Louis Armstrong’s influence reigns at Satchmo SummerFest
29th July 2019 · 0 Comments
By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer
Louis Armstrong’s influence extends way beyond the classic New Orleans jazz for which he is most regaled. As a trumpeter, vocalist and composer Armstrong stood as an innovator in a style of music that celebrates and continues to appreciate creativity and fine musicianship. The Satchmo SummerFest, presented from Friday, August 2 through Sunday, August 4, boasts a schedule that displays the diversity of genres that have been touched by the wizardry of Pops, a New Orleans native son and a musical ambassador to the world.
The festival kicks off appropriately with the Roots of Music, an always impressive educational and youth-oriented large ensemble which, at 11 a.m. on Friday, will welcome music lovers just outside of the gates of the Old U.S. where all of the weekend’s activities happen. With his big, warm personality, Armstrong, of course, drew kids to him and was known to encourage them in their musical and life endeavors.
THE BIG 6 BRASS BAND
“The common thread is that everything is based in the blues,” says Ward of the similarities between all music. The Texas native and longtime New Orleans resident, who is best known in smooth jazz circles, though he likes to call his style contemporary instrumental urban music, sees improvisation as central to jazz music as it invigorates brass bands and traditional and modern jazz. “It’s about exploring your mind and creating. In those styles of music, all of the musicians have the opportunity to express themselves on their instruments. It’s the creativity that one individual brings and then the creativity that the entire group as an ensemble brings together.”
Ward’s set will demonstrate how the rather diverse styles can stand comfortably on the same stage as he mixes up tunes from his last album, “After the Kiss,” with some classic jazz. “We’re going to do some of the old traditional standards but we’re going to put a twist on them to suit what I do,” he promises.
Ward calls Louis Armstrong’s music “still part of my studies.” “Growing up in a musical family and my mother, Carol Ward, being a jazz vocalist, she was playing Armstrong when I was a baby. I really got into him when I moved to Louisiana and Mr. Batiste (the late Southern University of Baton Rouge professor, clarinetist Alvin Batiste) really taught us a lot about what Louis Armstrong was doing. I was always taught to love all types of music and, of course, Louis had his own style and own way of playing.”
MICHAEL WARD
The violinist rarely performs in town as he finds there is more call for his uniquely energetic funk groove at festivals across the nation. That route is more lucrative too. Ward also has another beat as he performs traffic control duties for the film industry as a member of the Constables Office of the First City Court.
“I’m just looking forward to playing in the city and mainly seeing all the musician friends that I have here because it’s the only time we get to see each other. We’re just going to have a good time.”
Newcomers to SatchmoFest like the Big 6 Brass Band, which holds the prestigious closing spot on Saturday night, mingle with old favorites like trumpeters Leroy Jones and Kermit Ruffins on a schedule that also includes modern piano master Ellis Marsalis.
The Big 6 have been on a rapid roll since it was founded in 2017 and it just released its kicking, self-titled debut album. Folks at SatchmoFest will get a taste of what’s made the Big 6 such a sensation at the social aid and pleasure club parades. Amazingly the band, which performed its first parade in 2017, played all but around five of the almost 40 second lines in the 2018-2019 season.
The 11-piece Big 6 is the sound of the New Orleans streets today with its modern attack, infectious rhythms and hip-hop edge. While the group started out playing covers of popular tunes from the radio, the new album boasts 100 per cent original material from Big 6 members. It gets going on trumpeter Chadrick Honore’s melodic, Caribbean-brushed “After Party,” that takes off with a wild trumpet solo. Many of the tunes get energy from the hand clapping and hollerin’ that dwells just below the instruments that often reference standard brass band riffs.
Trumpeter Eric Gordon brings on the anthem-like selection, “Haters,” that includes the strong lyrical message: “I walk past my haters, I ain’t got no time… I’m trying to get ahead and not behind.” It’s one of several songs on the for-now digital-only release that carry an “Explicit” warning. Trombonist Lamar Heard assures that none of the tunes include cursing though some contain suggestive references. The Hot 6 will keep it festival family friendly at its festival set.
Trumpeters from “all walks” of music will gather at the Barracks Street Stage for the always highly-anticipated Trumpet Tribute to Louis Armstrong that marks the Satchmo SummerFest’s conclusion on Sunday evening. It’s a lot of fun for the musicians, who don’t often have the opportunity to perform with one another, and for the audience who gets to join in the fun.
For the complete schedule of music and indoor seminars, held at the Old U.S. Mint, got to www.satchmosummerfest.org. Admission each day is $6 with kids under 12 free.
This article originally published in the July 29, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
