Here is an interview with Ran Blake in the Boston Globe ahead of a concert to be held in celebration of his 75th birthday. John Medeski is the guest interviewer. Ran was an influential mentor of John’s when he was a student at the New England Conservatory. Ran has been a professor in the third stream music department for over 40 years alongside Gunther Schuller and George Russell. He is an avant-garde jazz piano player, composer and educator known for his “primacy of the ear” teaching philosophy.
Herbie Hancock is among the musicians I hold in the highest regard. He is one of my favorite piano players, but beyond that represents my ideals of artistry. His career is distinguished not only by the many icons that have been his peers, but also by the breadth of genre and style that he has so comfortably and willingly explored; he is a true chameleon (sorry, it was right there and I couldn’t resist). He is also a champion of cultural exchange and respect and has always been a strong voice for the power of music to be a transformative force to affect both personal and social change. His latest endeavor, The Imagine Project, is an excellent example of his commitment to bond cultures and spread enlightenment.
It is widely known and nearly universally agreed by fans of New Orleans music that Troy Andrews, known as Trombone Shorty, is the most gifted crescent city musician of his generation and a promising beacon in a musical lineage as thick as the roux that has flavored its rich tradition. On his debut solo cd, Backatown, on Verve Records, he embraces the uncertain challenge of trying to sell himself (and his well-honed, funky-ass band – only a few holiday dinners removed from the kids’ table) to a mainstream audience with no grasp of his deep roots or prodigal talent, while remaining true to both. In practical terms, this means short tunes, no extended solos and radio-friendly production techniques, when a live-in-the-studio-jamin’-like-its-jazzfest concept would have played to his strengths and satiated his established fanbase.The choice of Ben Ellman as the producer in this effort was a critical step towards fulfilling this ambition. They have played on many stages together, and with the last two Galactic outings and his Gypsyphonic Disko mix-tape, Ben has proclaimed himself an ardent and imaginitive producer committed to finding an authoritative voice for New Orleans musicans in the American pop music discourse so often a dysfunctional talkfest between the deaf and dumb.
Backatown opens with “Hurricane Season,” the first of many scorching instrumental tracks, with all of the horn-driven excitement of a brass band shout chorus over a thunderous bass line and swanky NOLA-phonic backbeat that would light up Frenchman street any night of the week. Next, Allen Toussaint knuckles some piano on a tune he wrote, “On Your Way Down” – a sweet, laconic, bubbly groove with some simple, tasty harmonic movement and the amusing refrain: “well, it’s high time that you found, the same people you walk on, on the way up, you might meet on your way down.” For the most part, the cd alternates dutifully between instrumental and vocal tracks. Shorty is joined on vocals by guests Lenny Kravitz on “Something Beautiful” and Marc Broussard on “Right To Complain”. All of the tunes are powered by a supafunky, in-ya-face rhythm section dripping with in-the-pocket, ballsy, contrapuntal horn lines – this is not your daddy’s Verve Records release, but the confidence, craftsmanship and relentless badassness on display throughout stands with the best of that historic catalog.
Sonically, Backatown is as radio-friendly a rock album as anything you’ll hear with your FM dial tuned between 101 and 107. This is no 2:1 affair; the drums, bass and guitars are compressed and mixed with the intention of putting the listener back on his/her heals. Despite the heavy production, the groove never loses it’s live feel even when the drums are gated and processed to sound like a drum machine. The horn production is bombastic and fantastic. Forget blending in – they leave me wondering how it is possible that the power of a horn section has not been on the forefront of the hard rock sound for the last 20 years. Finally, the vocal production does not suffer from being an after thought on a great instrumental record. Many of the standard rock/pop vocal production techniques are here, with the thankful exception of the pandemic “really? I mean really!?!” Melodyne effect. Some soulful phrasing and well-mixed doubling sell me on Shorty as a vocalist. Everything to do with production on this cd seems intent on kicking ass – and does it with conviction. Once again, Ben Ellman shows himself as uniquely able to produce contemporary New Orleans funk within the mainstream rock aesthetic without coming up short on either end.
In today’s homoginized, temporal culture, a generation of musicians in New Orleans including Trombone Shorty, Galactic, Dumpstaphunk, and the Rebirth Brass Band are branching off a deep-rooted tradition, with the hard-earned respect of those that came before them, and reasserting the city’s important influence on the American musical landscape. No one represents the depth of that tradition or the urgency of that cultural promise more than Trombone Shorty. On his debut solo cd, we are introduced to an artist who’s vision is fueled by a youthful, vibrant exuberance and tempered by tremendous maturity, clarity and confidence. This recording succeeds in bringing Trombone Shorty to a mainstream audience without alienating or disappointing his existing fanbase who for years have been eagerly following his performances during jazzfest and packing Orleans Avenue shows around the country. Deep funk astronomers will herald this disk as the birth of new a rock star. And without a doubt it will be part of the constellation that guides my bbq this summer! Buy it on Amazon
This is a great track from a legendary blind guitar player from New Orleans, Snooks Eaglin, who died last year about a month before jazzfest. The song was written by Dave Bartholomew. I love his classic harmonic movement. If you caught the first episode of Treme on HBO recently, it was his box set that Davis grabbed from Tower Records. We added this to the gumbo brothers’ repertoire about a month ago and it has been in my head many times since.
RootDownFM is absolutely the coolest listening spot on the web if you like funk, jazz, soul, latin, hip-hop, reggae, afrobeat, boogaloo. It is a subscription service powered by Live365. Live 24/7, 72 hours no-repeat, and no ads. It is a fantastic mix of classic cuts and new music from independent artists all carefully chosen by the folks running the joint. I even heard a Gumbo Brothers track last night!
“My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now” is the track that introduced me to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (wikipedia) 20 something years ago. I heard it on a Boston radio station – probably WERS or WGBH, but I can’t remember. What I do remember is that it blew me away. I was a kid in high school playing saxophone and getting into jazz records, but they were mostly bebop and post-bop (the stuff on Riverside, Columbia, Blue Note, Impulse). This is one of the things that turned me on to a whole new sound and gave me some understanding of why New Orleans has such a unique place in the history of American music and culture. It’s a funky groove!
I have heard these guys live many times in Los Angeles and during a great performance at last year’s jazzfest with Rebirth Brass Band and Trombone Shorty. They always bring the funk.
Here is a cool video with some interview footage:
Another classic Dirty Dozen track, “Ain’t Nothing But A Party” from Bonnaroo 2002:
This is a live version of the gospel tune, “I’ll Fly Away” which they recorded on their Cd, Funeral for a Friend in 2004. The album is in memory of Tuba Fats, the best sousaphone player I have ever heard and one of the funkiest “bass” players ever.
I heard his name mentioned many times over a period of years before I finally heard him. Now, having heard him live with several different bands and listening to him on some fantastic albums, Johnny Vidacovich is one of my favorite drummers. He can drop a mile-wide pocket, add brilliant color, and keep everyone on the edge of their ears listening. Watching him play is amazing – it looks like the drum sticks are balancing on his hands instead of him actually holding them.
Here is a cool clip of Johnny playing with Robert Walter and James Singleton. I heard this band on this tour at the Malibu Inn – they tore the place up.
Here is a conversation with Stanton Moore about New Orleans drummers:
James Booker was a hugely influential New Orleans piano player and unique character that many people don’t seem to know. He sounds great playing stride, boogie-woogie, jazz, R&B – always funky! Harry Connick, Jr. tells great stories about the frequently legally challenged Booker “dropping by” his house (his father was the District Attorney in New Orleans and his mother was a judge) to show him a few things on piano.
I have loved Dr. John since I was about 14 and heard a solo piano version of Blue Monk on a compilation my brother had. These videos are a great example of why. This first tune is “The Mess Around” by Ray Charles.
, on Verve Records, he embraces the 
is the track that introduced me to the 
in 2004. The album is in memory of 
