Celebrating connections, Grammys and hopes for the Academy Awards

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

The Krewe du Kanaval, a colorful, rhythmic and historically important association that celebrates the connection between New Orleans and Haiti, will for its second appearance, gather at Congo Square on Friday, February 22. The krewe represents the brainchild and coming together of sousaphonist and leader of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ben Jaffe and the group Arcade Fire’s Regine Chassagne, whose parents immigrated to Canada from Haiti, and her husband Win Butler. The couple now makes New Orleans their home. The beloved Leah Chase and DJ Jubilee will reign as this queen and king.

Significantly, Congo Square stands at the center of the festivities that begin at 2 p.m. and continue until sunset. The historic and spiritually endowed locale is where free people of color and those enslaved, including many Haitians of African descent, once danced, played their drums, traded goods and mingled. It has been written that many of the approximately 10,000 Haitians who had first fled to Cuba immigrated to New Orleans between 1809 and 1810. Half of them were slaves. Some of their blood relations attending or performing at the Krewe du Kanaval could very well be dancing in the very same spot where their ancestors once congregated.

The always top-notch Preservation Hall Jazz Band, members of Arcade Fire an array of drummers, musicians, djs and most notably, the Grammy-winning Haitian ensemble, Boukman Eksperyans¸ will be performing at the event that has been both scaled down and scaled up. Unfortunately, no parade or procession leading to and from the Square will take place before or after the festivities as it did last year. It’s been said that second lining will be limited to Armstrong Park, which, of course, is rather large though it’s fun to hit the streets and bring the festivities to the people. On the upside, the krewe has teamed with the French Film Festival to provide related screenings plus it will present a series of panel discussions.

Krewe du Kanaval – The New Orleans/Haitian Connection

That night, February 22, the action moves to the Civic Theatre, 510 O’Keefe St, for the Krewe du Kanaval Ball. Headlining the grand occasion, which begins at 9 p.m., is internationally renowned, politically and socially conscious group Boukman Eksperyans that joins its traditional Haitian roots and instrumentation with electric guitar and today’s styles. Profits from the by admission show and krewe membership fees will benefit the Preservation Hall Foundation and KANPE, an organization founded by Chassagne. The money will be directed to under-served people in Haiti and New Orleans.

“What we want to express through this event is the important connection between New Orleans and Haiti,” Jaffe said at the onset of forming the krewe. “It is one of the many important historical and cultural pieces of our city that is not always understood or celebrated but is a part of our life. It is a part of the food we eat, it is a part of the music we play, it’s part of many people’s spiritual being, it’s part of religion in New Orleans. The history between New Orleans and Haiti and New Orleans and Cuba and Cuba and Haiti is profound. Their history is as much our history as our history is their history.”

For more information go to www.kanaval.org.

And the Grammys Go To…And the Oscar Nominations Go To…

New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard won a Grammy in the Best Instrumental Composition for his writing of “Blut Und Boden,” “Blood and Soil,” heard in the soundtrack of director Spike Lee’s film, “BlacKKKlansman.” Congratulations are certainly in order though many eyes are on how the now six-time Grammy winner, who’s frequently been among the Recording Academy’s nominees, will make out at the Oscars that will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2019.

Amazingly, until this year, Blanchard has never even been nominated for an Academy Award despite his eye-popping accomplishments scoring the music for Spike Lee’s extraordinary works beginning in the late 1980s like “Do the Right Thing” and “School Daze.” He has scored every one of Lee’s movies since 1991 that includes such masterpieces as “Malcolm X.” Blanchard has, at last, been nominated for an award in the academy’s Best Original Score for another of Lee’s brilliant movies, 2018’s “BlacKKKlansman.” As quoted in the Los Angeles Times, the always humble and often humorous Blanchard’s response to what has been viewed by many as a snub by the Academy was: “You never miss something you never had.” Notably, the article added that Blanchard then laughed.

Amazing is the right description for Blanchard’s partner in art and brilliance, Spike Lee, having, until now, never having been nominated for an Oscar for a film or directing. This year he’s been giving the nod in both categories as well as Best Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKKKlansman.” Hope is that this time the Academy will do the right thing.

Big applause for another New Orleanian too, pianist, vocalist and composer PJ Morton, the son of Rev. Paul S. Morton, for winning (or rather in an unusual tie vote) a Grammy in the Best Traditional R&B Performance for the song, “How Deep Is Your love off his album Gumbo Unplugged (Live) featuring Yebba.

This article originally published in the February 18, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.