Do Whatcha Wanna

It’s Mardi Gras.  At my desk, it’s been a constant stream of New Orleans musicians playing.  If you watched HBO’s Treme then this week’s post will be mostly refresher.  For those looking to expand their American musical knowledge then follow through and read what I like to call “this is what I like; if you don’t like it then suck it.”  No disrespect.

An easy place to start is with something you already kinda know, and by that, you can’t go wrong with Malcolm John “Mac” Rebennack, Jr.  or Dr. John.  With his national success coming in 1973, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a classic-rock station that doesn’t occasionally play “Right Place, Wrong Time.”  That said, it’s a bit a product of its time…leaning heavily on pre-disco-inspired rhythms and post 60’s psychedelia.  A better album to get the full flavor of New Orleans music would be the predecessor of that album: “Dr John’s Gumbo.”  It’s a collection of reimagined New Orleans Standards done in a respectful, but obviously 70’s pop-influenced way but isn’t saccharine sweet about it.  Delish.

Something more modern perhaps?  Check out Troy Andrew’s (Trombone Shorty) 2010 release “Backatown.”  It’s a mix of big brass riffs and more urban lyrics with some hip-hop and a heavy dose of NOLA R&B and funk.  The entire album absolutely invites you to grab a beer and do some private dancing as it is heavily funkified and groovalicious.  Good driving music.  If you like big horn power chords and electric trombone then you will certainly dig on this album.

How about new plus old?  Louis Armstrong has long been synonymous with both Jazz and New Orleans.  Born there in 1901, Satchmo was the face of Jazz heritage in this country while he was alive not only for his horn playing, but also for his personality and that gravelly voice.  So important he was to NOLA that the jazz neighborhood (the Treme) in New Orleans is bordered on one side by a park named in his honor.  That said, you’d be hard-pressed to see him perform live since he’s been dead since 1971.  Instead, check out Kermit Ruffins.  Dude was just a horn player in the progressive Rebirth Brass Band, which was largely a bunch of kids playing music on the street after school.  While Rebirth is still around today, Kermit outgrew them and has succeeded as the front man of his own group, the Barbecue Swingers (name taken because Kermit can also cook some mean BBQ, and would, on Thursdays, before his shows at Vaughan’s).  Kermit largely plays standards, much like Louis Armstrong would, and has the vocal chops to carry the performances.  New York Times wrote, “Mr. Ruffins is an unabashed entertainer who plays trumpet with a bright, silvery tone, sings with off-the-cuff charm and never gets too abstruse in his material.”  While he ended his weekly gig at Vaughan’s in 2013, that’s still where I’d start.  Get a 2007 taste of Thursday nights with Kermit through his album coincidentally named “Live at Vaughan’s.”

The above is great recorded, but all absolutely will incinerate your faces during a live performance.  As will about 100 other groups I could mention here, but didn’t in the interest of pseudo-brevity (write me and I’ll hook you up with more NOLA music).  Once you tamp the flames down a bit, you’ll be able to fully appreciate how the recordings don’t do the performers justice…hence our periodic pilgrimage to New Orleans for their Jazz and Heritage Festival always held during the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May.  In addition to the “native” musicians, this year will be showcasing this guitarist from England who enjoyed a bit of 60’s, 70’s and 80’s popularity…oh, and 90’s and …it’s Eric Clapton.  Small San Francisco band Santana, and Vermont staple Phish will headline different nights as well, but there are hundreds of other performances including Mardi Gras Indians and gospel choirs and brass bands and jazz groups and folk musicians and…you get the point.  And, after the last trip where I ran my father-in-law and brother-in-law around southern Utah in a whirlwind tour of the National Parks there, I’m ready for a vacation! 

P.S.  If you’re at Mardi Gras and need a potty…check this out!

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