New Orleans Brass Bands S/D

Reading about New Orleans raised Dawn Richards who was in Dannity Kane and is now in Diddy's new group DiddyDirty Money, has me curious about her dad Frank Richard's 1970s New Orleans band Chocolate Milk. I've never heard them. Has anyone here?

http://www.offbeat.com/2010/05/01/chocolate-milk-the-other-funk-band/

I guess no one else here has heard "Chocolate Milk"

The only song of theirs I'm familar with is "Action Speaks Louder Than Words," and that mostly via Galactic's cover. Underheard slab o' synth-y funk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaWx3sbqlFg

Kermit Ruffins, Happy Talk

Christian Scott, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

These 2 made NPR's top 50 albums of the year

Alex Rawls from Offbeat is doing the following presentation at the EMP conference in LA at the end of February:

"Treme Second Line"
What followed when money, notoriety and prestige came to a historically overlooked music community? What dance took place when David Simon came to New Orleans to shoot Treme for HBO? Musicians who have lived in the shadows of Armstrong and the city's R&B greats suddenly found itself in the spotlight, and money was floating around in a way that it rarely has in the past. What happens when everybody - even your neighbor - gets five minutes of screen time? When tourists identify places by what they saw on the show? Less happened than you'd think. The reason why reveals some fundamental truths about New Orleans music.

Since there is no dedicated Jazzfest thread, I'll stick the "highlights" from their just-released schedule here:

Arcade Fire, Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Willie Nelson, The Strokes, Robert Plant, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, Sonny Rollins, John Legend & The Roots, The Avett Brothers, Cyndi Lauper, Wyclef Jean, Mumford & Sons, Alejandro Sanz, Jason Mraz, Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, Lupe Fiasco, Arlo Guthrie, Jamey Johnson, Fantasia, Kenny G, Michael Franti & Spearhead, The Decemberists...

This fest has well and truly jumped the shark for me. Kid Rock and Kenny G?

at least maze is still playing. eh, the best music is never at the festival grounds anyway imo.

money was floating around in a way that it rarely has in the past.

uh, i don't know that the HBO money was that great (from what i heard), but who knows.

(xpost) I love lots of the smaller stage stuff at the fairgrounds, but this just looks like such a crazy hodgepodge of courting the Coachella Crowd with Arcade Fire and The Strokes, coupled with WTF-ness like Tom Jones. I'm amazed there was room for Sonny Rollins on that list.

The promoters like to claim that some of the money from the fest goes to help do stuff for New Orleans bands, but I am a bit skeptical of that.

They still have the same locals- Soul Rebels, Glen Andrews, Trombone Shorty... I wonder if some of the other brass bands made it

http://blog.nola.com/entertainment_impact_music/print.html?entry=/2011/03/herman_ernest_longtime_dr_john.html

Herman Ernest, longtime Dr. John drummer, dies of cancer

Published: Monday, March 07, 2011, 12:41 PM

By Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune

Herman Ernest III, the longtime drummer in Dr. John’s Lower 911 band and a literal and figurative giant of New Orleans funk drumming, died Sunday of cancer at his home. He was 59.

Renowned for his larger-than-life personality, Mr. Ernest, known affectionately as Roscoe, was both a powerful percussionist and steadfast individual. He referred to his playing style as “diesel funk.”

He was featured on most Dr. John recordings going back at least 20 years, as well as on myriad albums by artists across the spectrum of New Orleans music. He starred in a 2004 New Orleans drumming instructional DVD alongside Herlin Riley, Johnny Vidacovich and Earl Palmer.

New Rebirth album on Basin Street coming soon

it's out now, and it's got some cuts

Just wanted to interject that it's pretty frickin' cool that this thread is as long as it is.

RIP Herman Ernest, 59 was way too young, awesomely soulful drummer. (He's also on most of my favorite Snooks Eaglin records.)

http://www.offbeat.com/2011/03/16/donnas-on-rampart-music-license-pulled-by-city/#

excerpt from the Offbeat blogpost by Offbeat editor Jan Ramsey

The new reincarnation of Donna’s Bar & Grill (renamed by new owners as Donna’s on Rampart) lost its license to present live music Monday.

Donna Poniatowski and her husband Charlie Sims closed the property in August. Dr. Eugene Oppman, owner and developer of the Carver Theater on Orleans Avenue, bought the business with the assistance of Morris Kahn, a local tax-credit incentive specialist. The building that Donna’s (the business) occupies at 800 North Rampart, is owned by the Cahn family (they also own the building that used to house the Funky Butt, and the property on Frenchmen where the club Maison is currently located).

Morris Kahn, who represents Oppman, says that he will file a lawsuit within the next two weeks in an attempt to reinstate the license. Kahn told OffBeat that the license he received from the city was legal, but the Board of Zoning Adjustments decided to remove the live entertainment license because they judged that the City had improperly granted the license because the original business “Donna’s” had been closed more than six months, and therefore the live entertainment license was no longer grandfathered in.

“This is nothing more than an attack on the New Orleans culture in our neighborhood, “ said Kahn. “There are a lot of ‘code words’ being used by people who don’t want ‘those people’ in their neighborhood. To say the least, I’m very disappointed at the way this has turned out.”

Leo Watermeier, who lives on North Rampart Street, said “Neighbors, including myself, testified that the new incarnation of Donna’s created major disturbances with its overly-amplified music, open front doors, and outside crowd—whereas the original Donna’s had been a good neighbor. I testified that not once in 17 years had I ever heard Donna’s music in my house or complained to Donna, whereas every night I was being disturbed by the new Donna’s. We had also found that the new owners were unresponsive to our concerns.” Watermeier also said he could personally support “some form of live entertainment at Donna’s, but only under different ownership.”

Festivals coming up: French Quarter April 7 to 10 and then J & H Fest later ....

people who live here and complain about music venues near their houses should be shot in the face.

i mean, that's why v4ugh4n's only has k3rmit ruffins on thursdays. because the worthless cocksucking bywat3r neighborhood association has a hissy fit if there's music on other nights. i would make so much money if v4ugh4n's were like a real week-round music venue.

and i say this as someone who used to live directly next door to snake and jake's, the loud-as-fuck-at-4amiest, coked-out-scumbaggiest, people-passed-out-on-my-stoopiest bar in town. if it's too much, fuckin move.

Leo Watermeier, who lives on North Rampart Street...

You live on dilapidated street that needs all the help it can get to attract, not repel, business and traffic. (And if you claim you never heard the old Donna's once in 17 years, I'm calling bullshit.)

Why does the BNA approve of Thursdays but not weekend nights?

this is before my time at the bar but i've been told there was some legal nonsense that ended in the thursday compromise. other places in the neighborhood have started doing music on other nights but are lower profile and off the radar.

the bna at this point bears no relation to the bna of the mid 90s--the old timers who were the bitchy but ballsy original gentrifier types have given way to young obnoxious children-having yuppie late-to-the-party scumbags. they are awful.

speaking of yuppies/gentrification, how do you feel about all this desire line and river-front park business?

more public transportation and green space? i'm totally down with that.

my basic feeling is that the 9th ward has these basic inconveniences that aren't going away anytime soon--no real grocery store (the closest place to shop is the wal mart in chalmette), the fucking train (which is a block from my house) that for those without cars isolates the neighborhood and for those with cars makes for a decent hassle and is crazy loud and annoying, and the war zone across st claude.

the kind of people that would really ruin the neighborhood (ie mid city people) aren't down with that like essential existential irritation.

over the past 60 years the 9th ward close to the river (the realtor's fiction "bywater") has gone from a white working class neighborhood to a black working class neighborhood to a reasonably mixed working class neighborhood full of weirdos where everyone gets along pretty well. and there are a fuck ton of bars.

back to the issue at hand: free donna's!!

Writer Ned Sublette in New Orleans for 2 events:

The first, Thursday, April 7 at 7 p.m., is at Tulane University's Dinwiddie 102 (if you’re on St. Charles facing Tulane, Dinwiddie is the building on your far right). This will be a talk on "The Making of Afro-Orleans" -- similar to one I gave last fall, but I never do the same talk twice.

The second, Friday, April 8, 6 p.m., will be part of the Critical Educators for Social Justice Conference taking place in New Orleans. This should be a great conference, and in particular I feel honored to have been included in this event at the Community Book Center, 2523 Bayou Rd, New Orleans. Info at http://www.aeracesjsig.org/conference/past/2011/2011sessions.html

It's called "Teaching “Where Ya At”: Historians, Artists, and Veteran Teachers Talk about Making Local Culture and Consciousness Matter in the Curriculum."

Participants: Joyce Marie Jackson, Cultural Anthropologist, Louisiana State University; Kalamu ya Salaam, Poet-Producer-Teacher with Students at the Center; Ned Sublette; Cherise Harrison Nelson, Veteran Teacher-Guardians of the Flame; Louise Mouton Johnson, Veteran Teacher-Visual Artist; Gregg Stafford, Veteran Teacher-Brass Band Member. Discussants: Joyce King, Kristen Buras, Adrienne Dixson. SIG Remarks: Jenice View, SIG-Critical Educators for Social Justice and TBA, Division K

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhpNIYh77-0

Anybody go to Jazzfest this year? How was it?

I see that some folks are touring the US under the rubrik of Treme, the show, with an actor from the show emceeing--

actor Wendell Pierce (who portrays smooth-talking Antoine Batiste on the TV series), the concert features the Rebirth Brass Band; Mardi Gras Indian Chief and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. (Music Director); singer and trumpeter James Andrews; clarinetist Dr. Michael White; and funky trombonist Big Sam Williams.

I didn't, but Friday was slow at work and I listened to sets by David Torkanowsky (with George Porter and Zigaboo) and Stanton Moore streaming on WWOZ.

Were they good or too jam band like...

I liked 'em both. Tork was straight ahead jazz, Stanton (with Robert Walter on keys) rides a line between vintage organ trio and jamband that might not work for everyone. They did a ferocious cover of "Who Took The Happiness Out?" by the Dirty Dozen.

Was looking through Offbeat's Jazzfest issue over the weekend--Wow, Soul Rebels got to play on one of the big stages on the 2nd JazzFest weekend.

Cool, that must have helped the tuba boom! I saw Rebirth on the Acura stage a few times; I think they're generally on Congo Square now.

I was pretending I was at Jazzfest (Economy Hall, jazz and blues tents) over the weekend; loaded up the cd changer with:

Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Shake That Thing
Germaine Bazzle and Lady B.J. - The New New Orleans Music: Vocal Jazz
Charles Neville and Diversity - s/t
Lillian Boutte - But... Beautiful
Wallace Johnson - Whoever's Thrilling You (prod. and mostly written by Allen Toussaint)

Sunday morning was Mavis Staples and Lucky Peterson - Sprirituals and Gospel

Nice...although I keep wondering who will suceed some of them in 10 years or so. There are young brass bands but I don't know about young New Orleans jazzy female vocalists

Yeah, there really aren't many. They had Ruby Wilson from Memphis this year (allegedly The Queen of Beale Street, about whom I know nothing) and she's only young-ISH. Maybe you could count Ingrid Lucia; I like her a lot, but your mileage may vary.

What label is the only label on the BILLBOARD JAZZ CHART with 3 entries on both the charts printing 5/21/11 and 5/28/11? It’s the same label that was the only label (the other being Blue Note) that had 2 entries on the chart printing 5/14/11. Namely, Basin Street Records!!!

#9 Rebirth Brass Band, Rebirth of New Orleans
#14 Irvin Mayfield, A Love Letter to New Orleans
#18 Kermit Ruffins, Happy Talk

Plus, the HBO Treme soundtrack is #5 and both Kermit and Rebirth appear on that record

James Andrews, trumpeter and Trombone Shorty's big bro, does a song called "I Bet you a dollar" on his recent nice Big Time Stuff album. That song quotes that phrase used for years by hustlers and others on Bourbon Street--I bet you a dollar I know where you got your shoes...

You can hear it on his site

http://www.jamesandrewsmusic.com/

x-post
I haven't heard the new Rebirth, Irvin Mayfield or Kermit Ruffins yet (Treme soundtrack too)

it's not my favorite rebirth album by a long shot, but it's got a few hot spots ("let's go get 'em", corey henry's solo on "a.p. touro").

The Treme show is bringing new fans to the genre. There were 2400 people at the sold-out Kennedy Center last night for "A Night in Treme." Actor and N'awlins resident Wendell Pierce (who portrays Antoine Batiste on the TV series) hosted and read and improvised a talk about the history of New Orleans music between songs in the first hour of the show-- the concert features the Rebirth Brass Band; Mardi Gras Indian Chief and alto saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr. (Music Director); singer and trumpeter James Andrews; clarinetist Dr. Michael White; and trombonist Big Sam Williams all playing together. At the beginning of the 2nd set Rebirth played themselves for around 40 minutes before the others rejoined them. They did some standards ("I'll Fly Away," etc.) plus Blackstreet's "No Diggety" and more. Harrison's Mardi Gras Indian chants and raps were impressive; Andrews had a good time, Rebirth stretched out, Dr. White got a few solos and Big Sam Williams pulled folks onstage to dance at the end (and then danced himself around the stern irritated looking Kennedy Center ushers who then finally relaxed).

It would be easy to be cynical about the folks there who only sang along to the Treme show theme, but hey if they're now helping the bands via buying $20 to $65 tickets and cds & downloads too, that's good.

Rebirth announced from the stage that they were playing later that night at Bayou, a new New Orleans style restaurant near George Washington U and heading towards Georgetown. I wonder how big a crowd they got--the gig was advertised only on the restaurant's website I think.

So in addition to a Louisiana Rep who spoke at the Treme show the Washington Post gossip column notes that they say Kathleen Sebelius rocking out at the Kennedy Center’s “A Night in Treme” concert Monday night, waving a white handkerchief to cheer the music. The health secretary has been known to hit New Orleans’ annual Jazz Fest

http://offbeat.com/2011/06/15/debate-on-the-sound-ordinance-continues/

For months, a task force has been attempting to revise and amend the existing noise ordinance that prohibits noise over a certain decibel level

This was precipitated by the (almost) arrest of the To Be Continued Brass Band on Canal Street. When the current administration looked at the noise ordinance, the consensus was that it was so old, and amendments had been cobbled on so many times over the years, that much of it was irrelevant and contradictory, and that it would be better to evaluate the current ordinance, and then start from scratch

Hearing TBC one night just off Canal was one of the high points of my last trip to N.O., and I'm sure many random tourists would say something similar about brass bands in Jackson Square or elsewhere. Sure, reevaluate the current ordinances, but in the end remember your city is synonymous with street music, and you gentrify/eliminate that at your peril.

So Marianne Faithful recorded her new album Horses and High Heels in New Orleans with producer Hal Wilner and according to a press sheet, New Orleans musicians (and cameos from Lou Reed, Wayne Kramer and others). But it doesn't identify the New Orleans musicians. Anyone know?

Willner

http://offbeat.com/2011/02/18/youtube-du-jour-marianne-faithful/

Thanks. Dr. Michael White...