"We’re like the people’s band," says Bennie Pete, the leader and tuba player of the Hot 8 brass band. "We pay a lot of attention to our followers. They’ll request songs and the next time they hear us we’ll be playing them. That really shakes people up." The Hot 8′s long-awaited debut recording, Rock With [...]
A Living Center of Music
At the end of February, noted trumpeter Dave Douglas arrives in New Orleans for the first time. While he is, of course, aware of the city’s musical heritage, he’s also tuned into its current vibrancy. “For me New Orleans is a living center of music, not just the history,” explains Douglas, who digs in [...]
A Batiste in New York
“It’s freezing,” exclaims Jonathan Batiste, the 18-year-old pianist who recently completed his first semester at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School. While the New Orleans native and member of the notorious musical Batiste family had previously gigged in and visited the Big Apple, this fall marked the first time he’s enjoyed an extended stay. “This place [...]
Abrams Lets the Audience Decide
Abrams Lets The Audience Decide “I never talk about the music before people hear it,” declared pianist/composer Muhal Richard Abrams in answer to a request for a phone interview. Abrams, who performs at the Contemporary Arts Center on December 4, nonetheless graciously chatted for a brief time and explained: “I just leave it for them [...]
Pharoah Sanders Plays What He Feels
Adding to our solid music core, in November major artists fly into the city from around the globe to offer tastes of Brazil, soaring modern jazz and rhythms of Africa. The month begins with the 1st (and we hope annual) Brazilian Festival of New Orleans (November 3 through 7). In honoring multi-instrumentalist and composer extraordinaire [...]
A Season of Jazz
Climatically, New Orleans’ seasons aren’t as distinct as other locales’. However, here musical and cultural times of the year are quite defined. Presently, we are at the start of the second line season with five anniversary parades behind us and about 35 yet to go. It could also be said that the fall proclaims the [...]
Organized Labor
While major festivals held the spotlight for the last several months, neighborhood activities pick up the slack in September. The month kicks off with the much-anticipated Black Men of Labor second line parade on Sunday, September 5. Folks may have already noticed that Sweet Lorraine’s, the group’s St. Claude Avenue headquarters and the spot where [...]
Trolsen’s On The ‘Bone
Rick Trolsen’s latest album, Gringo Do Choro, dances with Brazilian choro music and the works of composer Pixinguinha. To many, the trombonist’s prevailing image is that of a modern jazz musician with tendencies leaning toward the unorthodox – case in point, the 1996 release of Martian Circus Waltz by his group, Neslort. Trolsen often turns [...]
Whence Came Baham
Just like this column, New Orleans native Andrew Baham has one foot in modern jazz and the other in brassy street beats. While a few musicians wander into the two genres, the talented 24-year-old trumpeter dedicates equal energy to both styles. “Actually they work really well together,” assures Baham, who as leader just released his [...]
Battiste For All
Folks still rue over the fact that trumpeter Buddy Bolden, dubbed the “first man of jazz,” was never recorded. Only the imagination can beckon the sound that led to his looming and continued reputation. If only we could hear the essence of his horn and the style of his sway. When Harold Battiste began capturing [...]
