The Blue Book of Storyville by Don Vappie and Jazz Creole

Don Vappie, who is interviewed in this issue, has had a long career for a man of 64. He drifted into traditional jazz from other styles of New Orleans music and by the '80s was recording as a leader and playing in Europe with Dr. Michael White. In the spring of 2005 he made a decision to forge his own musical path and leave behind a comfortable seat at Preservation Hall. Several months before Hurricane Katrina became everyone in New Orleans' before and after, he had his own. That year he produced two great albums, one with his Creole Serenaders and the other a solo effort, Banjo à la Creole, which investigated Jelly Roll Morton and the Caribbean influence, it could be said to presage, his current release, The Blue Book of Storyville. After the storm his return to his native city was the subject of a documentary, American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, which followed him as he explored the wreckage and pondered the future. Vappie is an exceptional ponderer, as anyone who has joined him for his recent "coffee on the porch" live stream sessions will attest. He’s also proven himself an exceptional investigator. He has pursued his interest in the banjo over time and space, as far as Africa, and played with contemporary professionals from the continent. In 2008 he was part of a four man crew on an album titled Recapturing Banjo which sought to dignify and promote the banjo as an