A Memorable Reunion and Goin’ to the Grammys

17th December 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews once remembered when he and pianist Jon Batiste were both students at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) and they would talk about how they could create their own identities while keeping New Orleans in their rhythms and the essence of their music.

As the two close friends, both at the top of their professional game, performed together the Dec. 8 Improvisations Gala at the Old U.S. Mint, it was apparent to the audience that they had accomplished exactly that. Musically, they are of New Orleans and endowed with its spirit while reflecting their personal styles and their generation.

Batiste, who leads his Stay Human band on the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” has just been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Roots Performance category for the song “St. James Infirmary” off his 2018 album, Hollywood Africans. Andrews, who performs around the world and boasts an extensive discography as a leader and sideman, was recognized in 2010 by the Grammys with a nomination for his impressive album Backatown and also for his contribution to the soundtrack of the television series “Treme.”

During a 2015 interview Batiste commented on his and Shorty’s late night conversations about differentiating themselves yet staying true to their hometown roots.

“When you hear a New Orleans musician perform at the highest level it’s something that is going to make you feel a full range of emotions – you’re going to want to laugh, dance and have a good time but you’re also going to want to cry,” Batiste said. “You’re going to feel this amazing sense of humanity. We have New Orleans in our sound… That’s a special thing – it influenced the world and it’s not going to go anywhere.”

Those in the crowd that night when the two shared the stage certainly experienced those emotions plus one more, pride in these talented and warmly generous young men. They will perform locally again on Friday, December 21 at the House of Blues to benefit the Daniel Price Memorial Fund that provides scholarships for NOCCA’s arts and music students. The show also includes Kermit Ruffins & the Barbeque Swingers, Ivan Neville, Shorty’s brother James Andrews, Water Seed and more.

New Orleans artists hit it big time in Grammy nominations this year with the next generation of musicians like Batiste being highly represented. Keyboardist/vocalist/composer PJ Morton, who moved back to New Orleans in 2016 and is the son of the noted Pastor Paul S. Morton, earned a nomination for Best R&B Album for Gumbo Unplugged on his own label, Morton Records. Two of its cuts, “How Deep Is Your Love” and “First Began” also scored nominations. As a keyboardist with the multiple award-winning Maroon 5, Morton was also recognized for the group’s nomination for its hit “Girls Like You.”

Trumpeter and composer Christian aTunde Adjuah Scott is helping to keep New Orleans’ presence “in that number,” with his 2018 album The Emancipation Proclamation that has gained a nomination for the Best Contemporary Jazz Album. It is the third album of his “Centennial Trilogy” series that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the first jazz recording.

As it seems to happen too often, there are two, stylistically and culturally very different Louisiana artists competing in the Grammy’s Best Regional Roots Album category. The Mardi Gras Indian funk band Cha Wa that is co-led by vocalist J’Wan Boudreaux, the grandson of the legendary Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, and drummer/percussionist Joe Gelini was nominated for its album Spyboy. It goes up against zydeco accordionist/vocalist Sean Ardoin, the grandson of the great Alphonse “Bois Sec” Ardoin, for his album Kreole Rock and Soul. Either way these two cultures – Black Indian and zydeco – win with the traditions carried on by another generation.

Multiple Grammy-winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard is a veteran of the awards having been nominated and winning in various categories including jazz albums and performances. This time out, he’s been recognized in the Best Composition category for “Blut Und Boden (Blood and Soul),” from the soundtrack of the film “BlacKK-Klansman.”

Though guitarist/voca-list/composer Buddy Guy might be most associated with Chicago blues, he never forgot that his roots lie in Louisiana. The 82-year-old veteran, who was born in Letts-worth, Louisiana and has won seven Grammys during his long career, has been nominated in the Best Tradition Blues Album division for The Blues Is Alive and Well.

Music makes for fine gifts and these works are certainly worth consideration. Other new albums with local ties that have been reviewed in this column during 2018 also offer some great listening. Check out some of the latest – or even earlier – releases by these artists: Germaine Bazzle, Jamison Ross, Jon Cleary, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Michael White, the Ellis Marsalis Center Orchestra, Jason Marsalis and more.

Happy Birthday Fess!

Henry Roeland Byrd was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana on December 19, 1918. The 100th year of his birthdate, the iconic pianist, vocalist and composer will be celebrated on his birthday at Tipitina’s, the uptown club that was established as a venue in order for him to have a home base and a place where he could regularly play.

Bassist George Porter Jr., who first backed Longhair at the 1972 Jazz Fest, will act as the musical director for a band that will be a mix-and-match of artists including drummers Herlin Riley and Johnny Vidacovich, pianists/keyboardists Ivan Neville, David Torkanowsky and Jon Cleary, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and more.

This article originally published in the December 17, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.