Thursdays in Big Easy is all about Jazz

15th June 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Trumpeter Christian Scott totally embraces the concept of paying it forward. Now an internationally acclaimed jazz musician, the New Orleans native remembers those veteran musicians who took him under their wings and the club owners who allowed him to step up on their bandstands when he just a teenager honing his chops.

So when his heavy touring schedule allows, Scott, who moved back home from the east coast in 2013 after spending 12 years advancing his education, gaining experience and building a solid reputation, enjoys gigging at the local clubs where he once cut his musical teeth.

On Thursday, June 18, Scott will lead a sextet for two sets – 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. — at North Broad Street’s jazz mecca, the Prime Example. The group includes drummer Joe Dyson, bassist Max Moran, keyboardist Kyle Rous­sel, guitarist Dominic Minix and saxophonist Stephen Gladney. These guys represent some of the finest young jazz musicians in New Orleans and all, including Scott, attended the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA).

“This will probably be the only opportunity for me to play in town for a minute,” says Scott, who will soon hit the road with his regular touring band. “This is me trying to put together a pick-up gig and play with some of the musicians who are in town.”

“The musicians in New Orleans play very differently than those who’ve made their way to New York,” Scott continues, specifically mentioning Joe Dyson. Dyson, a native of the Crescent City, presently lives in the Big Apple and is also a member of Scott’s touring band. Scott points out that the artists here don’t often get to “pow wow” with those whose musical approach is informed by a different culture. New York, after all, does “march” to a different beat than New Orleans.

While Scott has performed in prestigious venues like London’s Royal Albert Hall and high-ticket priced concerts around the world, he relishes playing before local audiences at small clubs in this city. “I want people here to be able to hear the music that was born and raised in New Orleans,” he rightfully proclaims. The nightspots also hold a special place in Scott’s heart and history.

“These are places that I not only love to play at, but places where I go,” Scott says of the Prime Example, Snug Harbor and Sweet Lorraine’s. “These are places where I grew up. All these people extended their hands to me. They gave me a shot when I was just 14 years old. All these folks have always been beautiful to me.”

Scott laughs when he says that the music the group will be playing at the Prime Example won’t be “as heady” as that heard at this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival where he brought in a large ensemble. “It’s a looser situation,” says Scott who promises, since there are fewer musicians involved, he’ll be blowing more trumpet than he did at the Fest. That’s a good thing…

Best Kept Secret Unleashed

There are folks who don’t want the word to get around about pianist David Tork­anowsky’s Thursday night jazz sessions in the bar area at Ralph Brennan’s Tableau restaurant located just across the street from Jackson Square. They figure that if too many people find out about the great music at this no-cover gig, they just might overrun the place.

Tork, a master musician and master mind, brings in jazz aces for the evening, happy hour sets that start at 5 p.m. Trumpet giant Nicholas Payton has been a regular and will be back this week (June 18) paired with the hugely talented drummer and vocalist Jamison Ross and solid bassist Grayson Hackelman. This en­semble played a couple of weeks ago and just wowed the audience working on modern jazz standards, material from this city’s own master composers such as the late Alvin Batiste and even adding a few tunes from the New Orleans traditional jazz songbook. It’s a rare treat to hear Payton blowing on these classics and particularly at close range. His high notes have the capability of knocking one off their feet. Last week his trumpet was paired on these numbers with the elegant clarinet of Evan Chris­topher.

On June 25, the line-up includes Torkanowsky and Payton plus bassist James Singleton and drummer Stanton Moore. It’s advised to get there early in order to be sure to get a seat in the room that boasts that luxurious combination of air-conditioning and opened windows that look out over the world of the French Quarter.

King Sunny Returns

At one time, Nigerian vocalist, guitarist and ju-ju music ambassador King Sunny Ade made regular appearances in New Orleans. He’s finally back, leading his African Beat band, an ensemble of some dozen musicians, at the House of Blues on Friday, June 19.

Many people still remember his first show in the city in the early 1980s. He and his large en­semble performed at the Dream Palace (now Blue Nile) on a Lundi Gras night. A bus pulled up to the Frenchmen Street club and it was an amazing sight to see all of these musicians dressed in colorful, African dashi­kis climb out of the bus one-by-one. They also all had big smiles on their faces as those lucky enough to have been there cheered their arrival. Only the joyful, rhythmic music that they played that night could top that experience.

This article originally published in the June 15, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.