All Because It’s Carnival Time!

When Al Johnson recorded that song in December, 1959, I’m sure he had no idea it would be recreated thousands of times since and certainly during the current season!

We must have heard dozens of renditions this past January during our “winter” visit to the Big Easy. We also had many friends visiting at that time to enjoy a few parades and lots of music before the big Mardi Gras event on February 17th. What better time to savor the music, food and dear friendships before the city is turned over to the many visitors who only “know” that New Orleans is famous for its “prior to Lent” festivities.

Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub is our go-to spot for daily music and we start out there after securing our hotel room and barely unpacking. It is always a pleasure to hear Colin Myers (tb), Dizzy Incirlioglu (wash), Ellis Dyson (gtr) and Zach Lange (this time on bass!) followed by Jamil Sharif (tp), Chuck Brackman (bs/tp/gtr/sousa), Leslie Martin (p), Stephen Tenney (tb) and Bryan Besse (dr). A great beginning to several weeks of similar musical adventures! A stop at Maison Bourbon on the way back to the hotel had Danny Rubio (p/tuba/sousa), Jeff Kreis (tp), Joe Cea (p), Ryan Burrage (reeds) and Sean Clark (dr) in rare form. Pam Murphy (v), a recent California transplant, has a bright delivery and a delightful interpretation to many songs. Both her dad and mom were musicians and well-known in our favorite genre. Her mom is still belting them out at 95!

The next day Richard Scott (p) opened up the place with Caleb Nelson (tp), Nick Skolnik (dr), Pete Ollinsew (bs) and Drew Huot (p) following in the afternoon. The evening had Kevin Clark (tp), Chuck Brackman (sousa), John Royan (p), Bryan Besse (dr), Clarence Johnson III (alto) and the infamous Freddie Staehle (dr) sitting in on a few tunes. Clarence does a saxophone scat (sax scat) and it is fun to hear him play and sing anytime at Fritzel’s.

An afternoon may also include Doyle Cooper (tp), Z2 (p), Josh “Jams” Marotta (dr) and Matt Perrine (sousa). Maison Bourbon might also feature Jack Pritchett (tp), Spencer Knapp (dr), Dylan James (bs) and jammer Spoon McMillan on a contralto or bass clarinet, both very unique instruments, usually found in a classical orchestra. Spoon gave me some clarification on the clarinet/sax differences and how they both relate to each other – I definitely need to delve more into that lesson! Z2 had some friends and relatives visiting from Yokohama and one young lady jammed with the band on several tunes.

Our friends from the Wolverine Jazz Band arrived from the New England area and we met up with them at Commander’s Palace for a wonderful dinner. Bob Barta (bj), Tom Boates (tb) and John Lovett (tuba) with his wife, Katie, were there for the weekend and we were anxious to get this party started! They joined in with the Maison Bourbon bands for several evenings and visited with other friends during the day. Our trombone pal from the UK, Rob Pierce, was also visiting at the same time and jammed with several bands throughout our visit.

A stop at the Cafe Beignet at Musical Legends Park had Zach Wiggins (p), Dave Ruffner (tb) and Freddie Staehle (dr) for the afternoon.

Fritzel’s has daily music from about 1:00 pm to at least midnight with multiple bands performing in sequence. Never a dull moment! With lots of repeats, we heard Jake Rickey (bs), Owen Callahan (cl), Sam Friend (gtr), Rob Montgomery (dr), Molly Reeves (gtr), Brett Gallo (dr), Clayton Hopkins (dr), Jim Markway (bs), Abram Racin (bs), Steve DeTroy (p), Sam Lobely (bs), Tanner Gus (dr), Jonathan Solomon (bs), Cody Coulon (dr), Mike Robbins (bs), Zak Garn (dr), Coyote Anderson (gtr), Ted Long (bs), Mark Weliky (gtr), Dwayne Burns (tp), Jory Woodis (cl), Scott Kyser (p) Felix Allen (dr), Alex McMurray (gtr), Washboard Chaz, Dave Ruffner (tb) and Ellis Sieberling (tb) in various fantastic combinations.

The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park has daily lectures and performances except on Mondays. We often attend several events during any visit and the first one had Craig Klein (tb), Mark Brooks (bs) and Hunter Burgamy (bj/gtr). Craig talked about “collective improvisation” so prevalent in traditional jazz. The trumpet often plays the melody, the trombone featuring glissandos and growls and the clarinet play around the melody. This is the “front line” I love so dearly. The drums and rhythm section keep the time and play “on top” – they keep the time, not establish it.

We had a half dozen visits to Preservation Hall as guests and Kerry Lewis (bs) started out with Shannon Powell (dr), Freddie Lonzo (tb), Mari Watanabe (p), Christian Winther (reeds) and Raph Zee (tp). The following day we enjoyed Leroy Jones (tp), Katja Toivola (tb), Daniel Farrow (sx), Brett Gallo (dr), Mike Clement (gtr) and Jason Stewart (bs). The late afternoon set had Andrew Baham (tp), Rickie Monie (p), Stephen Walker (tb), Mitchell Player (bs), Louis Ford (cl) and Shawn King (dr). Rickie did a fantastic rendition with a memorable intro of “His Eye is On the Sparrow” written by Louis Ford’s great, great grandfather, Charles Gabriel. Louis is a 5th generation New Orleans musician!

The Jazz Playhouse at the Royal Sonesta had a Sunday evening set with Richard Scott and his quartet including Catie Rodgers (tp), Ted Long (bs) and Kyle Sharamitaro (dr). A surprise visit from Barry Barbe (Prescott, AZ) let us know what he is up to now, with the recent purchase of an historic theatre (the Hazeltine) and maybe a future visit from some New Orleans musicians in the works. Seems like a bunch of us will be back up in Prescott sometime this summer for a memorable weekend!

Later at Maison Bourbon, Danny Rubio gave well-known banjoist, John Gill, a call to show up for a special evening. John moved to New Orleans several years ago and just lives a few blocks away. John was with the Murphy-Watters band in California and had his own Yerba Buena Stompers for many years. It was truly a thrill to see him on stage with Bob Barta and the rest of the Wolverine bunch. Bob was equally thrilled to share the stage with John and they reminisced about the times they were together including a stint at Carnegie Hall no less!! Now it was time to say goodbye to our Northeast friends and confirm that we are all looking forward to their next visit.

The next evening we went to Snug Harbor, the iconic spot on Frenchmen to be in the first audience to hear Mark Braud and his Colossus Brass Band with a new record release. Lots of friends from the Palm Court Jazz Cafe were in attendance and we shared hugs and kisses with both Nina Buck and Kathy Edegran along with a dozen or so former patrons of that former wonderful venue. Mark’s new release had Kevin Louis (tp), Wendell Brunious (tp), Bruce Brackman (cl), Rod Paulin (sx), Craig Klein (tb), Freddie Lonzo (tb), Kirk Joseph (sousa), Gregg Stafford (dr) and Gerald French (dr) all on stage. Mark’s emotional intro cited the musical families represented on this platform and how he grew up with them all while playing music and marveling at the ones “that came before” – I always thought I would have loved to attend a Thanksgiving dinner at one of their homes years ago and just revel in the family history of these musicians! The band performed an original tune by Mark’s wife, Meghan Swartz (p) titled “When I Waken.” It was a beautiful evening.

The Historic New Orleans Collection has daily exhibits and some performances throughout the week. We stopped in to see the Musicians in Art exhibit with some original Noel Rockmore paintings of the musicians at Preservation Hall along with a few of noted artist Andrew Hopkins’ original pieces. Our friend Emilie Rhys is Noel’s daughter and an accomplished artist now living in the Quarter for quite some time now. She is amazing to watch as she sketches the musician right in front of you! After the exhibit we went to another demonstration of the Aeolian residential player pipe organ and its 642 pipes that are housed in the newer section of the Collection buildings. Several other buildings nearby in the Quarter are being renovated for more exhibits and displays. Our friend, Chantell Nabonne, is an Education Specialist there and we always enjoy seeing her at that location or at Snug Harbor for our shared experiences.

Another visit to the National Historical Park caught Leslie Martin (p) a native Louisianan with some of his favorite local tunes. Leslie is a master gardener and enjoys designing landscapes in his non-musical moments. Later that week we saw Aurora Nealand with her soprano sax accompanied by Jade Perdue, a piano-playing, singing park ranger! Jade is often there and has her own performance schedule at the Park during the week.

Our fourth visit to Preservation Hall had Wendell Brunious (tp), Caroline Brunious (cl), Lars Edegran (p), Richard Moten (bs), Shannon Powell (dr) and Freddie Lonzo (tb), all musicians we used to see often at Nina Buck’s Palm Court.

An afternoon at the 21st Amendment had several of us enjoying Joe Kennedy (p) and Jory Woodis (cl) before getting back to another evening at Snug Harbor. Meeting Emilie Rhys and her friend for dinner at Snug let us gain entrance to Dr. Michael White’s Original Liberty Jazz Band as soon as it opened. Dr. White (cl) had Steve Pistorius (p), Gregg Stafford (tp), Dwayne Paulin (tb), James Alsanders (dr), Mitchell Player (bs) and Seva Venet (bj/gtr). Dr. White had the band perform a newly composed piece, “Blue Moment,” a 12 bar blues that he had just completed that afternoon! Talk about goose bumps!

A quick cab ride over to the Mahogany Jazz Hall gave us a chance to visit with a friend from France that we hadn’t seen in several years. Emma’s parents were dear Jazz Fest attendees that we so enjoyed spending time with during those events and when we celebrated birthdays and anniversaries together at Palm Court!! Mike Fulton (tp), Joey Lastie (dr), Josh Gouzy (bs) and Joe Kennedy (p) had a rousing set and we got to visit for a moment with the owner Kate and her staff. Other musicians hang out there too so we got a chance to see several of them during their “off” time!

I don’t get to see Simon Lott (dr) much as he performs more with the jazz & blues musicians these days, so I jumped at the chance to hear him at the Park the next day. With Betty Shirley (v) and Steve DeTroy (p), the trio recreated lots of Bessie Smith and Nina Simone numbers. We had many Bessie Smith records in my house growing up so it was a pleasure to hear Ms. Shirley give righteous renditions to “Backwater Blues” and “Me and My Gin” along with other famous hits.

The Omni Royal Hotel opened up a new jazz club, The Three Maries—and we hustled over to see Leroy Jones’ trio with Mike Clement (gtr) and Jason Stewart (bs). This new venue for the French Quarter is large and exudes sophistication and a luxurious ambiance. Several bands play on the weekends and it was fun to see Leroy in such a different setting. We made plans to visit with him the next day at Preservation Hall.

Leroy Jones and Katja Toivola (tb) had Daniel Farrow again on sax with Mike Clement (gtr), Jason Stewart (bs) and Brett Gallo (dr). The afternoon and early evening sessions are always full and visitors are so happy to see/hear these musicians in the iconic and revered Hall. The next set had Gregg Stafford (tp), Stephen Walker (tb), Louis Ford (cl), Mitchell Player (bs), Lars Edegran (p) and Joey Lastie (dr). What a wonderful way to spend a few hours on what was a very cold Sunday afternoon!

With a delay in our returning flight we spent the last evening with friends for dinner at Arnaud’s famous restaurant in the Jazz Bistro to hear Catie Rodgers (tp), Eric Robbins (gtr) and Sugar Bear Francis (bs). A terrific way to spend our last night and then a quick run-in to the Maison Bourbon to say a final farewell to those musicians too – all in all a fantastic visit All Because It’s Carnival Time!