Jordan, Drake and Po-boys, a music feast

14th November 2011   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Dynamic Duo

When saxophonist Edward “Kidd” Jordan and drummer and multi-percussion instrumentalist Hamid Drake meet at the Piety Street Recording studio on Sunday, November 20, their mutual creativity as improvisational artists will naturally soar. The two extraordinary stalwarts of the free jazz scene have come together in New Orleans and elsewhere many times before. This night however, their essence will be captured for an upcoming release on Valid Records as well as experienced by an audience.

“It’s really the best of both worlds of doing a live recording but in a controlled space,” says Benjamin Lyons, Valid’s owner and the producer of the session. “I think it’s good to record people who are doing free improvisation in the context in which they do it which is in the moment. I think it’s a more organic way.”

Lyons utilized the same format – at Piety in front of an audience – for Valid’s last release by noted German saxophonist Frank Gratkowksi and Drake. He found the ambiance to be a comfortable concert environment and the sound quality excellent both on the resulting recording and for those in attendance.

“I’ve had a very positive response,” says Lyons. “It’s a big room and it has, of course, a very good live sound. There’s no amplification so you can really hear. I was surprised how reverential the audience was – it was very relaxed.

“I’ve always wanted to record Kidd in some context. When I started Valid Records {10 years ago} I didn’t think that was really possible. I was just working with people I knew but, of course, since then I’ve gotten to know Kidd. The idea of doing the duet has been on my mind for two or three years.”

The opportunity to finally record Jordan and Drake, who was born in Monroe, Louisiana and lives in both Chicago and Europe, came about because the drummer was booked to perform as a part of the Prospect.2 art exhibit. Drake, a versatile, Afro-centric percussionist will be at the Music Box at 1000 Piety Street on Saturday, November 19. Drake and Jordan will also be recording with trombonist Jeff Albert and Drake turns up again at Albert’s set on November 22 upstairs at the Blue Nile as part of the Tuesday night Open Ears series.

“He was one of my inspirations for starting Valid Records,” says Lyons of Drake. “I think he is one of the great musicians of the world; one that has a lot of charisma and a lot of appeal. He finds the groove in free spaces and he finds the free spaces in the groove and he goes in and out of those so fluidly.

“I really like hearing Kidd with Hamid. Kidd has such a beautiful sound and Hamid, who also uses tabla and plays the drum kit with his hands, adds lots of textures.

Tickets for the 8 p.m. performance/recording are $20 and available at benjamin@validrecords.com.

Po-Boy Festival

Did the po-boy ever really need help in maintaining its place in New Orleans culture? It’s doubtful yet the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, which chomps down on Sunday, November 20, was initially called the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival. Most would agree that the uniquely Crescent City classic was never exactly an endangered species. It’s how we live.

That doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be celebrated just as much as gumbo, crawfish, mirlitons, alligators and all the other local foodstuffs that have long enjoyed their own festivals. It’s a wonder, really, that it took such a relatively long time for folks to come up with the idea of elevating the po-boy to its rightful place.

In fact, many of the chefs participating in the event raise the po-boy, which began as a rather pedestrian meal offered free to striking streetcar motormen back in 1929, to exotic levels. Of course, there are the oyster and shrimp po-boys that in other locales are pretty exotic fare unto themselves. But at the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival one can partake of some undoubtedly delicious concoctions coming from the creative minds from this city’s top-end restaurants. For ex­ample, Emeril’s Delmo­nico is offering a pork cheek po-boy, Dickie Brennan’s will top its loaves with prime beef debris and the Parkway Ta­vern will serve up a Thanks­giving po-boy.

In New Orleans, where there’s food, there must be music. The sounds kick off early at 10:45 a.m. at the Streetcar Stage at Carrollton and Oak, one of three venues that keep jumping all day. George Porter & His Runnin’ Pardners close out the stage at 4:45 p.m. Over on Leonidas and Plum, brass bands reign with the Stooges at noon and the ReBirth hittin’ at 4:30 p.m. The funkified, Mardi Gras Indian rhythms of the 101 Runners open up the River Stage at Oak and Eagle streets at 12:30 p.m.

The success of the festival that has drawn swarms of hungry, music loving people, has, perhaps, been the event’s biggest problem. Each year, the presenters have continually tried to tweak things to alleviate snags such as long lines at the food booths. A few changes this year include the addition of the Parkway Plaza, where a parking lot will be utilized as the home of the Parkway Tavern complete with tables and chairs. Roving drink vendors should also make life easier. VIP wristbands enable purchasers access to express food lines and more.

Or, as a veteran Po-Boy Fest­ival goer recommends, just get there early and start eating!

This article was originally published in the November 14, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper