.html
Now,we're talkini'! Like Louis, New Orleans bands find material that appeals to them, reshape and remold it into something familiar yet decidedly different. I've heard it all day long and that's why I keep coming back. If you’re turning the dial on your radio, you’ll recognize one of these songs by its distinct New Orleans flavor and stop right there. Amy would love the sassy upbeat New Orleans treatment by this band of young funksters.

"We're going to change it up on you again!" says the bandleader and they romp through a bunch of samples of their songs. I don't know the names of the songs but I know they're playing with an incredible amount of energy skill and talent and the audience is eating it up like grits and gravy. Today we’ve got one guy playing triangle/symbol and snare drum player has symbol strapped to his chest.

6:30 PM Chop Suey Stage Charmaine Neville
The woman sings vocals and plays the percussion rack at her place in front of the stage. She does an amazing version of Satchmo's voice – when I was walking to the tent, I thought one of the men and her band was singing "What a Wonderful World." Next surprise, Charmaine sings "Somewhere over the Rainbow" that ends up with a few funky verses that celebrates Louis Armstrong's powers of interpretation.

"Louis Armstrong brought music all over the world," she says, "It's important that people keep it alive all over the city.” It's no secret that New Orleans is a troubled city. Tourism is ramping up after Katrina but crime rates are also up, education is in flux, politics is messy and most politicians are not held in high regard. The black communities relationship to the police is tenuous. The recent wave of gentrification is leading to displacement of close-knit neighborhoods and the culture and history of generations.

Music remains the lighthouse, the beacon people gravitate to keep steady over troubled waters. Musicians, mostly black, are at the core of what makes this city so special, so unique and performers like Charmaine make sure we remember it.

"Little Liza Jane,"with Charmaine doing a great river on percussion and inviting dancing James whose birthday was August 6, to dance on stage. to the stage. She rolls on with "Mac the Knife," "Gangster Freeze," "This Is a Man's World,” and somehow,"Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead, " upbeat with an ending that has a touch of Broadway in it.
Charmaine signs off, "It doesn't hurt to be kind to each other, Just be nice," then rolls into a rendition of "Altogether Right Now," and leaves the stage saying "God loves you… Peace!" And thanks for volunteers, the police, the organizers, and us in the audience.

Time to head home

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, Friday, August 5, 2016

Getting ready for this year's Satchmo Summerfest with posts from the archives, written in 2016 but for some reason, never posted!

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, Friday, August 5, 2016

With the reconstruction going on at the former U.S. Mint, home of the previous Satchmo Summerfest, the French Quarter Festivals Inc. had to get creative and fit the whole shebang into Jackson Square.

16th Annual Satchmo Summerfest

12 PM Friday, August 5, 2016
Red Beans and Rice Stage, the Preservation Hall Brass Band.
This is the most widely known and popular traditional jazz band in New Orleans. As with brass bands, the rumble of the bass drum and the oomph of the tuba laid a foundation for the harmony of the trombone, trumpet, clarinet, banjo, and saxophone.

The 2016 Satchmo Summerfest has officially begun. Every band today will play songs made popular by Louis Armstrong. The last song of the Preservation Hall Brass Band is a salute to the legacy of Louis Armstrong with the unique flavor, often imitated but never quite matched - quite the same way as it is played in the bars, parks, and dancehalls from Frenchmen Street two out-of-the-way places all over town.

1 PM Chop Suey Stage: Miss Sophie Lee, popular singer at The Spotted Cat on Frenchman Street accompanied by piano, guitar, piano and bass serves up a wonderfully tapas of traditional songs.

"That's When The Heartache Begins," slow tempo; "Blue
Skies," up-tempo, with a great guitar solo, remind me that the guitar and banjo have status in traditional New Orleans music. The whole set features the usual tight New Orleans arrangement.

"Why Must You Be Mean to Me," slow swing. Sophie introduces the band. During the entire day I cannot write fast enough to remember the names and instruments of musicians.
"I Will Love You" followed by "I'm Just Found" followed by an upbeat "A-Tisket A-Tasket". By the time she gets to an upbeat "When You're Smiling,” we are all smiling and sweating and feeling the Louis Armstrong vibe.

Next, an upbeat "It Don't Mean a Thing.” No drum set on the stage, the standup bass, deep and resonant, sustains the beat. The sound system for this act and all similar bands is just the right volume, no need for your plugs and the standup bass and guitar do a great job of pulsing the beat.

A taped announcement by trumpeter Leroy Jones acknowledges a long list of sponsors, takes two minutes to read. The weekend is supported by organizations of all stripes all over town.

About 26,000 attended from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.
http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2016/08/satchmo_summerfest_2016_attend.html

1:45 PM Red Beans and Rice Stage, Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

When you get near New Orleans brass bands you don't just hear them, you feel them right down to the marrow in your bones. I could feel The Dirty Dozen Brass Band all the way across Jackson Square as I entered the park. Trumpets are king down here but those big ass bass and snare drums and tubas are alpha instruments. Trumpets feed off them. Brass bands down here don't feel they're doing their job unless they see you dancing.

"Get up, you're in New Orleans!" The leader says to the crowd, many of whom are sitting on the grass or in camp chairs, as he peers from the stage. It's 90°F and the humidity is so high that when you walk if feels like you're wading through a bathtub. No matter, this guy wants us to get up and shake our booties. All of a sudden, we are in a call and response mode and for all the world we could be testifying at a Sunday morning church service.

"Say Satchmo," he shouts over the ratatatat of the drums and pealsof trumpets. "This is New Orleans! We make music in the hot! We make food in the hot! We make you know what in the hot!" Not long after that the music inexplicably stops – there's a call for a doctor, a musician has collapsed. Later, the leader says, “Kurt has been with us since he was 16, it's 100° out there, make sure you all drink water.”

2:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Tornado Brass Band

“The Rebirth Brass Band can blow the shingles off of a house, “ says the leader with chuckle. "We call this the quiet band," he says as a way of introduction.

Their songs included smooth versions of “Wonderful World,” “You Are My Sunshine.”
When it comes to "When the Saints Go Marching In" this band is not so quiet. The repartee between the band members between numbers is hilarious sometimes even during the songs. This kind of banter is one of the endearing things about music in this town, at least between traditional bands like the Tornados.

3 PM Bill Summers and the JazzSalsa Band, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

An Afro- Caribbean Latin funk band switches genres with great elan. They finish with "Caravan" and Carlos Santana’s "Jingoloba." The African call and response chants incorporated into the music gave the performance a resonance that must have been familiar to many in the audience.

4:45 PM The Shotgun Jazz Band at the Chop Suey Stage. OOPS NO PHOTOS!

If Odetta Sang is kind of music she might sound like band leader Marla Dixon. In a city with hundreds of female singers, Dixon has a style all her own. Dixon on trumpet is accompanied by trombone, clarinet, banjo, bass. “Breathe,” easy swing tempo; "I'll Take You Home Cathleen" an old Irish reel that has been around a long time and this kind of genre jumping is one of the reasons Dixon is in a league of her own.

“How about some blues?” Dixon asks rhetorically, “I think it was by Tampa Red,” and indeed it was. Old time lyrics, it swings low and hard and Dixon’s got the lip to torch these songs into embers. If this did not get your hips moving you might be dead. I can probably say that for most of the music I heard today. There is no linear set list, Dixon glances down at a list then takes a stab.

Along comes ‘In the Gloaming” Stand up bass player Tyler Thompson sings "My Old Kentucky Home." “We might be running a little late, I think it will be OK, they probably already cut the check."

Next, an awesome sax solo (I wish I could remember the song), the bass player and the banjo player hold the baseline and underpin the beat. Next, "Shake It and Break It," the original version, Dixon says. She directs solos and signals the end with a wave of her hand. Next, "Whenever You're Lonesome, Telephone Me." With that, she concludes by thanking Louis Armstrong, the sponsors, and us in the audience. She’s the bomb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34VJzHT9nuk

5:30 PM The Soul Rebels, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

 

Cross a New Orleans traditional brass band with a side of funk and you get the Soul rebels. By now we’re bathing in a blanket of humidity at about the same temperature as our own bodies. All day long people have found respite in the shade and one of the positive assets so Jackson Square is that there are plenty of trees under which to get it. A given in New Orleans is you just never hear them complaining about the heat.

Spectators fan themselves the old fashioned way As they stand around the stage or sit in the ubiquitous camp chairs or spread out on blankets all over the park. My hands are so wet with perspiration that ink is smeared all over my notebook.

Can you imagine a brass band like The Soul Rebels can sing a song like "sweet dreams are made of this" and that by the end of the song, the bandleader as us all singing along. It is beyond me how the band can switch gears and tempo and play as tight as they do – brass, reeds, percussion– The bandleader flashes his hand with different number of fingers, sort of like a quarterback, and a band sees what he wants and who is going to solo and when the song is going to end.

6:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band


Talk about making a homage to Louis, "Muskrat Ramble," "is a peach of a rendition.

Who are these guys? Here comes "Down the Mississippi to New Orleans" in four-time?
Yolanda Winter begins to solo, totally awesome. She introduces "Shine," the lyrics are important, the bandleader said it was one of Lewis favorite songs. Louis was ahead of his time with this not so subtle song about his skin color, one that he certainly felt and certainly lived.

This band is having fun, they joke around when they mess up an introduction, The leader says "We haven't worked together for a week. It's a good thing you can't hear what we're saying appear off mic!”
Bandleader says they're going to play a Louis Armstrong classic but with a different groove and play "What a Wonderful World" with a Rumba beat…really fetching.
“The next song is one of my favorites, my grandfather wrote it,” says the leader and here comes "Why Don't You Go down to New Orleans" upbeat almost with a waltz beat.

Wonders never cease around here.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest August 3 - 8, 2016: A Look Back

Out of the archives, written last year and never posted. I'm here again on August 2, 2017 for this year's edition of Satchmo Summerfest!

Satchmo Summerfest August 3 - 8, 2016:
A Look Back, August 20, 2016

It shouldn't surprise you that I'm heading there again in a few days...

August 20, 2016
Louis Armstrong is as much a presence in this city as the live oaks that line St. Charles Street and the tip jars that are plopped alongside of every busker in the French Quarter. He was born in one of the poorest most abject parts of New Orleans yet left a legacy that is priceless. The annual Satchmo Summerfest is a huge thank you note to the first important soloist who changed the course of jazz in America.

Every band in Jackson Square from Friday through Sunday, each in its own way, paid homage to Louis (August 4, 1901-July 6, 1971). Along with traditional Dixieland and New Orleans jazz, I can’t tell you how many times I heard songs like “Shine”, “Give Me A Kiss That I Can Dream On”. “What A Wonderful World”, check notes for more were played and sung.

What I can tell you is that the songs were interpreted differently and sounded glorious every single time. My weekend favorite was The Tuxedo Brass Band playing  “What A Wonderful World” to a rumba beat.

The range of voices and instrumentals/band was fabulous. Men and women sang and played their hearts out. All of them, from traditional jazz bands to kick ass brass bands, took time to say what an effect Armstrong’s style and creativity had on them. Louis broke the mold in the 1920s by playing trumpet solos the likes of which had never been heard before – and have become standards since.

Armstrong’s influence is the amniotic fluid in which these musicians were born. The beauty of New Orleans music is that it is informed and inspired by the past but always sounds fresh. These musicians are no copycats. Each is driven to put his/her own stamp on the music. Jackson Square became a petri dish for celebratory creativity.

No nation of musicians can get a crowd going like these in New Orleans. When they shout, “Stand up and shake your butts!” people stand up. When they shout, “You know the words, sing ‘em with us!” Damn if everyone doesn’t sing along, and with gusto. You could probably make a case that Louis Armstrong had something to do with this since his connection to his audiences was filled with humor and a sense of playfulness. Each and every one of the 40 bands who played at two stages in Jackson Square proved that hour after hour.

This was fry an egg on the hood of a car temperatures with humidity suited for hot house tomatoes. In fact, on Sunday, one of the members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band collapsed on stage from heat exhaustion.

Normal summer. Every patch of shade was occupied but hundreds brought their camp chairs, spread out on blankets, or just sprawled in the grass in the midst of the square. Music alternated between two stages. The Jackson Square is small enough so if you camped out in the middle, you could easily hear the bands all day long. At $5.00, it is the best music value in Louisiana.

No outdoor festivity here goes without food. Vendors from the city’s famous food emporiums sold po boys, red beans and rice and collard greens, jambalaya, fried catfish, and more. Ice cream, snow cones…yep… one of my favorite – a banana and nutella crepes. And cooling alcoholic beverages from beer to margaritas, rum and daiquiris. If you weren’t prudent in this heat, you might have snoozed and missed a bunch of music after a couple of pops.

The people of New Orleans, at music events and beyond, are a sub culture to themselves. I have struck up conversations on a street car, at a bar, in a diner, at a music hall, a park bench and after five minutes know where they live, their favorite foods or places to eat or listen to music, an explanation of a cultural or historic or social custom, and tip about the best way to get where I’m going and possibly where to stop off on the way.

On the way to the Louis Armstrong International Airport on Monday, I’m in the front seat talking to the Airport Shuttle driver. She says people keep in touch after such random meetings, still keep in touch because they trade cell numbers. Or that locals invite visitors over for a barbeque on the spot and stay in touch after that. She says that Kermit Ruffins and Jeremy Davenport, two of the best known trumpeters in town, are good friends, that sometimes after a show at Kermit’s place, the former Ernie K Doe Club on St. Claude, he will say, “Come on everybody, let's go over to The Ritz and listen to Jeremy Davenport!” But I digress.

The last time I initiated a conversation on a Boston trolley, the person next to me put his earbuds back on to signal he wasn’t interested.

Gator By The Bay: Sunday May 14, 2017

Gator By The Bay
San Diego, CA
May 14, 2017

The festival has been going strong since Friday night. The Sunday lineup of bands begins on four stages at 11:00 AM and doesn't quit till Chubby Carrier and his Bayou Swamp Band treats the full house of merrymakers with its hugely popular Mother's Day Tribute on the Festival Stage at 7:30 PM.

Geno Delafose and his French Rockin' Boogie put a charge in the day, opening to a full dance floor at 12:10 PM Sunday. Son of the late zydeco legend John Delafose, he began his career playing rub board with his father's band at age 8. His music is rooted in the  zydeco tradition of La La music all the way to originals penned by Geno. Geno's cover of Clifton Chenier's "I'm Comin' Home"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtkXxHKaJVg
 

Loads of volunteers set up and take down stages and the infrastructure for the event. Kids on the dance floor with their father or mothers is a common sight in Louisiana, not so much here but this tyke is off to a good start.

The Gypsy Swing Cats, a touch of "Django" Reinhardt that rolls effervescently from peppy swing to jazzy Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOGAV68xKsk&t=35s;

Billy Lee and the Swamp Critters - anybody born in southeast Texas is bound to have grown up listening to a stew of Cajun, zydeco, blues made for foot tapping dance inducing music.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efoJ-n2qt24

Ass Pocket Whiskey Fellas? Whoaaaa, I thought I fell through a trap door and ended up in a Guinness soaked pub in Dublin. This band of fall-out-of-your-chair merry-makers delivers Irish Folk Rock with the kind of rowdy good-natured humor that invites, perhaps demands, that little kids and their parents click their heels and start pounding your feet on the dance floor. "We sing about wine, women, and whiskey!" then sing "Ode to Jimmy Butters." Case closed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR3AzRXH1as       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR3AzRXH1as
These guys kick ass as good as the Dropkick Murphy's from my hometown of Boston.

One of the draws at GBTB...a family can bring a blanket, sprawl on open areas of lush grass, find tents that offer hat making, face painting. Then there are the big girls singing their hearts out at the Mardi Gras stage. Missy Andersen, Mercedes Moore and Sharifah Muhammad with the guitar backing of Heine Andersen... part of a group called Six String Society Gospel Show.

Six String Society Gospel Show   has a revolving cast of singers and musician. They rocked the joint with a bunch of blues, gospel and a few slow drags somewhere between. Just another fabulous bunch of singers and musicians making music to send us to the stars.

Fairly impossible to mosey by the The Bill Magee Blues Band without taking a turn on the dance floor.

The Screamin' Primas, a tribute band to the late Louis Prima, who would love the unabashed stylings of its leader who covered hits like from his  'Jump, Jive and Wail' to classics like 'Buona Sera' that have the stamp of Prima's home town of New Orleans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lMFUJnWxQE&t=33s

Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys are a huge draw.

James Intveld grew up listening to the likes of Hank Williams, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley. You can hear him synthesize their styles all with his own. Throw in some of Elvis’s hip shakin’ and you get the idea.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY...Chubby Carrier's hugely popular finale on this Mother's Day...he invites every mother in the house to join him on stage. I'm convinced that some women come to GBTB to strut their stuff with Chubby in his thoughtful rockin' tribute he's done each of the past four years I've been here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Al9SiddefE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IFqm_Q6Ayg

Sunday, 7:30 PM I'm walking to the exit, "How did you like the festival?" a man asks. "The best one I've ever been to," says I. "I set up the electricity for the whole event," he says. "See that small structure over there...that's one of several that power the whole festival." I'm talking to Glenn who's been doing this for about 12 years. "Impressive," says I. "I haven't heard a glitch all weekend...see you next year!" I wish I could remember the name of his company.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Gator By The Bay: Saturday May 13, 2017

Gator By The Bay Zydeco Blues and Crawfish Festival
Spanish Landing Park
Saturday, May 13, 2017

Is the weather ever crummy in San Diego? Locals bring camp chairs, out-of-towners sit on hay bales...

at the Festival Stage, one of two pavilions with portable wooden dance floors. Two smaller outdoor stages, The Fountain Stage and The Bourbon Stage are set between the Festival Stage and The Mardi Gras Stage pavilion.

 
Kevin Wimmer, Steve Riley, Brazos Huval, Sam Broussard - Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys

Contrary to popular opinion, size does not matter. Many of the most fun bands play at the smaller Fountain and Bourbon Stages.If you were to sit at the Fountain Stage all weekend long, you'd be treated to blues, country, Americana, rock, salsa, cumbia, alt gypsy, and swing performed by bands who play to audiences who give them love and get out and dance.

Lady Star Blue Band: It’s barely noon and Lady Star is having a come to Jesus moment, torching the blues with the voice of a woman steeped in the gospel tradition. Blonde tresses, tight red flowing pants suit, the Chicago native is a force assuring the first wave of festival goers they are in for a spectacular day of quality music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_YFTL5KG9w much to the delight of dancers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5diUQ-HCDoE

You can get a music version of whiplash walking from one stage to another, spicy blues belted out by Lady Star then a three minute walk away, here's The Palominos with a set of classics and originals with honky-tonk overtones that make two-steppers happy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c3HTECI0p0

The biggest problem at Gator By The Bay? How to defy Newton's Law of Physics and be in two places at the same time.

Alice Wallace, Americana with feeling. Like many of the artists, Wallace is an award winning musician.  Her set had the influences of the likes of EmmyLou Harris to Lucinda Williams to Patty Griffin.  The voice  however, all Alice.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAgwHKIUBwA  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIqCC_hcf0g 

Choices galore along the vendor tents lane.  Art, jewelry, men's and women's clothing, hats, boots right down to toe rings.

Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdmn0TKDul8

Who, I ask you, wouldn’t want to hear a band named The Motel Swing Orchestra. This is one big time party band featuring Palmer, the Queen of Boogie Woogie. The big Mardi Gras Stage is filled elbow to elbow with her musicians and any number of guests the Queen invites to play along, including blues belters Deejah Marie Pope and her daughter Sharifah. The audiences for her shows are always particularly stoked for high energy swing with a bluesy bent and lindy hop.

Palmer, Deedjah, Sharifah and company - their energy on stage breaks over the audience like a foamy roller, carrying the dancers on its crest.


How does this one look?

Lots of things to do while the music wafts over the park...shop, listen to singers talk shop at the Bayou Grove, eat.

Kimba Light Afro-Cuban fusion with a big Havana beat. What a blast. Any band with two Cubans and two Californians  is gonna have lots of band width. Merigue, salsa, bachata and a touch of funk and you have a recipe that makes a dancer very happy. I was in heaven. So were the people around the Fountain Stage when they played. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlrKipKoyqA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsh5jkpSQBg

Relax in the park, shop at vendor tents selling quality merchandise. My only regret of the day - not buying one of the colorful print short sleeve shirts that would have been the bomb to wear at the Fountain Stage when listening to one of the Latin bands today.

Johnny Vernazza has played blues and slide guitar with the likes of Marshall Tucker and Elvin Bishop. He's a fixture on the San Diego music scene. The guy's been around and has the chops to prove it. Relax in the sun, feel the breeze off San Diego Bay, check out the perfume you just bought.

Plenty of time to socialize; sweet jerk chicken with collard greens and rice...awesome.

 

Mercedes Moore: she's always had the voice. In the past three years I've watched her perform here, she's more comfortable in her own skin on stage and that translates to a voice with range, depth and grit. Look out, San Diego...the next blues diva is on the verge.

Buskers perform on the path between the two main stages - open air entertainment, old tyme music!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt71itEmSXg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihcgBn7yv-E

  

Relax where you can; and fix that hat you just made.

The 2017 poster being created right on the premises.

Combo Libertad This might be the closest you’ll get to The Bueno Vista Social Club without flying to Havana. This band relishes reviving Cuban classic songs with the instruments and vocals to match. Congas, timbales, trombone, trumpet, bass conjure mambo, rumba, and cha-chas that wow the crowd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-F8neVkWq0

Whitney Shay upshifts from swing to soul with pit stops for blues and jazz. When her reed/brass trio or her guitar or keyboard players take solos, hold on, you're in for a joyous ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLRf5-O_iTs

Listening to ballads sung by Padric Petrie and Jillian Calkins, I can hear echoes of the haunting songs sung by the first Acadian settlers to find their way to the bayous of south Louisiana. The intimate setting in the Bayou Grove is perfect for listening, getting a sense of the roots of the music being played on the four stages in the park.

Hold on to your hats, boys and girls...dancers love this guy Chino Swingside https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9a2I6cL_aI

Chino Swingslide revs up his Resophonic guitar to dive into Blues that gets from raucous and rowdy to downright stanky. In other venues you'd hear him dive into swing, jazz, tango (would love to hear him get going on that), and bolero. Did I mention that he hails from Barcelona? How the heck did the organizers find him?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpCVOuokY-E    A razzmatazz version of "Billy Bailey Won't You Please Come Home"

Mercedes Moore's mom traveled all the way from Hilo to see her daughter perform. It was damn well worth it.

Big Jon Atkinson and Darrell Nulisch and Kid Ramos...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geHMMkrz9pU

I gravitated to the blues stages all day long. The down side is that I missed acts like Jarabe Mexicano/Latin, Sister Speak/Roots, The Paladins/Rockabilly, Billy Lee and The Swamp Critters/Cajun,Zydeco, Ginger Cowgirl/Indie,Country, The Farmers/Roots, Manny Cepeda Orchestra/Latin, The Naked I/Alt Rock and a whole bunch more.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Gator By The Bay 2017: Friday Videos

Gator By The Bay, Friday, May 12, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Videos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

 

Gator By The Bay 2017: Cranking Up Friday May 12

Gator By The Bay "Zydeco, Blues,and Crawfish Festival"
Spanish Landing Park
San Diego, CA

Friday, May 12, 2017

Ben Rice Blues...What a start.  The first act I see is Ben Rice, a bluesman who blows the stage up with his vocals and visceral command of the guitars he plays. You aren’t gonna hear a white guy playing music layered with soul, delta blues and roots with such conviction. This young man has paid attention to the masters who’ve preceded  him and creates vocals and sounds all his own. The videos are shaky; nothing shaky about the performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWxEAKITpO4&t=41s

The Bourbon Stage dance floor, heck, all four dance areas, are usually packed, especially for Blues bands; Photo R: Nathan Rivera and Jessie Andra Smith - Jazzy folk gypsy blues with a smattering of klezmer sensibility. The organizers aren’t locked in to name brands. The organizers aren’t locked in to name brands. They present a fabulous mix of musicians and styles. What the bands have in common is their ability to play at a high level and connect with an audience.  The program is a version of musical tapas that introduces audiences to genres or styles that fly under the radar. 

Big Jon Atkinson, Darrell Nulisch, Kid Ramos:  Big Jon Atkinson, a young harmonica virtuoso, effortlessly pumps blues and soul into his solos with every breath he takes and every breath he exhales.Darrell Nulisch has been entertaining since 1978, has played his harmonica with Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters and sang vocals with Chicago bluesman James Cotton. Enough said.

Kid Ramos. Any musician who is an alumnus of  The Fabulous Thunderbirds is gonna have the chops to command attention. Listen to him let loose on a solo, you’ll get the idea.

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys Steve Riley, yes, of Mamou, Louisiana, started this band with David Greeley in 1988. The members have changed from time to time. What hasn’t changed is the quality of musicians: Sam Broussard, guitar; Kevin Wimmer, fiddle; Kevin Dugas, drums; and Brazos Huval, bass. The group remains the gold standard of Cajun bands. Festival Stage packed with dancers

Fun on dance floor; Buzz Campbell and Hot Rod Lincoln.Fine example of the San Diego music scene, relishes playing rockabilly and takes his band Hot Rod Lincoln along for the ride. They weren’t well miked but his Roy Orbison covers were cool.

Dennis Jones Blues Band - Jones got his feet wet playing rock n roll as a kid, discovered the blues and his voice to convey it.  When Jones plays the blues, the postage stamp dance floor in front of the Bourbon Stage is packed, hell, any dance floor will fill up when Jones gets going with slide guitar and made-for-blues vocals.

Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band:

For 21 years and counting, Chubby Carrier has embraced the importance of connecting with his audience, whether in a parking lot somewhere in southwest Louisiana to the Montreaux Jazz Fest (really!) in Switzerland. He and The Bayou Swamp Band bring an infectious party atmosphere, the audience feels it and boomerangs that energy right back to those guys on the stage. The apple fell right under the tree. His father, Roy Carrier; his grandfather, Warren Carrier, and his cousins, Bebe and Calvin Carrier, are all Zydeco Hall of Fame musicians.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

VIDEOS NEXT!

Gator By The Bay 2017: Music, Dance, Food, Fun!

16th Annual Gator By The Bay Zydeco, Blues, and Crawfish Festival
May 12 – May 14, 2017
San Diego, CA
 
Fake news, bad news, scary news, the world is a pretty contentious place these days, but never fear.  Three days of peace, love, and understanding is a five-minute walk from my room on the 12th floor of the Sheraton Hotel and Marina in San Diego. They're not kidding when they bill this as "Music, Dance, Food, Fun."
 
After an hour inside the festival grounds, my entire body is downshifting. Gator By The Bay Zydeco, Blues, and Crawfish Festival is purging the drumbeat of discordant chatter on the airwaves. The only drumbeat that matters for now is coming from the stages around this sliver of land called Spanish Landing Park. I’m in an alternate universe. I shall marinate blissfully here for three days.
 
It feels like a giant crane has eased a protective bubble over the Park, capturing all the good stuff going on inside it and warding off the dispiriting news flashing across TV screens outside it. We aren’t missing a damn thing. It will still be there when we disperse on Sunday evening.
 
The crowd of thousands is a mix master of age, race, and social background.  They are feeding their souls with music that resonates with them so deeply that it erases for the moment all the angst-provoking headlines of a world in turmoil.

The age range is from college kids to men and women who've been eligible for an AARP card for a couple of president's administrations. Parents with toddlers and pre-teens sprawl on blankets on the grassy knolls throughout the park.  Pre-teens are getting an eyeful of what it looks like watching adults having a whale of a time on the dance floor.
 
Plain and simple, live music makes you feel good. With four stages and over fifty bands playing from late morning till dusk, I’m feelin’ it.
 
There’s no stereotype for a dance junkie. The Fred and Gingers look a lot like librarians, or a teachers, dentists, surgeons, flight attendants, secretaries, commercial loan officer, small business owners, retirees, maybe your local electrician.

No dance snobbery here. When the music speaks to you, you get up and dance. For every styling couple on the small portable dance floor, there are a few people boogying all by themselves. Everyone is smiling. This sliver of land on the shore of San Diego Bay is an oasis of let the good times roll, a small grain of sand in an ocean of turbulent times.
 
I have yet to witness an altercation of any kind, I’ve had conversations with loads of people either waiting in a food line or sitting on hay bales on the perimeter of stages, many centering on the ”Where are you from” opening and offering hosannas to the salutary effect of music on the psyche.
 
Thousands who pack the park every day have checked their political affiliations at the gate. You want to talk about what you’re loving about the music on the stages, tell someone where you’ve just tasted sweet African jerk chicken with collard greens and rice, or the Mariposa ice cream, or those two guys selling scrumptious home made apricot or pecan or apple cobbler, or that you’ve just had a to die for dance with a woman you’ve never met before, this is the place.
 
The sun is shining, the temps are in the high 60s, a cooling breeze keeps the banners gently waving.  San Diego is showing off.

The only places I’ve ever been to where people smile, mind their manners, and chat each other up with no agenda other than to connect for a few minutes are dance festivals like this.
 
Food from Louisiana, Africa, China, and local eateries do land office business. It’s the norm to see long lines snaking to the counters of the food tents along the narrow food concourse set smack between the two largest stages. In the outside world outside, this could lead to grumpy, impatient customers. Here,  amiable chats and an occasional philosophic rhapsody about the magic of music.
 
It's billed as a Zydeco, Blues, and Crawfish Festival. The big name Cajun and zydeco bands like Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys and Chubby Carrier and The Bayou Swamp Band are probably the reason many people have come here. But I'm tellin' ya, some of the most fun shows are the diamonds in the rough playing at the smaller Fountain Stage and Bourbon Stage…think country, rockabilly, honky tonk, blues, gypsy, gospel, Latin, and Irish rock!
 
This is my fourth straight year at the Gator Festival.  Next May won’t be soon enough for my next fix.

View of San Diego from 12th floor of Sheraton Hotel and Marina. Note Coronado Bridge on R that leads to Coronado Island. If you look real close, that's the aircraft carrier USS Midway docked on shore to L of bridge.

 Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Delbert McClinton: Gravelly Texas Blues Showman

DELBERT McCLINTON
Wilbur Theater
October 19, 2016

At 75, Delbert still cranks it out with a robust touring schedule.

Delbert McClinton. First of all, what a great name. It don’t surprise you none to find out he’s a Texas boy, Fort Worth via Lubbock.  He probably heard a mix of country, soul and rock n roll while still in utero and has been pleasing people singing it for a dog’s age.  At 75, Delbert is a few dog’s ages himself. Hell, he’s been playing since 1962 and recording since 1972.  His live show at the Wilbur Theater was standard show biz meets a whiff of the real Delbert.

Whether he’s belting out "Back To Louisiana" or "Givin’ It Up For Your Love" or surprising us with tender ballads, his voice can inhabit the territory with amazing nuance for a guy with Texas sized sensibilities.

Standing stage center, swigging something from a brown bottle with a red label, he’s clearly in charge of and having a good ol’ time with his seven piece band (electric piano, bass guitar, percussion, lead guitar, tenor saxophone, trumpet, rhythm guitar). They may have played a similar set the night before but watch them play ensemble and solos. Lots of eye contact, appreciative nods all around after a solo turn.

It helps to have an audience that knows every damn song and cheers every solo and the finale.

“We feed off the audience,” says Dana Robbins who absolutely kills every solo with her tenor saxophone. From her full-bore gutty bluesy solos, I expected to see a 6 foot tall Amazon when she entered the lobby after two hour plus show. I have no idea how her 5’6” frame can blow so hard it ricochets off the back wall of the theater. “The keyboard player has been with Delbert for 20 years, the trumpet player next to me for ten,” she says. I imagine those guys can tell if she or anyone else is mailing in their solos and would not dare to anything less. Delbert knows that too.

Although he made a few harmonica riffs most of the heavy lifting came from his tight-as-a-clenched-fist band, which by the way, forced a couple sitting in prime balcony seats overlooking the stage to run for the cover of seats farther from the humongous speakers next to their prime seats overlooking the stage after the first song. No matter what kind of music you listen to, you’re bound to have heard his 1980 song “Givin’ It Up For Your Love”, a top 40 song from his "The Jealous Kind" album.

Delbert has won Grammy Awards, Etta James has covered his songs, Emmy Lou Harris hit Number One with his “Two More Bottles of Wine” way back in 1978, and the old boy has made over two dozen albums since 1972. As if that’s not enough, the Blues Brothers covered his “B Movie Boxcar Blues” way back in the day.

The man’s a workhorse. In spite of the whirling fans on stage, Delbert used about a dozen towels to wipe the perspiration from his face. His band keeps their eyes on him to figure who is soloing and get a nod when they’re done. It is one intensely tight band.

Let me say something heretical. I believe that the best way to listen to him is to tune into him with your device of choice and turn it up. No distractions, just his plaintive, exuberantly gravelly croaky voice that sings about love gone bad, love gone good and everything in between. I’d bet a couple of longhorns that he’s been through it all himself.

If you want to hear a full-tilt tight band give you your money’s worth of music with a big DM branded on it, this is the one to see.
+++++
Want to see him in person?
Check his website
http://www.delbert.com/

This was way back in 2009 but the man ain't lost much of his mustang energy since then

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7tFeVLNH5E

 

 

Buckwheat Zydeco: Lafayette, Louisiana Lands in Cambridge, MA

Since January 1, 2016…RIP a hall of fame list of musicians and  some of my heroes.

Prince, Merle Haggard, Maurice White (founder of Earth, Wind and Fire), Paul Kantner (co-founder of Jefferson Airplane), David Bowie, Glenn Frey (co-founder of The Eagles)…and now Stanley Dural, Jr., (1947-2016) better known as Buckwheat, founder of the band Buckwheat Zydeco that brought zydeco music from the bayous of Louisiana to the boroughs of New York City.

These musicians, one of whom is likely on your all time fave list, will never again be heard in live performances. If you’re of a certain age, losses like this are happening all to frequently. They hurt. Celebrate the creators of the sound track of our youth while they’re still rockin’.

Below a REPOSTING of Buckwheat Zydeco appearance in Cambridge,MA, in 2011
Original at http://ptatlarge.typepad.com/ptatlarge/2011/02/buckwheat-zydeco-lafayette-louisiana-lands-in-cambridge-ma.html

As always, comments welcome.

+++++++++++++++

Buckwheat Zydeco
The Regattabar, Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA
February 8, 2011

Imagine James Brown with a big-assed silver and white accordion slung over his shoulders and you get the drift of Stanley Dural, Jr., better known as “Buckwheat,” the leader of legendary band Buckwheat Zydeco. While other roofs in New England are in jeopardy of falling in with the weight of snow, Buckwheat raised the roof at the Regattabar last Tuesday.

Let’s back up a minute. Zydeco is not a household name around here. Lafayette, Louisiana, a hotspot of Cajun and zydeco music, is around 1500 miles away. And here we are with nearly every one of the Regattbar’s 225 seats filled with people who clearly know the music and the man playing it. What’s the draw?

Clue: Dural’s entrance is classic old school showman. The band, led by veteran session bass player Lee Allen Zeno, warms up the crowd with a few funky pop grooves. After he figures he’s greased the skids, Zeno starts to pitch. “2010 Grammy Award winning artist…. Coming all the way from Lafayette, Louisiana,” and pauses.  “I said…2010 Grammy Award winning artist…” and we get the idea. The hollering begins.

The band lays down a good ol’ flame throwing 32 beat intro, the entry door to the Regattabar is swung open and Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr., on the arm of his son who plays the B-3 Hammond organ, parts the crowd in a slow high fiving royal stroll to the stage. The cheering is universal, heartfelt, and loud. And is not lost on Stanley.

He carefully hangs his black suit jacket at the side of the stage, extends his arms, and his son Reginald drapes a huge gleaming accordion over Dural’s shoulders. There was a day when Dural would have picked up the accordion like a po boy sandwich but he’s getting on in years – and besides, the visual effect is impressive, sort of like watching a surgeon have his sterile gloves fitted over his hands before he begins major surgery. Except you’ve probably never seen a surgeon with a gorgeous pile of silky black hair swept up in a pompadour.

The room is in a state of quiet expectation. Stanley strides to center stage. “ We gonna party tonight, stand up! Cambridge… stand UP!”

Damn, we did. Within seconds, Buckwheat Zydeco digs into a groove that does not quit. People are dancing in the aisles. I rub my eyes. Remind me. This is not Randol’s in Lafayette. This is the Regattabar in Cambridge, a venue not known for audience participation.

A master showman like Dural has Cantabridgians dropping decorum like it’s a hot biscuit. When bassist Zeno says, “comin’ at ya’” he isn’t kidding. For the better part of two hours, Dural banters, he teases, he strides into the audience and peals off sparkling riffs on the keys of his accordion, he projects a megawatt smile. He makes you feel like he came all the way from his home in the bayou just to play for you. And you believe it.

Cross Otis Redding’s passion, Bob Marley’s sense of social justice, and James Brown’s fierce showmanship and you get Stanley Dural, Jr. His veteran band - two guitars, bass, drums, washboard, trumpet, and B-3 organ can turn on a dime. Stanley Dural, Jr. has been playing music since he was 4 years old.  He was tutored by his father’s friend, the late accordionist Clifton Chenier, the godfather of zydeco.

Dural’s Buckwheat Zydeco band has been a presence for more than thirty years. Along the way, their zydeco sound has sampled sounds of funk, R&B, reggae, blues, soul, even country, and bits of all of it are on display tonight. 

When he says he’s about to play a song by his favorite artist and teases us while we guess the identity, he shocks us by identifying “Hank Williams” then rolls into a version of “Hey, Good Lookin” with a rollicking New Orleans beat. With very little prompting, the buttoned down Cantabridgians sing along like it was a Mitch Miller show. A corner of the bar is filled with dancers. My goodness.

Entertainers like Dural feed on the energy they create and by now Dural is feeling the love. The Regattabar has become his sandbox, we’re his toys, and he’s gonna play with us. “OK we’re dividing the room. This half of the room sing…” “Now this half….” Once again, audience reticence has been checked at the door - the lusty response sounds more like a high school pep rally.

Dural talks Lafayette smack a mile a minute and runs his words together faster than those notes fluttering out of the Hammond B-3, which he plays for the last part of the set.

“I feel like rippin’ it up,” Dural says after returning for his encore. I’m not sure if he says this every night and I don’t care. Dural is working us over pretty good.

 “I got this from the swamp,” he says (he’s referenced ‘the swamp’ in his patter several times and seems to want us to know that he’s not far removed from his Louisiana roots).

“Men, you should try this, it worked for me.” And he launches into “Jackpot,” with the refrain, “Honey, I’ve been lucky all my life, but when I found you, I hit the jackpot.” Applause rings out from the women. Once again, we’re singing the chorus.

  Dural’s not done with us yet. He’s got a message. Along with the playful music, I’ve heard snatches of lyrics relating to social issues all night long. Dural digs hard into his B3 and wrings out powerful chords that galvanize a gospel tent - we’re feelin’ it. Near the end of his reggae inflected “Why We Can’t Live Together,” with its refrain, “Peace… Love…and Happiness.” We’re on our feet – again – in a fist pumping, call and response reggae influenced tandem with the man.

“What do we  want?” he calls.
“What do we need?”
What do we deserve?”
“What do we demand?”
“What do we want to give our children?”

“Peace… Love…and Happiness,” we volley back to each call.


The world has become a more hopeful place. Dural is giving us respite from the headlines. It may be an illusion but it’s a potent one that pastes a smile on our faces far into the winter night.

“I got this from the swamp… we gonna be alright. Take this to your best bank, we gonna be alright!” he intones with minister’s conviction and makes his way to the door, shaking hands, taking hugs.

I hope he’s right.

Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, Jr.: Accordion, Hammond B-3, electric keyboard, lead vocals
Lee Allen Zeno: Bass, background vocals

Sir Reginald Master Dural: Rubboard, background vocals, Hammond B-3 organ
Paul “Lil’ Buck” Sinegal: Guitar

Olivier Scoazec: Guitar

Gerard St. Julien: Drums
Curtis Watson: Trumpet

Bass player Lee Allen Zeno with pt - I met him at Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. The man has played with some of the best in the business.

 

Stanley Dural, Jr. exudes infectious energy and connects with the audience from the jump. He's at home on the Hammond B-3 organ - ended the show with a rousing version of "Why We Can't Live Together."
 

This photo pretty much sums up the energy level of the night.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, August 5, 2016

Getting ready for this year's Satchmo Summerfest with posts from the archives, written but for some reason, never posted!

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, August 5, 2016

With the reconstruction going on at the former U.S. Mint, home of the previous Satchmo Summerfest, the French Quarter Festivals Inc. had to get creative and fit the whole shebang into Jackson Square.

16th Annual Satchmo Summerfest, August 5-7. 2016

12 PM Friday, August 5, 2016
Red Beans and Rice Stage, the Preservation Hall Brass Band.
This is the most widely known and popular traditional jazz band in New Orleans. As with brass bands, the rumble of the bass drum and the oomph of the tuba laid a foundation for the harmony of the trombone, trumpet, clarinet, banjo, and saxophone.

The 2016 Satchmo Summerfest has officially begun. Along with their own catalog, every band today will play songs made popular by Louis Armstrong. The last song of the Preservation Hall Brass Band is a salute to the legacy of Louis Armstrong with the unique flavor, often imitated but never quite matched - quite the same way as it is played in the bars, parks, and dance halls from Frenchmen Street to out-of-the-way places all over town.

1 PM Chop Suey Stage: Miss Sophie Lee, popular singer at The Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street accompanied by piano, guitar, piano and bass serves up a wonderfully tapas of traditional songs.

"That's When The Heartache Begins," slow tempo; "Blue Skies," up-tempo, with a great guitar solo, remind me that the guitar and banjo have status in traditional New Orleans music. The whole set features the usual tight New Orleans arrangement.

"Why Must You Be Mean to Me," slow swing with a gentle sexy roll to it. Sophie introduces the band. During the entire day I cannot write fast enough to remember the names and instruments of musicians.

"I Will Love You" followed by "I'm Just Found" followed by an upbeat "A-Tisket A-Tasket". By the time she gets to an upbeat "When You're Smiling,” we are all smiling and sweating and feeling the Louis Armstrong vibe.

Next, an upbeat "It Don't Mean a Thing.” No drum set on the stage, the standup bass, deep and resonant, sustains the beat. The sound system for this act and all similar bands is just the right volume, no need for your plugs and the standup bass and guitar do a great job of pulsing the beat.

A taped announcement by trumpeter Leroy Jones acknowledges a long list of sponsors, takes two minutes to read. The weekend is supported by organizations of all stripes all over town.

About 26,000 attended from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.
http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2016/08/satchmo_summerfest_2016_attend.html

1:45 PM Red Beans and Rice Stage, Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

When you get near New Orleans brass bands you don't just hear them, you feel them right down to the marrow in your bones. I could feel The Dirty Dozen Brass Band all the way across Jackson Square as I entered the park. Trumpets are king down here but those big ass bass and snare drums and tubas are alpha instruments. Trumpets feed off them. Brass bands down here don't feel they're doing their job unless they see you dancing.

"Get up, you're in New Orleans!" The leader says to the crowd, many of whom are sitting on the grass or in camp chairs, as he peers from the stage. It's 90°F and the humidity is so high that when you walk if feels like you're wading through a bathtub. No matter, this guy wants us to get up and shake our booties. All of a sudden, we are in a call and response mode and for all the world we could be testifying at a Sunday morning church service.

"Say Satchmo," he shouts over the ratatatat of the drums and peals of trumpets. "This is New Orleans! We make music in the hot! We make food in the hot! We make you know what in the hot!" Not long after that the music inexplicably stops – there's a call for a doctor, a musician has collapsed.

After a brief pause, the leader says, “Kurt has been with us since he was 16, it's 100° out there, make sure you all drink water.” Kurt was dehydrated, we are urged to keep ourselves hydrated.

2:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Tornado Brass Band

“The Rebirth Brass Band can blow the shingles off of a house, “ says the leader with chuckle. "We call this the quiet band," he says as a way of introduction.

Their songs included smooth versions of “Wonderful World,” “You Are My Sunshine.”\

When it comes to "When the Saints Go Marching In" this band is not so quiet. The repartee between the band members between numbers is hilarious, sometimes even during the songs. This kind of banter is one of the endearing things about music in this town, at least between traditional bands like the Tornados.

3 PM Bill Summers and the Jazz Salsa Band, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

An Afro-Caribbean Latin funk band switches genres with great elan. They finish with "Caravan" and Carlos Santana’s "Jingoloba." The African call and response chants incorporated into the music gave the performance a resonance that must have been familiar to many in the audience.

4:45 PM The Shotgun Jazz Band at the Chop Suey Stage. OOPS NO PHOTOS!

If Odetta sang this kind of music she might sound like band leader Marla Dixon. In a city with hundreds of female singers, Dixon has a style all her own. Dixon on trumpet is accompanied by trombone, clarinet, banjo, bass. “Breathe,” easy swing tempo; "I'll Take You Home Cathleen" an old Irish reel that has been around a long time and this kind of genre jumping is one of the reasons Dixon is in a league of her own.

“How about some blues?” Dixon asks rhetorically, “I think it was by Tampa Red,” and indeed it was - along comes "When Things Go Wrong It Hurts Me Too" recorded in 1940. Old time lyrics, it swings low and hard and Dixon’s got the lip to torch these songs into embers. If this did not get your hips moving you might be dead. I can probably say that for most of the music I heard today. There is no linear set list, Dixon glances down at a list then takes a stab.

Along comes ‘In the Gloaming” Stand up bass player Tyler Thompson sings "My Old Kentucky Home." “We might be running a little late, I think it will be OK, they probably already cut the check."

Next, an awesome sax solo (I wish I could remember the song), the bass player and the banjo player hold the baseline and underpin the beat. Next, "Shake It and Break It," the original version, Dixon says. She directs, solos, and signals the end with a wave of her hand. Next, "Whenever You're Lonesome, Telephone Me." With that, she concludes by thanking Louis Armstrong, the sponsors, and us in the audience. She’s the bomb.

5:30 PM The Soul Rebels, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

 

Cross a New Orleans traditional brass band with a side of funk and you get the Soul Rebels. By now we’re bathing in a blanket of humidity at about the same temperature as our own bodies. All day long people have found respite in the shade - one of the positive assets so Jackson Square is that there are plenty of trees under which to get it. Complaining about the heat would be downright un-New Orleanian...that's only for tourists

Spectators fan themselves the old fashioned way As they stand around the stage or sit in the ubiquitous camp chairs or spread out on blankets all over the park. My hands are so wet with perspiration that ink is smeared all over my notebook.

Can you imagine this?  A brass band like The Soul Rebels can sing a song like "sweet dreams are made of this" and that by the end of the song, the bandleader as us all singing along. It is beyond me how the band can switch gears and tempo and play as tight as they do – brass, reeds, percussion. The bandleader flashes his hand with different number of fingers, sort of like a quarterback, and a band sees what he wants and who is going to solo and when the song is going to end. Musicians have a language all their own, including sign language.

6:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band


Talk about making a homage to Louis, "Muskrat Ramble," "is a peach of a rendition.

Who are these guys? Here comes "Down the Mississippi to New Orleans" in four-time?

Yolanda Winter begins to solo, totally awesome. She introduces "Shine," the lyrics are important, the bandleader said it was one of Louis' favorite songs. Louis was ahead of his time with this not so subtle song about his skin color, one that he certainly felt and certainly lived.

This band is having fun, they joke around when they mess up an introduction, The leader says "We haven't worked together for a week. It's a good thing you can't hear what we're saying appear off mic!”
Bandleader says they're going to play a Louis Armstrong classic but with a different groove and play "What a Wonderful World" with a Rumba beat…really fetching.

“The next song is one of my favorites, my grandfather wrote it,” says the leader and here comes "Why Don't You Go down to New Orleans" upbeat almost with a waltz beat.

Wonders never cease around here.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

The Candlelight Lounge: The Denver Jazz Club Youth All-Stars Meet the Tremé Brass Band

The Candlelight Lounge, Leona Grandison, Proprietor.
925 North Robertson Street
New Orleans, LA
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
9:30 PM

I was flabbergasted. The high school kids have never played the tunes they are playing right now with the Tremé Brass Band... and here they are playing the daylights out of them. As it turns out, the kids and the band are all talking the same language.

The Denver Jazz Club Youth All-Stars From Centennial, Colorado were pumped. On their one week tour, they’ve played on a riverboat, at The Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street, The Bombay Club in the French Quarter, and at the Café Beignet on Bourbon Street. I watch them shake off performance nerves and let it all hang out as they absorb the infectious seamless creativity of the veterans around them.

Dr. Ed Cannava, their director/manager, sits at the bar clapping time, nodding, smiling like a proud papa as his kids hold their own with the regulars as they dig into songs that his All Stars have never played before.

Benny Jones, Sr. leader and founder of the Tremé Brass Band, has a vague recollection that they got connected on Facebook.  The Tremé Brass Band plays a regular gig here Wednesday nights. It’s 90 degrees outside and the humidity is thicker than the cigarette smoke outside the front door. A box fan stirs the hothouse air inside. Pretty soon the place will get hotter and no one will give a damn.

What gives?

At the end of the first set, Jon Gross, tuba player with the Tremé Brass Band, explains what I’ve just witnessed.

“The kids (All Stars) practiced the first four songs as part of the repertoire they would play tonight. The rest of the songs were from the Tremé band repertoire.”

Fine, but I’m asking Jon how can these kids sound so great, playing ensemble and solos with vigor, style, and exuberance back and forth with one of the best brass bands on the planet.

“Music is like a language,” Jon says. “I was trained in classical music, learned to read it and interpret it. But when I began playing this kind of music I had to learn to listen.  It’s like a dialogue and works out best when everyone has a say.”

With the kids playing the front line and the Tremé band behind them, the set opens with the All Stars playing “Panama,” published in 1912 and played by everyone from Kid Ory to contemporary brass bands. “Happy Feet Blues,” written in 1989 by Wynton Marsalis, is followed by “Bourbon Street Parade,” made famous by New Orleans drummer Paul Barbarin in 1955, and “Sweet Georgia Brown,” first recorded in 1925, all up-tempo and razzmatazz. A perfect example of the range of brass band repertoire.

Tremé tenor saxophone player John Gilbert and trumpeter Mario Abney are in the front line trading solos with the All Stars with Tremé’s bass drum, tuba, and two snare drums right behind them.

I am witnessing a great conversation.

Here we have amateurs and professionals, Creoles and high school kids, making a fabulous New Orleans racket…joyful, upbeat, creative, insanely happy-making, mood enhancing and, when you think about it, and interactive form of meditation an old-time religion. There is absolutely nothing else like it on this good earth.

Just look at the smiles on these kids' faces after they dig down and wail out solos that pour everything they learned in the classroom, combine it with their own chops and quite possibly pieces of their souls that have never been tapped and now find release in this ramshackle bar in the back reaches of the Tremé neighborhood.

Leader Benny Jones, Sr., who turns 74 this week, is one of the founders of the Rebirth Brass Band and a distinguished member of several others. Benny is an unassuming and proud man, born and raised a few streets away, and one of the few precious living links remaining between the rich musical culture of the Tremé and New Orleans itself.

To have these high school kids sweat and play with Benny should sear into their memory where this music came from, who it came from, and the sometimes dark history in which it was created and now continues to flourish.

“Listen to birds,” Jon Gross tells me. “They have a language, they’re all different and they understand each other…this music is like that.”

Tonight is a perfect example and a lesson for me in how to listen to some of the most spirited conversations in the music universe.

+++++++
The Denver Jazz Club Youth All-Stars
Ellington Jenkins - clarinet
Alex Preston - tenor sax
Brent Ingle - trumpet
Gabby Aragon - trombone
Mika Smith - banjo
Ben Thompson - accordion (usually plays piano)
Director/Manager Dr. Ed Cannava says all the members sing except for Alex the saxophone player.

Tremé Brass Band tonight
Benny Jones, Sr. – snare drum
Anthony Bennett – bass
Aron Lambert – snare
John Gilbert – tenor sax
Mario Abney – trumpet
James Williams – trumpet
Jon Gross – tuba/sousaphone

First set list
“Panama,” published in 1912 and played by everyone from Kid Ory to contemporary brass bands.
“Happy Feet Blues,” written in 1989 by Wynton Marsalis
“Bourbon Street Parade,” made famous by New Orleans drummer Paul Barbarin in 1955 – a staple of New Orleans musical repertoire of all kinds of bands.
“Sweet Georgia Brown,” first recorded in 1925

“My Bucket Has a Hole In It”, which may go all the way back to Buddy Bolden around 1900 and made popular by Hank Williams in 1949 - interesting that Williams probably learned the song from a black street singer who taught him to play guitar.

“Bourbon Street Parade” composed by Paul Barbarin in 1955.

I couldn’t identify the rest of the set titles. I only know that they levitated the place.

 

   

Tremé sax player John Gilbert and trumpeter Mario Abney play in the front line with the All Stars.
  

Benny Jones, Sr. directs solos for "My Bucket Has A Hole In It" ..the ensemble figures it all out after that.

 
John Gilbert sings vocals on "Bourbon Street Parade" and the All-Stars put their chops on parade.

 

Tremé back line of snare, tuba, bass drum and Benny Jones, Sr. on snare keep perfect time all night long.

 
Dr. Ed Cannava loves what he's seeing; the All-Stars dig into every solo they get.

One big time brass band finale...

 
rocks The Candlelight Lounge.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest, New Orleans, August 2016 Preview

Satchmo Summerfest
Jackson Square
New Orleans
Thursday, August 5-Sunday August 7, 2016
http://fqfi.org/satchmo

The annual Satchmo Summerfest is a four-day celebration of the life and music of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (1901-1971), the favorite son of his hometown New Orleans.  As far as I’m concerned, there ain’t no better place to spend the first week in August. Louis, with his inventive solos and then his trademark gravely voice, began making his mark in the 1920s and remained a beloved icon until the 1960s.

No need to look for headliners with national name recognition at this festival. There are scores of fabulous musicians in this town that can play the daylights out of the Armstrong catalogue and other music by composers and musicians that he inspired, everything from brass bands to jazz ensembles to soloists playing with a trio or quartet. I doubt there’s such a deep well of musical talent anywhere else in the world.

New Orleans is considered to be the cradle of Jazz but it’s a pretty big cradle. Back in the 1950s, black singers and bands began performing the kinds of music (called ‘race music’) that became the foundation of a huge chunk of American pop music embraced by white America beginning in the 1950s and still resonates today, but I digress.

The Armstrong catalogue is deep. If you want to make this a learning adventure or take a break from the music and dance tents, there are seminars given by a host of some of his most distinguished biographers and record producers. The fact that they’re held in air-conditioned comfort a few steps away is certainly a draw. I mean, we’re talkin’ New Orleans in deep summer when temps in the 80s are considered cool. I won’t even bring up the subject of humidity but the quality of music just neutralizes all of that.

Vendors sell food and drink, at really decent prices, that are staples of New Orleans life. This year’s Summerfest has moved from the old U. S. Mint to Jackson Square. I can’t wait to hear the bells in the Saint Louis Cathedral at the edge of the square while listening to the music, sort of like Louis is chiming in from his perch in his bandstand in heaven. Lord have mercy.

The event in 2001 began as a salute tribute to the centenary of Armstrong’s birth. My first visit was in 2010...wouldn't think of spending the first week in August anywhere else.

Satchmo Summerfest 2016

Satchmo Summerfest August 2016 Preview

 

Satchmo Summerfest
Jackson Square
New Orleans
Thursday, August 5-Sunday August 7, 2016
http://fqfi.org/satchmo

The annual Satchmo Summerfest is a four-day celebration of the life and music of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (1901-1971), the favorite son of his hometown New Orleans.  As far as I’m concerned, there ain’t no better place to spend the first week in August. Louis, with his inventive solos and then his trademark gravely voice, began making his mark in the 1920s and remained a beloved icon until the 1960s.

No need to look for headliners with national name recognition at this festival. There are scores of fabulous musicians in this town that can play the daylights out of the Armstrong catalogue and other music by composers and musicians that he inspired, everything from brass bands to jazz ensembles to soloists playing with a trio or quartet. I doubt there’s such a deep well of musical talent anywhere else in the world.

New Orleans is considered to be the cradle of Jazz but it’s a pretty big cradle. Back in the 1950s, black singers and bands began performing the kinds of music (called ‘race music’) that became the foundation of a huge chunk of American pop music embraced by white America beginning in the 1950s and still resonates today, but I digress.

The Armstrong catalogue is deep. If you want to make this a learning adventure or take a break from the music and dance tents, there are seminars given by a host of some of his most distinguished biographers and record producers. The fact that they’re held in air-conditioned comfort a few steps away is certainly a draw. I mean, we’re talkin’ New Orleans in deep summer when temps in the 80s are considered cool. I won’t even bring up the subject of humidity but the quality of music just neutralizes all of that.

Vendors sell food and drink, at really decent prices, that are staples of New Orleans life. This year’s Summerfest has moved from the old U. S. Mint to Jackson Square. I can’t wait to hear the bells in the Saint Louis Cathedral at the edge of the square while listening to the music, sort of like Louis is chiming in from his perch in his bandstand in heaven. Lord have mercy.

The event in 2001 began as a salute tribute to the centenary of Armstrong’s birth. My first visit was in 2010...wouldn't think of spending the first week in August anywhere else.

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, Friday, August 5, 2016

Getting ready for this year's Satchmo Summerfest with posts from the archives, written in 2016 but for some reason, never posted!

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, Friday, August 5, 2016

With the reconstruction going on at the former U.S. Mint, home of the previous Satchmo Summerfest, the French Quarter Festivals Inc. had to get creative and fit the whole shebang into Jackson Square.

16th Annual Satchmo Summerfest

12 PM Friday, August 5, 2016
Red Beans and Rice Stage, the Preservation Hall Brass Band.
This is the most widely known and popular traditional jazz band in New Orleans. As with brass bands, the rumble of the bass drum and the oomph of the tuba laid a foundation for the harmony of the trombone, trumpet, clarinet, banjo, and saxophone.

The 2016 Satchmo Summerfest has officially begun. Every band today will play songs made popular by Louis Armstrong. The last song of the Preservation Hall Brass Band is a salute to the legacy of Louis Armstrong with the unique flavor, often imitated but never quite matched - quite the same way as it is played in the bars, parks, and dancehalls from Frenchmen Street two out-of-the-way places all over town.

1 PM Chop Suey Stage: Miss Sophie Lee, popular singer at The Spotted Cat on Frenchman Street accompanied by piano, guitar, piano and bass serves up a wonderful tapas of traditional songs.

"That's When The Heartache Begins," slow tempo; "Blue
Skies," up-tempo, with a great guitar solo, remind me that the guitar and banjo have status in traditional New Orleans music. The whole set features the usual tight New Orleans arrangement.

"Why Must You Be Mean to Me," slow swing. Sophie introduces the band. During the entire day I cannot write fast enough to remember the names and instruments of musicians.
"I Will Love You" followed by "I'm Just Found" followed by an upbeat "A-Tisket A-Tasket". By the time she gets to an upbeat "When You're Smiling,” we are all smiling and sweating and feeling the Louis Armstrong vibe.

Next, an upbeat "It Don't Mean a Thing.” No drum set on the stage, the standup bass, deep and resonant, sustains the beat. The sound system for this act and all similar bands is just the right volume, no need for your plugs and the standup bass and guitar do a great job of pulsing the beat.

A taped announcement by trumpeter Leroy Jones acknowledges a long list of sponsors, takes two minutes to read. The weekend is supported by organizations of all stripes all over town.

About 26,000 attended from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.
http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2016/08/satchmo_summerfest_2016_attend.html

1:45 PM Red Beans and Rice Stage, Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

When you get near New Orleans brass bands you don't just hear them, you feel them right down to the marrow in your bones. I could feel The Dirty Dozen Brass Band all the way across Jackson Square as I entered the park. Trumpets are king down here but those big ass bass and snare drums and tubas are alpha instruments. Trumpets feed off them. Brass bands down here don't feel they're doing their job unless they see you dancing.

"Get up, you're in New Orleans!" The leader says to the crowd, many of whom are sitting on the grass or in camp chairs, as he peers from the stage. It's 90°F and the humidity is so high that when you walk if feels like you're wading through a bathtub. No matter, this guy wants us to get up and shake our booties. All of a sudden, we are in a call and response mode and for all the world we could be testifying at a Sunday morning church service.

"Say Satchmo," he shouts over the ratatatat of the drums and pealsof trumpets. "This is New Orleans! We make music in the hot! We make food in the hot! We make you know what in the hot!" Not long after that the music inexplicably stops – there's a call for a doctor, a musician has collapsed. Later, the leader says, “Kurt has been with us since he was 16, it's 100° out there, make sure you all drink water.”

2:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Tornado Brass Band

“The Rebirth Brass Band can blow the shingles off of a house, “ says the leader with chuckle. "We call this the quiet band," he says as a way of introduction.

Their songs included smooth versions of “Wonderful World,” “You Are My Sunshine.”
When it comes to "When the Saints Go Marching In" this band is not so quiet. The repartee between the band members between numbers is hilarious sometimes even during the songs. This kind of banter is one of the endearing things about music in this town, at least between traditional bands like the Tornados.

3 PM Bill Summers and the JazzSalsa Band, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

An Afro- Caribbean Latin funk band switches genres with great elan. They finish with "Caravan" and Carlos Santana’s "Jingoloba." The African call and response chants incorporated into the music gave the performance a resonance that must have been familiar to many in the audience.

4:45 PM The Shotgun Jazz Band at the Chop Suey Stage. OOPS NO PHOTOS!

If Odetta Sang is kind of music she might sound like band leader Marla Dixon. In a city with hundreds of female singers, Dixon has a style all her own. Dixon on trumpet is accompanied by trombone, clarinet, banjo, bass. “Breathe,” easy swing tempo; "I'll Take You Home Cathleen" an old Irish reel that has been around a long time and this kind of genre jumping is one of the reasons Dixon is in a league of her own.

“How about some blues?” Dixon asks rhetorically, “I think it was by Tampa Red,” and indeed it was. Old time lyrics, it swings low and hard and Dixon’s got the lip to torch these songs into embers. If this did not get your hips moving you might be dead. I can probably say that for most of the music I heard today. There is no linear set list, Dixon glances down at a list then takes a stab.

Along comes ‘In the Gloaming” Stand up bass player Tyler Thompson sings "My Old Kentucky Home." “We might be running a little late, I think it will be OK, they probably already cut the check."

Next, an awesome sax solo (I wish I could remember the song), the bass player and the banjo player hold the baseline and underpin the beat. Next, "Shake It and Break It," the original version, Dixon says. She directs solos and signals the end with a wave of her hand. Next, "Whenever You're Lonesome, Telephone Me." With that, she concludes by thanking Louis Armstrong, the sponsors, and us in the audience. She’s the bomb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34VJzHT9nuk

5:30 PM The Soul Rebels, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

 

Cross a New Orleans traditional brass band with a side of funk and you get the Soul rebels. By now we’re bathing in a blanket of humidity at about the same temperature as our own bodies. All day long people have found respite in the shade and one of the positive assets so Jackson Square is that there are plenty of trees under which to get it. A given in New Orleans is you just never hear them complaining about the heat.

Spectators fan themselves the old fashioned way As they stand around the stage or sit in the ubiquitous camp chairs or spread out on blankets all over the park. My hands are so wet with perspiration that ink is smeared all over my notebook.

Can you imagine a brass band like The Soul Rebels can sing a song like "sweet dreams are made of this" and that by the end of the song, the bandleader as us all singing along. It is beyond me how the band can switch gears and tempo and play as tight as they do – brass, reeds, percussion– The bandleader flashes his hand with different number of fingers, sort of like a quarterback, and a band sees what he wants and who is going to solo and when the song is going to end.

6:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band


Talk about making a homage to Louis, "Muskrat Ramble," "is a peach of a rendition.

Who are these guys? Here comes "Down the Mississippi to New Orleans" in four-time?
Yolanda Winter begins to solo, totally awesome. She introduces "Shine," the lyrics are important, the bandleader said it was one of Lewis favorite songs. Louis was ahead of his time with this not so subtle song about his skin color, one that he certainly felt and certainly lived.

This band is having fun, they joke around when they mess up an introduction, The leader says "We haven't worked together for a week. It's a good thing you can't hear what we're saying appear off mic!”
Bandleader says they're going to play a Louis Armstrong classic but with a different groove and play "What a Wonderful World" with a Rumba beat…really fetching.
“The next song is one of my favorites, my grandfather wrote it,” says the leader and here comes "Why Don't You Go down to New Orleans" upbeat almost with a waltz beat.

Wonders never cease around here.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, Friday, August 5, 2016

Getting ready for this year's Satchmo Summerfest with posts from the archives, written in 2016 but for some reason, never posted!

Satchmo Summerfest: Jackson Square, Friday, August 5, 2016

With the reconstruction going on at the former U.S. Mint, home of the previous Satchmo Summerfest, the French Quarter Festivals Inc. had to get creative and fit the whole shebang into Jackson Square.

16th Annual Satchmo Summerfest

12 PM Friday, August 5, 2016
Red Beans and Rice Stage, the Preservation Hall Brass Band.
This is the most widely known and popular traditional jazz band in New Orleans. As with brass bands, the rumble of the bass drum and the oomph of the tuba laid a foundation for the harmony of the trombone, trumpet, clarinet, banjo, and saxophone.

The 2016 Satchmo Summerfest has officially begun. Every band today will play songs made popular by Louis Armstrong. The last song of the Preservation Hall Brass Band is a salute to the legacy of Louis Armstrong with the unique flavor, often imitated but never quite matched - quite the same way as it is played in the bars, parks, and dancehalls from Frenchmen Street two out-of-the-way places all over town.

1 PM Chop Suey Stage: Miss Sophie Lee, popular singer at The Spotted Cat on Frenchman Street accompanied by piano, guitar, piano and bass serves up a wonderfully tapas of traditional songs.

"That's When The Heartache Begins," slow tempo; "Blue
Skies," up-tempo, with a great guitar solo, remind me that the guitar and banjo have status in traditional New Orleans music. The whole set features the usual tight New Orleans arrangement.

"Why Must You Be Mean to Me," slow swing. Sophie introduces the band. During the entire day I cannot write fast enough to remember the names and instruments of musicians.
"I Will Love You" followed by "I'm Just Found" followed by an upbeat "A-Tisket A-Tasket". By the time she gets to an upbeat "When You're Smiling,” we are all smiling and sweating and feeling the Louis Armstrong vibe.

Next, an upbeat "It Don't Mean a Thing.” No drum set on the stage, the standup bass, deep and resonant, sustains the beat. The sound system for this act and all similar bands is just the right volume, no need for your plugs and the standup bass and guitar do a great job of pulsing the beat.

A taped announcement by trumpeter Leroy Jones acknowledges a long list of sponsors, takes two minutes to read. The weekend is supported by organizations of all stripes all over town.

About 26,000 attended from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon.
http://www.nola.com/festivals/index.ssf/2016/08/satchmo_summerfest_2016_attend.html

1:45 PM Red Beans and Rice Stage, Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

When you get near New Orleans brass bands you don't just hear them, you feel them right down to the marrow in your bones. I could feel The Dirty Dozen Brass Band all the way across Jackson Square as I entered the park. Trumpets are king down here but those big ass bass and snare drums and tubas are alpha instruments. Trumpets feed off them. Brass bands down here don't feel they're doing their job unless they see you dancing.

"Get up, you're in New Orleans!" The leader says to the crowd, many of whom are sitting on the grass or in camp chairs, as he peers from the stage. It's 90°F and the humidity is so high that when you walk if feels like you're wading through a bathtub. No matter, this guy wants us to get up and shake our booties. All of a sudden, we are in a call and response mode and for all the world we could be testifying at a Sunday morning church service.

"Say Satchmo," he shouts over the ratatatat of the drums and pealsof trumpets. "This is New Orleans! We make music in the hot! We make food in the hot! We make you know what in the hot!" Not long after that the music inexplicably stops – there's a call for a doctor, a musician has collapsed. Later, the leader says, “Kurt has been with us since he was 16, it's 100° out there, make sure you all drink water.”

2:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Tornado Brass Band

“The Rebirth Brass Band can blow the shingles off of a house, “ says the leader with chuckle. "We call this the quiet band," he says as a way of introduction.

Their songs included smooth versions of “Wonderful World,” “You Are My Sunshine.”
When it comes to "When the Saints Go Marching In" this band is not so quiet. The repartee between the band members between numbers is hilarious sometimes even during the songs. This kind of banter is one of the endearing things about music in this town, at least between traditional bands like the Tornados.

3 PM Bill Summers and the JazzSalsa Band, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

An Afro- Caribbean Latin funk band switches genres with great elan. They finish with "Caravan" and Carlos Santana’s "Jingoloba." The African call and response chants incorporated into the music gave the performance a resonance that must have been familiar to many in the audience.

4:45 PM The Shotgun Jazz Band at the Chop Suey Stage. OOPS NO PHOTOS!

If Odetta Sang is kind of music she might sound like band leader Marla Dixon. In a city with hundreds of female singers, Dixon has a style all her own. Dixon on trumpet is accompanied by trombone, clarinet, banjo, bass. “Breathe,” easy swing tempo; "I'll Take You Home Cathleen" an old Irish reel that has been around a long time and this kind of genre jumping is one of the reasons Dixon is in a league of her own.

“How about some blues?” Dixon asks rhetorically, “I think it was by Tampa Red,” and indeed it was. Old time lyrics, it swings low and hard and Dixon’s got the lip to torch these songs into embers. If this did not get your hips moving you might be dead. I can probably say that for most of the music I heard today. There is no linear set list, Dixon glances down at a list then takes a stab.

Along comes ‘In the Gloaming” Stand up bass player Tyler Thompson sings "My Old Kentucky Home." “We might be running a little late, I think it will be OK, they probably already cut the check."

Next, an awesome sax solo (I wish I could remember the song), the bass player and the banjo player hold the baseline and underpin the beat. Next, "Shake It and Break It," the original version, Dixon says. She directs solos and signals the end with a wave of her hand. Next, "Whenever You're Lonesome, Telephone Me." With that, she concludes by thanking Louis Armstrong, the sponsors, and us in the audience. She’s the bomb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34VJzHT9nuk

5:30 PM The Soul Rebels, Red Beans and Ricely Yours Stage

 

Cross a New Orleans traditional brass band with a side of funk and you get the Soul rebels. By now we’re bathing in a blanket of humidity at about the same temperature as our own bodies. All day long people have found respite in the shade and one of the positive assets so Jackson Square is that there are plenty of trees under which to get it. A given in New Orleans is you just never hear them complaining about the heat.

Spectators fan themselves the old fashioned way As they stand around the stage or sit in the ubiquitous camp chairs or spread out on blankets all over the park. My hands are so wet with perspiration that ink is smeared all over my notebook.

Can you imagine a brass band like The Soul Rebels can sing a song like "sweet dreams are made of this" and that by the end of the song, the bandleader as us all singing along. It is beyond me how the band can switch gears and tempo and play as tight as they do – brass, reeds, percussion– The bandleader flashes his hand with different number of fingers, sort of like a quarterback, and a band sees what he wants and who is going to solo and when the song is going to end.

6:45 PM Chop Suey Stage, The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band


Talk about making a homage to Louis, "Muskrat Ramble," "is a peach of a rendition.

Who are these guys? Here comes "Down the Mississippi to New Orleans" in four-time?
Yolanda Winter begins to solo, totally awesome. She introduces "Shine," the lyrics are important, the bandleader said it was one of Lewis favorite songs. Louis was ahead of his time with this not so subtle song about his skin color, one that he certainly felt and certainly lived.

This band is having fun, they joke around when they mess up an introduction, The leader says "We haven't worked together for a week. It's a good thing you can't hear what we're saying appear off mic!”
Bandleader says they're going to play a Louis Armstrong classic but with a different groove and play "What a Wonderful World" with a Rumba beat…really fetching.
“The next song is one of my favorites, my grandfather wrote it,” says the leader and here comes "Why Don't You Go down to New Orleans" upbeat almost with a waltz beat.

Wonders never cease around here.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

The Greater Boston Intergenerational Chorus: Eclectic, Vibrant, Joyful Community of Singers

The Greater Boston Intergenerational Chorus
Directed by Joanne Hammil
Piano accompanist Martha Leader
First Parish Church, 35 Church Street
Watertown, MA
May 22, 2016

Late afternoon sunlight filters through the windows of the worship/meeting hall of the First Parish Church in Watertown, MA. Five red oak risers lead up to a proscenium stage at one end of the airy rectangular space. An impressively large grand piano, its lid tilted open, sits on the top tier of the stage.

By 3:55 PM, the 150 comfortable chairs arranged auditorium style are occupied and an SRO crowd has begun finding good vantage points. Whatever’s going to happen here has created quite a buzz.

At 4:03 PM, seventy-five members of the Greater Boston Intergenerational Chorus file into the room and squeeze themselves onto every inch of the risers and stage. Generous applause rings out. Arms pop up like jack in the boxes as friends in the audience wave to the singers who grin and wave right back.

I’d been invited by a neighbor, had no idea what to expect, but the sense of excitement and anticipation is contagious. I settle in for the ride.

“We are about to bring you an eclectic repertoire this afternoon,” chorus director Joanne Hammil announces. Boy oh boy, did they ever.

The pianist trills a brief introduction and the full vocal range of the Greater Boston Intergenerational Chorus cuts through the still air with a joyous upbeat rendition of  “Michael Rowed That Gospel Boat.”

“I modified the original spiritual, originally a work song sung by slaves as they rowed from St. Helena Island to mainland South Carolina after day labor,” Hammil says. This version has a lot more zip than the leisurely gather ‘round the campfire kumbaya version I learned in college.

The afternoon’s program is filled with songs from Hebrew liturgy, the American Songbook, pop music, a Ghanaian folk song based on an Arabic spiritual, a Xhosa chant sung alternately in Xhosa and English, a goofy parody of  “My Way’, and a medley of Oldies that a bunch of the elder members of the audience know by heart.

Based on Hammil’s selections, the chorus could be re-named The Greater Boston Intergenerational Intercontinental Interfaith Goodtime Chorus.

Every song features soloists, alone, in pairs or trios. The group will not be confused with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in artistic ability but bow to no chorus in enthusiasm and the joy of performing as a unit.  This is where the allure of the chorus stands out.

By the time they cruise into “Piano Man” and “Salaam Alaikum” in the middle of the program, I realize that having perfect pitch is not a defining requirement but singing with heart certainly is.

Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” rearranged by Hamill is a hoot. The chorus by now is in full showcase mode, with the mic being passed to eight soloists from twenty something to sixty something, who sing their parts with gusto.

Hammil takes a moment to describe the chorus while the singers behind her catch their breaths.

“We are open to ages from 10 to 110 and we have a blast together. We meet once a week for an hour and a half, Tuesday nights between 6:30 PM and 8 PM. we usually have twelve to fifteen teenagers, and today we have two.”

“Salaam Alaikum” is a Ghanaian folk song and Arabic spiritual, calm and reflective. As I listen, it feels like the chorus has filled a helium balloon with all the troubling news we read about in the daily news and let go of the string.

A wheelchair-bound woman has just taken a solo. “I have cerebral palsy,” she replies when I ask after the concert. “I’ve been singing with the chorus for two or three years. We practice once a week and I love the friendship in the group. You should try it!”

By the time the chorus has finished Mozart’s  “The List.” I'll bet there are many who have been listening to these troubadours and saying "Geez, I could do that," not necessarily because they’re good at it but because they love music and this group would accept them as long as they keep showing up for rehearsals. This is the antithesis of programs like "The Voice." Everyone here has already won.

"Siyahamba" is an African chant song in alternate verses between English and Xhosa. Loosely translated as “We are walking in the light of hope” it is sung by villagers walked long distances to Sunday services. Spirited and energetic, it has the vigor of a South African spiritual grounded in living with a sense of purpose. Get a sense of the song’s fervent energy sung by a group of school children Hammil directs, check here. 

The chorus has pulled out all the stops, is jamming and clearly walking in their own light of hope. We are bathed in its warmth.

I’m listening to men and women who could be our mail deliverers, bankers, electricians, hair stylists, teachers, and a few young ones who could be our babysitters. Their collective paths would never have crossed if they had not taken a chance on joining the chorus.

Hamill has concocted the perfect conclusion to an afternoon of songs of peace, love, and understanding. She shifts the chorus into overdrive with with a medley of oldies by The Mommas and The Poppas, the Five Satins, and Danny and the Juniors. By now, many in the audience are singing along to the verses of “I’ve Got You Babe,”  “In The Still of the Night,” and “At The Hop.” Heck, lots of them were youngsters when these songs hit the charts.

Hammil's infectious energy, let alone creativity, is completely absorbed by this chorus.  A nationally renowned music educator, performer, songwriter and choral director, her love in the power of music to energize, uplift, and heal is reflected in the faces of this disparate group of singers.

As the last lyrics float to the rafters, the chorus steps off the stage and forms a circle around the audience that feels like a wrap-around hug. Everyone is standing. The Boston Intergenerational Chorus is the embodiment of Hammil’s ideals and they’ve just rubbed off on all of us.

++++++
SET LIST
“Michael Rowed That Gospel Boat” based on a traditional spiritual, new music by Greg Gilpin (modified by Joanne Hammil)
Uplifting spiritual

“Sim Shalom” text Hebrew liturgy, music by Linda Hirschhorn
A down-shift in tone and tempo this piece from Hebrew liturgy, asks to be granted peace, love, and blessings. Three solos by women whose voices reflect the commitment each and all have to the power of music.

“3 Way Canon Blues” words and music by Henry Brant
An up-tempo swing number that puts a charge in the entire ensemble, soloists one at a time then the entire chorus sings it as a round, Hammil puts some extra shoulders to hips body English as she directs and the chorus follows suit with heads and shoulders bobbing and weaving.

“Hills of Grass” words and music by Carolyn McDade, arranged by John Plantinitis
With a sumptuous introduction by piano accompanist Martha Leader, a song celebrating the life giving force of the earth.

“Piano Man”  words and music by Billy Joel, arranged by Joanne Hammil

“Salaam Alaikum” Ghanaian folk song and Arabic spiritual, arranged by JS Kofi Gbolonyo

“Daily List” music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (“O du eselhafter Martin”) new words by Joanne Hammil

“How Could Anyone Ever Tell You” words and music by Libby Roderick, arranged by Peter Amidon
The song features solos, trios, and the entire chorus in three-part harmony, the connective power of love.

“Siyahambra” composer unknown, South African Xhosa language
Loosely translated, “We are walking in the light of hope,” sung as villagers walked long distances to Sunday services., Spirited energetic song with the vigor of a South African spiritual.

“Their Way” ( A parody of “My Way”) original music and words by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaur, Claude Francois ; English lyrics of “My Way” by Paul Anka; parody lyrics of “Their Way” by Bob Blue; choral arrangement by Joanne Hammil, very amusing.

“This Moment (is really all that anyone has, this moment, it's not about the future or the past, it's just this moment, you give your soul a gift )” words and music by Joanne Hammil, a brief reflective piece extolling the Zen moment, it feels like we're all in the moment together.

“Oldies Medley” arranged by Joanne Hammil
“You Baby” by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri
“In The Still of the Night” originally sung by the Five Satins, words by Fred Parris
“At the Hop” originally sung by Danny and the Juniors, words by Arthur Singer, John Medora, Davi White

Sung with panache, the audience singing along, a feel-good upbeat way to satisfy all and a calling card for possible recruits to see how damn much fun it is to sing in this group.

According to the Boston Choral Consortium, there are eighty choral groups in the greater Boston area. If you’ve got a hankering to sing, there’s one in this list that will be perfect for you.

Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.

2016 Gator By The Bay Zydeco, Blues and Crawfish Festival

Gator By The Bay Zydeco, Blues and Crawfish Festival - 15th Annual
May 5-9, 2016
Spanish Landing Park (across from San Diego Airport)
San Diego, CA

Gator By The Bay never disappoints.

We’re talking San Diego in May. Sunny, 70s, low humidity, breeze blowing on shore from San Diego Bay. Beats Boston’s bone chilling March and beginning of April.

We’re talking about the promoters of this event who know how to sniff out talent from the big names to fabulous bands that no one outside San Diego has ever heard of. Thousands of people fork over $35 just to spend the day in camp chairs or on hay bales strategically placed around three of the four stages just to listen.

We’re talking about a Mother’s Day dance mecca so good that a legion of moms spend it right here. The hell with the flowers. Give them a good six or eight beat count and they will feel the love whether their spouses or kids are here or not.

We’re talking dancers who pencil in next year’s Gator By The Bay weekend the day after they return home from this one. Why? Swing, Rock 'n Roll, Rockabilly, Country, Zydeco, Cajun, Blues, Americana, New Orleans funk, Latin, and, I kid you not, Gypsy Alt that feels like you’ve just discovered a gypsy caravan at a roadside stand…that’s why.

We’re talking food. A hundred yard stretch in the middle of the park with the smoke and smell of Louisiana food that will fuel you up for hours of dancing. And sweet stuff, as in Funnel Cakes, pecan pie, and hot powdery beignets that remind you of Café du Monde. Judging by the lines, a huge contingent has come here to feast on po’boys, sweet potato fries, red beans and rice; jambalaya; seafood, chicken and gator gumbo, shrimp or crawfish étouffée, boudin and andouille sausage; fried catfish, hush puppies, corn on the cob and more.

We’re talking sprawling grassy areas sprinkled with young families with kids in tow, couples, jugglers, hula hoopers and picnickers lounging on blankets and beach chairs.

We’re talking about a Monet blue view of San Diego Marina dotted with sailboats moored and afloat.

We’re talking dance fiends who think nothing of getting on a plane or taking a half day’s drive or more to spend time with others for whom music and dancing are like meditation, yoga,  and flirty foreplay wrapped into one glorious grand ol’ time which fits the event slogan: “If you’re smiling, you’re doing it right.”

Fatigue sets in after six hours of dancing on Saturday. It’s 6:00 PM. Two hours to go. My legs say, “Pack it in, PT.” A band at one of the four stages launches a slinky blues song. A woman standing next to me extends her hand. An endorphin afterburner kicks in. The Gator By The Bay has swallowed me whole.

+++++++++ Photo section

Spanish Landing Park, a sliver of parkland between one of the marinas in San Diego Bay and the San Diego Airport right behind it. The Festival Stage pavilion and the Mardi Gras Stage pavilion. Two smaller stages, the Fountain Stage and the Bourbon Stage, each with a dance area, are between these two pavilions.

Impromptu dancing may break out anywhere.

Recreation, relaxation, and playtime for one and all.

 A walk from the east end to the west end of the park, shimmering water of the marina in sight the whole way.

   
Bayou Grove tent where musicians talk about their craft; the Festival Stage during a quiet moment.

 

Fill up your plate then find a cool place to sit down and enjoy it...walk along the row of vendor tents.
 
View of San Diego skyline, San Diego Bay, Coronado Island,  from 11th floor of the Sheraton Marina Hotel - note the USS Gerald R. Ford, the newest super-carrier in the US Navy fleet, docked at Coronado Island.

 Photos by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.