BIRTHDAY It was refreshing to read a researched article on 100-year-old Lionel Ferbos. I liked it so much I reprinted 200 copies and distributed them for his Palm Court birthday party. He deserves all this and more. Sorry he wasn’t on your July cover. —Sue Hall, New Orleans, LA FRENCHMEN VS. BOURBON As a professional [...]
Tag Archives: Wynton Marsalis
Locking Horns: When Miles Davis Met Wynton Marsalis
August 1, 2011 – 12:15 am
In hip-hop, they call it “beef.” Someone’s slight at a summer festival leads to another’s mixtape verse and the next thing you know, the Internet bubbles, posses squabble, and spectators pick sides to make art into sport. A mini-industry swirls around “beef,” generating album sales, DVDs, and entire careers out of he said/he said narratives. [...]
Irvin Mayfield, A Love Letter to New Orleans (Basin Street Records)
May 1, 2011 – 12:50 am
Irvin Mayfield has called his tutelage under Wynton Marsalis “probably the largest influence on my life.” Adopting the Wynton model of jazz musician as historian/entrepreneur/statesman, Mayfield has evolved into a Grammy winner, club owner, cultural ambassador, and board chair, all before his 34th birthday. With the addition of “author” to his ever-expanding brand portfolio comes [...]
Rehearsal
April 1, 2011 – 12:07 am
Photographer: Ingrid Hertfelder I captured this image of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra together with the Boys Choir of Harlem in December 2004 during my internship at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where part of my job was to document the rehearsals. I like this shot for a number of reasons. Some of which [...]
Perpetuating Jazz
January 5, 2011 – 4:25 pm
Had a surprise visit from Harold Battiste, Jr., who is one of my favorite people in the world. Harold is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger and entrepreneur who has been featured many times on OffBeat’s pages. He has the distinction of having received the Best of The Beat Award for a Lifetime in Music, Music [...]
Louisiana’s Grammy Hopefuls Have the Blues
December 2, 2010 – 11:34 am
While Eminem, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry were some of the bigger names recognized at the Grammy nominations ceremony last night, Louisiana owned the Contemporary Blues Album category. Traditional Louisiana Grammy nominees Lil Wayne, Terence Blanchard and Irma Thomas are on the bench this year, but television gives Louisiana some of its best [...]
The Marsalis Family, Music Redeems (Marsalis Records)
September 1, 2010 – 12:56 am
The family band has been a cornerstone of the American entertainment industry since the 19th Century, when singing families became the first domestic music stars. There’s something magic about the way blood relatives interact with each other spiritually and instinctively rather than technically. This is even more important in the African-American music tradition, in which [...]
Teacher, Musician Clyde Kerr, Jr. Dies
August 9, 2010 – 1:13 pm
Renowned trumpet player and influential teacher Clyde Kerr, Jr. died Friday after battling an illness in recent months. He was 67. A native of Treme and graduate of St. Augustine High School and Xavier University, Kerr has played with many national and local performers including the Jackson Five, Aretha Franklin, The O’Jays, Tony Bennett, Jackie [...]
Marsalis Family Named NEA Jazz Masters
July 2, 2010 – 11:12 am
The Marsalis Family – Ellis, Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason – are the first family to be named en masse Jazz Masters by the NEA. They’re the first family to receive what has previously been an individual honor; also recognized with 2011 Jazz Masters recognition are Hubert Laws, David Liebman, Johnny Mandel and producer Orrin Keepnews. [...]
A Homegrown Christmas
December 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
New Orleans and Louisiana have produced more Christmas music than people realize. Here are the highlights, all of which are available at Louisiana Music Factory or online music services: Johnny Adams: Christmas in New Orleans (Mardi Gras): Adams is still in fine voice late in his career, and his “Sleigh Bells” is one of the [...]
