Jazz and funk rule the week
5th March 2012 · 0 Comments
By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
The choices of great music this week in New Orleans are a bit mind-boggling. The menu is that strong.
Jumping out in significance are back-to-back, Frenchmen Street performances by drummer extraordinaire, Herlin Riley. On Saturday, March 10, he’ll hit Snug Harbor’s stage for a night of modern jazz. On Sunday evening, Riley moves over to the Maison to lead the humorously named group the Hot Foot Floozies as part of the Nickel-A-Dance traditional jazz series.
“All music starts with rhythm – the style of the rhythm dictates the style of the music,” Riley explains of how he’ll approach the two, distinctly different gigs. “At the Nickel-A-Dance, I won’t pass the 1930s while on Saturday at Snug Harbor it can be anything. I won’t have those boundaries.”
HERLIN RILEY
Riley, a member of the musical Lastie family, has plenty of experience performing New Orleans classic jazz but not much opportunity of late to play it. The drummer, who spent 17 years working with trumpeter/bandleader Wynton Marsalis recalls that his first job in New York City was playing traditional jazz with the late, great New Orleans trumpeter Teddy Riley. Herlin also honed his classic jazz chops with the likes of guitarist/banjoist/vocalist Danny Barker and pianist Isidore “Tuts” Washington as well as being in the band of the musical “One Mo’ Time,” that focused on the sounds of the 1920s.
So while Riley is certainly viewed as a modern drummer and band leader whose credits include six years and four albums with the legendary pianist Ahmad Jamal, he definitely has roots and creds in the traditional jazz world. He’s ready to hit on tunes like “Big Butter & Egg Man” and “Panama” with Sunday’s group that includes trombonist Lucien Barbarin, guitarist/banjoist Detroit Brooks and trumpeter Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown.
Whether Riley sings at either show remains a possibility . “I’m not a singer. I’m one that has been known to open my mouth and express myself,” he says with a laugh. “I’m not inhibited,” he adds, a statement that considering his great verve and dramatic attack on the drums is certainly an understatement.
That Riley seems rather omnipresent this week is emphasized by the release of his longtime associate Ahmad Jamal’s magnificent album, Blue Moon. The pianist, with whom Riley has shared two runs – from 1982 to 1987 and from 2010 to the present – has long enjoyed an affinity with New Orleans drummers. The noted native Vernel Fournier was behind the drums on Jamal’s signature tune “Poinciana” and Idris Muhammad recorded eight albums with the piano legend.
“Ahmad Jamal fell in love with Vernel Fournier,” says Riley, “and drummers from New Orleans understand the nuance of the beat of ‘Poinciana.’ “We play the drums from the bottom up and have a groove so he found a level of comfort with guys from New Orleans.”
Riley’s dexterity, broad range and African influences pairs well with the always rhythm-minded pianist. New Orleans bass player, Reginald Veal, appears for the first time in Jamal’s trio on Blue Moon. He’s a natural addition as he and Riley have worked together numerous times through the years with such artists as Cassandra Wilson and Monty Alexander. “Many people call us as a team,” Riley offers.
Riley plays two shows at Snug Harbor at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. His Nickel-A-Dance performance with the Hot Foot Floozies runs from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. It’s free and children are welcome.
George Clinton Funks Up HOB
“I’m really partial to coming down there. You can really go funky,” George Clinton once said of his dates in New Orleans. The vocalist, bandleader and architect of the get-down ensemble Parliament Funkadelic returns to one of his favorite stomping grounds to perform at the House of Blues on Thursday, March 8.
GEORGE CLINTON
Clinton’s New Orleans connections run deep. In 1976, at the Saenger Theatre, he and Funkadelic premiered now-classic, earth-shattering tunes like “One Nation Under a Groove” that propelled the group to higher heights. “It blew people’s minds,” said the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame inductee. “We got our own minds blown,” he added with a laugh. “After that, we didn’t stop moving at all.”
Don’t miss the legends.
Organ Trio Sound
Ike Stubblefield caused quite a buzz when the B-3 organist hit the town for an array of gigs in February. With his impressive resume, which includes starting out playing Motown revues back in 1968, then moving on to work with George Benson, B.B. King and even our own Johnny Adams, studio work and more, it’s no wonder that local musicians sought him out.
The Ohio native and Atlanta resident returns this week to bring that wonderful organ trio sound – organ, guitar and drums—that reigned in the 1970s to the Maple Leaf on Thursday, March 8, and the Blue Nile on Friday, March 9.
Stubblefied is the guest artist at drummer Johnny Vidacovich’s regular Thursday night show at the Maple Leaf. Guitarist Grant Green Jr., the son of the legendary jazz guitarist Grant Green, will perform both nights. Terrence Higgins mans the drums at the Blue Nile.
“Ike plays with a lot of energy and velocity,” says Herlin Riley. The two played two impressive gigs together last month. “He’s one of a few old-school artists who understands the groove.”
Class Got Brass?
With an ear to keeping the New Orleans brass band tradition vital, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation has come up with a new contest. Dubbed “Class Got Brass? – A High School Band Competition,” it encourages existing or newly-assembled brass bands from high schools throughout Louisiana to vie for up to $10,000 worth of instruments or instrument repairs for their respective school’s band programs.
Key to the competition is that the groups are brass bands – think ReBirth, Hot 8, Tremé – not marching bands. Details about the contest and application information can be found at www.classgotbrass.com. Importantly, the deadline to apply is March 16, 2012.
The 10 chosen finalists will compete as part of a second line parade on Sunday, March 25, that starts at Louis Armstrong Park. A panel of expert judges among them Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, trumpeter Gregory Davis and clarinetist Dr. Michael White will select the winners. Representative schools will receive instruments or repair worth $10,000 for first prize, $6,000 for second and $4,000 for third place.
Further information can also be requested by emailing programs@jazzandheritage.org or by calling (504) 558-6100.
This article was originally published in the March 5, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
