Solid listening pleasure by New Orleans finest

22nd July 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra under the leadership of artistic director and drummer Adonis Rose continues its concert series that pays tribute to individual musicians’ work. In the past, the 18-piece, non-profit ensemble celebrated the music of the influential vocalist Nina Simon and also New Orleans giant, singer, pianist, composer Allen Toussaint. Last spring, the orchestra released an album filled with Toussaint’s classic tunes, The Music of Allen Toussaint.

On Friday, July 26, NOJO, as the big band is affectionately known, will perform at the New Orleans Jazz Market for a show highlighting the work of vocalist Natalie Cole. New Orleans vocalists Nayo Jones and sisters Jolynda “Kiki” Chapman and Yolanda Robinson, the daughters of singer Topsy Chapman, will be featured on some of Cole’s greatest hits. Of course the program will include “Unforgettable,” which first became a hit in 1951 by Natalie’s father, vocalist and pianist Nat King Cole. She recorded it as well as other tunes made famous by Nat on her 1991 album, Unforgettable…With Love. Few will forget the video that she made of the song that included the voice and image of her father that appeared as if they were singing a duet. Other Cole material will include 1958’s swinging “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” that should be the perfect vehicle for this talent-packed ensemble, and “I’ve Got Love on My Mind” from the vocalist’s release, Unpredictable.

Doors at the New Orleans Jazz Market, 1435 Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, open at 6:30 p.m.

A spin-off of the big band, a brassy unit called the NOJO 7, performs the following night, Saturday, July 27 at 9:30 p.m. at the Three Keys in the Ace Hotel.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Tuba to Cuba
(Sub Pop)

The musical and cultural connections between New Orleans and Cuba have long been realized. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band puts the rhythms and the traditions side-by-side and mixes them up to celebrate the city’s and the island nation’s powerfully warm relationship. Under the leadership of tuba man/bassist Ben Jaffe, the PHJB has ventured far from the purely traditional jazz for which it initially and deservedly gained its fame. It has teamed with rockers and explored Haitian music to delve into the links that tie music and people together.

Cuba was a natural destination for its latest venture with the trip captured in the highly acclaimed, cleverly titled “Tuba to Cuba.” Back in the U.S., the Preservation Hall Jazz Band recorded this album of the same name bringing home the magic that the band experienced. Primarily, the disc finds the talented members of the band performing the mostly original material with the addition of percussionist Jerry Ordonez plus some previously recorded “vocal and rhythmic samples” of Cuban artists.

It begins with a simple, lovely saxophone solo by Clint Maedgen that gives little hint of the album’s theme yet stands as a welcoming introduction. The celebration of unity begins with clapping, drums and the voice of Tumba Francesa and others as heard in the documentary. With the entrance of the saxophone and subsequently the other horns, the tune soon and seamlessly transitions to New Orleans street beats and ultimately the rhythms and feel of the Mardi Gras Indians. Keyboardist Kyle Roussel offers a more modern touch until the chanting voices join in with the horns for an energetic block party.

Traditional Cuban numbers with minimal instrumentation, as heard on the enchanting “Descarga” with simply a guitar, congas and vocals, play a strong part in keeping the roots of the island’s music in the forefront. It leads wonderfully into the horn-filled number “I Am” with the veteran reedman, Charlie Gabriel on clarinet and lead vocals by trumpeter Branden Lewis. Gabriel is back this time blowing tenor saxophone on the soulfully soft “Corozon,” accompanied solely by Jaffe on bass and Roussel on keys. The tune could be heard as the album’s tropical vacation with Gabriel’s breathy tenor offering a gentle breeze.

It’s a return to the streets of New Orleans with the true, familiar brass band style kicking on “Keep Your Head Up.” A woman rapping/singing in Spanish feels right at home and the whole band gets in on the vocals.

Much of the material on the album, even those tunes that sound like Cuban classics like the disc’s closer, “Malecon,” come from the pen of leader Jaffe. It offers a gentle sway with the solid rhythm provided throughout by Walter Harris.

Tuba to Cuba celebrates New Orleans direct musical link to Cuba and both locales importance as vital members of the African diaspora. It’s a very fine album that was obviously created with love and respect by the excellent musicians taking part in the project. Those qualities make Tuba to Cuba a musical journey worthy of many return trips.

Piano Night at the Prime

North Broad Street’s Prime Example has jumped on the popularity of Piano Night by instituting one of its own in this town that boasts a legacy of piano players like Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John and many more. This Thursday, July 25, 2019, an extremely talented jazz pianist and composer Oscar Rossignoli, who is a native of Honduras and now a New Orleans resident, will lead a piano trio with drummer Gerald Watson and bassist Lex Warshawsky. Rossignoli is solid on the New Orleans jazz scene as a much called upon sideman performing with notables such as percussionist Alexey Marti and recently with master drummer Herlin Riley. He has also just released a brilliant new album, Harbinger, with the piano trio Extended. Showtimes at the Prime Example are 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Next month, Piano Night features the above mentioned Kyle Roussel. The tradition continues.

This article originally published in the July 22, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.