History is made every moment, but often we miss significant moments because at the time the events seem to be commonplace and nothing special. Dave Bartholomew is the progenitor of New Orleans rhythm and blues as a national force. For too long, Dave Bartholomew’s phenomenal and seminal contributions to New Orleans music have been ignored [...]
Now that America’s music industry is once again paying attention to New Orleans music, the question is when will New Orleans pay attention? At the 32nd annual Grammy Awards, New Orleans artists won in four categories: Aaron Neville (with Linda Ronstadt) for best pop duo, Dr. John (with Rickie Lee Jones) for best jazz vocal [...]
Aaron Neville, born January 24, 1941, is “the” voice of New Orleans. In a city that has a long history of diverse song stylists—from the early originators such as Louis Armstrong in jazz and Mahalia Jackson in gospel, to distinctive and influential R&B shouters such as Professor Longhair and Fats Domino, to generations of major [...]
Although most people do not associate New Orleans with modern jazz, there is a modern jazz scene here. Thanks to the ascendency of Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., and, to a lesser extent, Branford Marsalis and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, jazz fans are beginning to want to know more about the modern Jazz scene [...]
(The final of a three part series on Modern Brass Band music. Read parts one and two.) By the late 80s three distinct schools of modem brass band music had developed among the young musicians. Each of the three schools has its own flag bearer. DIRTY DOZEN—BEBOP BASED. In previous articles, we discussed the [...]
(The second of a three part series on Modern Brass Band music. Read parts one and three.) Jazz historian and clarinetist Dr. Michael White is the author of “The New Orleans Brass Band in the Twentieth Century: Nature, Style, and Social Significance” a definitively important essay on brass band that offers the best definition of [...]
(The first of a three-part series on Modern Brass Band music. Read parts two and three.) St. Clair Bourne, an African-American filmmaker with over 30 documentaries and features to his credit, recently completed a documentary on Brass Band music in New Orleans for National Geographic. While working as location coordinator on the film, I gained [...]
