What a wonderful time to be in the French Quarter after all restrictions were lifted on May 28th. Plans began for a visit two weeks later and upon arrival, we headed to the Maison Frenchman for the Nickel-A-Dance event with reed player Joe Goldberg & The Function. Joe recently moved to Florida to continue his education with his wife Kimi and baby Max Theodore. We last saw them in early 2020 where they announced their engagement!
The lively big band members included Ricardo Pascal (reed), Ricio Fruge (tp), Wes Anderson IV (tb), Brett Gardner (gtr), Ryan Hanseler (p), Jake Ricke (bs) and Gerald Watkins, Jr. (dr). Lots of dancers made their way to the floor and Wes Anderson III accompanied a few numbers on the tenor sax. We enjoyed visiting with a dozen or so of the folks we see at Fest and many hugs and smiles were exchanged.
Later that evening we headed to Fritzel’s to see Mike Fulton (tp), John Royan (p), Bryan Besse (dr), Chris Sharkey (bs) and Lee Floyd (bj). The venue was open every night although starting at 8:00 on most nights. The bands continuously expressed their appreciation to the audience and how wonderful it was to play before a live audience! This sentiment was voiced repeatedly at every venue for the entire visit.
Fritzel’s – Colin Myers (tb) (with a very large mute), Bryan Besse (dr) obscu
