Tampa Calling

He was the bespectacled white kid from the suburbs trying to sit in with musical legends in New Orleans. But instead of getting the cold shoulder, drummer Stanton Moore was welcomed on the bandstand by any number of prominent players. And the crowd dug him, too.

Stanton Moore Trio, Thurs., May 28, 8 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City. $10.

“To tell you the truth, when I was coming up and they’d let me sit in, the regulars at the bar would be, ‘Listen to the white kid,’” Moore says by cell phone on his way to a recording session in the Crescent City. “They’d be dancing and egging me on. They were real supportive.”

It probably wouldn’t have gone quite so well if young Stanton had sucked. But from an early age, he committed to learning the distinctive, tricky and at times peculiar nuances of the New Orleans drumming style. (See his video demonstrations at the bottom of this post.)

“I had a great guy who taught me the basic rudiments,” Moore says. “But it was a real challenge to go from that to learning from [storied NOLA drummer Johnny Vidacovich] to loosen up. But I was determined. I really worked on how to loosen it up and apply it to my drum set.” Read the rest of this entry »

Allen Toussaint: The Bright Mississippi (Nonesuch)

I’ve long been aware of Allen Toussaint as a New Orleans treasure, a prolific songwriter, magic-touch producer and arranger, and solo artist with a rather middling voice. I knew he played piano, but did not know he was such a bad, bad man at the keyboard.

I do now.

The Bright Mississippi, produced by Toussaint’s friend and frequent collaborator Joe Henry, is nothing short of a revelation, an album of instrumentals (save one vocal) that both honors and reinvents a number of songs associated with early New Orleans blues and jazz: Sidney Bechets’ “Egyptian Fantasy,” Jellyroll Morton’s “Winin’ Boy Blues,” Joe Oliver’s West End Blues,” and traditionals “St. James Infirmary” and “Take a Closer Walk With Thee,” to name a handful.

Toussaint and his dream band — trumpeter Nicholas Payton, clarinetist Don Byron, acoustic guitarist Marc Ribot, bassist David Piltch and drummer Jay Bellerose — play the songs with an expansive ease, rather than employing tightly wound improvisational free-for-alls often referred to as Dixieland. One of the album’s charms, though, is the clattering, march-style drums heard on a number of the full-ensemble pieces (”Singin’ the Blues,” Monk’s “Bright Mississippi”), imbuing them with an antique quality.

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No matter how hard we might try, family gatherings and holiday season don’t always add up to joyous — or even peaceful — experiences. But when the Trucks clan joined forces for their Soul Stew Revival bash at Tampa Theatre on Monday, a near capacity crowd of around 1,400 witnessed domestic bliss at its finest. The jubilant vibe, marked by expert musicianship, permeated the ancient venue. If the rumors are true about the historic movie house being haunted, even the ghosts must have been grinning.

The gnat’s-ass-tight gang of musicians mesmerized with gorgeous executions of the timeworn tension-and-release dynamic. It’s a God-send rooted in the churches of the Deep South, one that was sold with aplomb to the secular world by the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Aretha Franklin. The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks’ chief employer, then expanded the sonic presentation with Kind of Blue-indebted jazz elements in the late 1960s. Decades later, the holy tradition thrives, coming together wonderfully Monday night at Tampa Theatre.

Trucks, a 29-year-old slide guitar master, and his band, were joined by his soul singing (and pretty damn good ax player herself) wife Susan Tedeschi for an awesomely old-school R&B revue goosed with jam band touches. A three-man horn section, two drummers (one being Derek’s younger bro Duane), a percussionist, bassist and keyboardist who doubled as a flautist for one number (think Astral Weeks and save the Jethro Tull jokes) filled the stage. The formidable ensemble, which featured members of Tedeschi’s and Trucks’ individual bands, melded terrifically. 

Photo of Tedeschi and Trucks, from a previous performance, courtesy of Flickr. 

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My favorite yearly music bash, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest, just announced its lineup for 2009 and I’m stoked about Aretha Franklin headlining the second weekend, April 30-May 3, which I annually attend. I’ve never seen the Queen of Soul and can’t imagine a better place than the Big Easy for it to finally happen.

Other acts on my must-see list for that weekend include Tony Bennett, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Emmylou Harris (huge fan, never seen her before), Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, Toots & the Maytals, Allen Toussaint, John Mayall (he’s pretty cool live), Solomon Burke, Doc Watson, Jakob Dylan (more out of curiosity), Chuck Brown, Guy Clark, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm.

Check out some of my Jazz Fest coverage from last year.

Soul Rebels, which I wrote about last year while at Jazz Fest, and other killer New Orleans acts after the jump.

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For years, rock and rap had largely forged an unholy alliance thanks to such clown acts as Limp Bizkit. But that’s changed (thanks God!) with forward-thinking young groups like Gym Class Heroes and the most brilliant new hip-hop act of 2008, The Knux. Comprised of brothers Krispy Kream and Rah Al Millio, the sibling duo was born and raised in New Orleans but their sound, style and ethos has more in common with Atlanta stalwarts Outkast than anything to emerge from under the Cash Money umbrella.

On their debut disc Remind Me in 3 Days…, The Knux alternate between odes to everyday pleasures (”Cappuccino”) and the reality of living in a city as famous for its murder rate as it is for good times (”Bang! Bang!”). Those two songs are blowing up on MySpace thanks to their use of big beats, awesomely wacky synths and glossy guitars, the latter of which figure even more prominently on other numbers like “Roxanne” (no, it’s not a Police cover) and reportedly in the duo’s live shows, which featured a band when The Knux first created a buzz opening for Common in late 2007. When The Knux came through Florida recently and played Orlando, they supported Q-Tip. Yeah, Krispy Kream and Rah Al Millio are two extremely talented MCs/musicians who are smartly associating themselves with the upper crust of the old guard. 3.5 stars.

The Knux: “Bang! Bang!”

Last night, right before we watched the new Big Lebowski double-DVD set, my brother Joel informed me that Aaron Neville didn’t make Rolling Stone’s list of Top 100 Singers.

I told Joel that’s crazy, the Crescent City big man with the angelic voice had to have made the cut.

And then I took a look for myself this morning. Goddamn, no Neville! I’m outraged.

Few singers have made me dry my eyes. Neville is one of them. I’ve heard him to do Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” twice in concert. Manly tears both times.

Photo of Aaron Neville at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2008 by Wade Tatangelo.

Aaron Neville: “A Change is Gonna Come”

My Creative Loafing coworker Leilani, her husband Phil and friend Alex, the three people I drove with to New Orleans two weeks ago for Jazz Fest, had a much different experience on Frenchmen Street than I did. You can read about my Saturday night revelry in the Bar Tab column “Up, up and away: Balloons, bars and bands in the Big Easy.” Leilani visited the same entertainment district on Thursday. Here’s her account, posted yesterday on CL’s Blurbex blog.

Adventures in NOLA, Episode 1: Thursday Night on Frenchmen

May 13th, 2008 by Leilani in Elsewhat, For the People A little more than a week after returning home from New Orleans, I’ve finally recovered enough to reflect on my experiences.

We meander down Frenchmen Street casually seeking a place to eat. Me, my husband Phil, and our good friend Alex are three revelers among several hundred soaking up the festive atmosphere and cheerful chaos created by a citywide celebration of good times and great music. It’s the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, sometime around 11 at night, and the vibe is laid back in such a way that I hadn’t seen since my first Jazz Fest in ’05, the one before Katrina.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Neville Brothers’ highly anticipated homecoming performance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival proved poignant, celebratory, and spiritual on a gorgeous Sunday. The Nevilles’ closing day appearance marked another important return to normalcy for the slowly but steadily rebuilding Crescent City. Natives of the Uptown neighborhood, The Nevilles’ meld second line funk, soul, gospel and rhumba to create the ultimate Big Easy music experience, something the siblings had done during the final day of Jazz Fest for years. Then Katrina displaced the family and star frontman Aaron Neville feared all the dust and mold in the city would exasperate his asthma, preventing him from returning to perform much to the chagrin of the persevering locals and Jazz Fest regulars. All was made right, though, Sunday. The Nevilles performed on the main Acura Stage in front of a grateful crowd that ranged in age from small children and their parents to college students.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Roots, rap’s greatest live band, didn’t bring M.I.A. on stage Saturday at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (big rumor going ’round town) but did an innovative rendition of “Masters of War” that left me spellbound. The Philly hip-hop ensemble mashed the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s classic anti-war screed — sung in a clear, high tenor by Roots guitarist Captain Krik Douglas — to the “Star Spangled Banner” melody. Roots drummer/bandleader Questlove banged out a military style march rhythm and then engaged in killer interplay with sousaphone player Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson . I was able to watch/photograph The Roots’ performance at the Congo Square stage from backstage thanks to my Crescent City buddy Tommy hooking me up with an invitation from Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu to the “My Louisiana Hospitality Center.”

Here are some pics. Gotta run to catch the Raconteurs and Big Easy ambassadors the Neville Brothers, which will be closing Jazz Fest and making their first performance in New Orleans post-Katrina.

Roots’ guitar hero Captain Kirk Douglas.

Hip-hop’s best drummer, Questlove.

Douglas and Black Thought (The Roots’ MC).

Questlove with sousaphone player Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr.” Bryson.

War Chief Juan & Young Fire Saturday at the Jazz & Heritage stage.

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas Saturday at the Fais Do Do stage.

The food at Jazz Fest is as good as the music, especially the pheasant-quail-andouille gumbo.

The mud didn’t stop folks from dancing at the Fais Do Do stage.

New Orleans residents (left to right) Tricia Doud, Ashley Vigil (formerly of Tampa) and Amy Henke, chilling at the “My Louisiana Hospitality Center.”

Hard at work this morning at my brother Joel’s place in New Orleans’ Uptown neighborhood. Photo by Joel Tatangelo.

UPDATED May 5: Tens of thousands watched Stevie Wonder perform Friday, May 1, on the main Acura Stage at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Unless you camped out in front of the same stage the entire day, chance are you watched Wonder on one of the giant screes like we did. A downpour came shortly after this photo was taken. Photo by Phil Bardi.

Walked out on Stevie Wonder’s highly anticipated performance Friday at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Was having too much fun getting down with Trombone Shorty at the Congo Square stage to pull away. By the time we made it to the Acura stage area the crowd swelled to what appeared to be about 50,000. We were so far back that the jumbo screen monitors even looked small. Wonder came out, gave a rambling Barack Obama endorsement, and then launched into a series of slow, R&B numbers that bordered on smooth jazz. Wasn’t feeling it.
The about-to-get-soaked crowd watching Stevie Wonder.

Went over to the Gentilly Stage and enjoyed a set from singer-songwriter John Prine, who nearly brought me to tears with his tender reading of the Vietnam War vet tragedy “Sam Stone.” It rained through much of Prine’s set but his energy kept us from splitting early.

Richard Thompson turned in an equally stirring set on the same Gentilly stage earlier in the day. Florida sacred steel band the Lee Boys rocked the blues tent and our Friday started in the WWOZ Jazz Tent with a blast of tuba funk led by Kirk Jospeh.

Trombone Shorty performing at the Congo Square “My Louisiana Stage.”

The Bad plus performing Friday at the WWOZ Jazz Tent.

Who says Jazz Fest can’t be sexy?

Left to right: My brother Joel Tatangelo, me and our buddy Thomas Stevenson walking in between downpours with friend Alex and Leilani  trailing behind.

Jimmy Buffett headlines today but the big rumor is that M.I.A. (pictured), who released my favorite CD of 2007, will be sitting in with the Roots, which would totally make my weekend. Well, running late, gotta go see if it happens.

M.I.A. photo from her MySpace site.

Photos by Thomas Stevenson.

New Orleans hip-hop and horn ensemble Soul Rebels, which play Tropical Heatwave in Ybor City May 17, hosted a sold-out showdown at Le Bon Temps Roule in New Orleans’ Uptown neighborhood Thursday. More than 300 people crammed the venue to shake it as the 8-piece delivered a boisterous meld of jazz, rap and funk. The band performs today at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which I’m on my way to cover. The headliner is Stevie Wonder and I’m stoked.

The Soul Rebels gather around me outside Le Bon Temps Roule Thursday to be interviewed for a future Creative Loafing feature story.

It’s road trip time. If all goes as planned, I’ll arrive Thursday in the Big Easy for the second weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, my favorite music event of the year. Headliners include Stevie Wonder, The Raconteurs, Randy Newman, The Neville Brothers (making their first Crescent City performance post-Katrina), Widespread Panic, The Roots, John Prine, Richard Thompson, Alejandro Escovedo, Santana, The Derek Trucks Band, Trombone Shorty, Soul Rebels (they play Tropical Heatwave May 17) and a slew of other killer Louisiana acts. In addition to 10 stages featuring live music daily May 1-4, there are rows of food stands featuring the finest in Bayou State cuisine, which means I’ll be loading up on pheasant gumbo. In between catching as many bands as possible and stuffing my face, I’ll also be blogging about the fest.

The 10-hour drive to New Orleans starts tonight. I’ll be riding with Creative Loafing Events Editor Leilani Polk, her husband/CL photog Phil Bardi and their pal Alex. Leilani and Phil will probably repay me for leaving Phish off my “Greatest rock band of past 20 years?” list by playing Phish the entire trip. In case they do let me play DJ for an hour or so, here’s the Crescent City CD I made:

Ultimate New Orleans Mix

1. “When The Saints Go Marching In,” Louis Armstrong
2. “The Pearls,” Jelly Roll Morton
3. “Tipitina,” Professor Longhair
4. “Frankie & Johnny,” Champion Jack Dupree
5. “Walking To New Orleans,” Fats Domino
6. “Iko Iko,” The Dixie Cups
7. “Tell It Like It Is,” Aaron Neville
8. “Time Is On My Side,” Irma Thomas
9. “Junco Partner,” James Booker
10. “Right Place Wrong Time,” Dr. John
11. “Fire On The Bayou,” The Meters
12. “Southern Nights,” Allen Toussaint
13. “Brother John,” The Wild Tchoupitoulas
14. “Hey Pocky Way,” Neville Brothers
15. “Hot Tamale Baby,” Buckwheat Zydeco
16. “Mardi Gras Mambo,” Zachary Richard
17. “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
18. “Soon All Will Know,” Wynton Marsalis
19. “Louisiana 1927,” Randy Newman
20. “When the Levee Breaks,” Galactic
21. “Feel Me,” Lil Wayne
22. “Basin Street Blues,” Harry Connick, Jr.