Getting back to New Orleans to finally celebrate the New Year was a fun adventure! The city experienced an extreme cold snap over the holidays and I was hoping that the bad weather would be behind us, and it was—we left Arizona on an unusually cold and rainy morning and arrived in New Orleans that afternoon to be greeted by its 78 degree balmy weather which cooperated during most of the visit.
The New Orleans Jazz Museum on Esplanade now has almost daily performances in conjunction with the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park performances at its Visitor Center on Decatur. We attended seven of the early afternoon events and they were all exceptional. The Museum featured some larger bands in their acoustically-perfect performance venue and the Park has a more intimate setting. All events are free and well worth the visit.
At the Jazz Museum, Thais Clark’s band included Kevin Louis (tp), Richard Moten (bs), Chuck Chaplin (p), Karl Budo (dr), Christian Winther (cl), and Don Vappie (gtr) and was sponsored by the Jazz Foundation of America. It was a treat to hear Thais belt out several numbers as now we usually see her only at the Jazz Fest. The following week, Joe Lastie (dr) performed with Will Smith (tp), Bruce Brackman (cl), Rickie Monie (p), and Mitchell Player (bs). Joey’s bands are always fun and memorable.
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