Wayne Shorter - The Soothsayer by: Ken Pickering

Wayne Shorter – Legend of Jazz - The Soothsayer

By: Ken Pickering / Artistic Director

We’ve been fortunate to host Sonny Rollins a couple of times recently but it’s been a few years since the great saxophonist / composer Wayne Shorter has performed at the festival. Mr. Shorter is at the Vogue Theatre - June 26th.

One of my all time favourites, Shorter’s music as a leader and a sideman has been an important part of my listening education for over 40 years. The master’s music has drilled deep into my consciousness right to the core of my very being. It’s difficult to even know where to begin – there are quite a few albums with Wayne Shorter that were life altering: early 60’s dates with Art Blakey Ugetsu and Free For All (click) were swingin’ examples of hard bop at it’s fiery best. Miles Smiles (1967) was my first Miles album; it made an enormous impact, as did all the Columbias with Miles Davis’ second classic quintet (Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancok, Wayne Shorter and Miles) on albums like Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky, E.S.P and Filles de Kilimanjaro.  Here's a version of Footprints from a '67 Newport All Stars tour recorded in Sweden. Shorter’s great compositions and playing with Miles played an important role in the success of that incredibly influential mid 60’s band. 

 Great clip by the Miles' Quintet circa mid 60's on a burning Agitation.. Tony Williams tears it up.

As a leader, Schizophrenia (1967) was the first Shorter album I heard (I’m sure I wore out my copy) but again, all of his 60’s small group Blue Notes are treasures and include incredible dates such as Ju Ju, Speak No Evil (click), Adam’s Apple, Night Dreamer, All Seeing Eye, The Soothsayer and Et Cetera (the latter two released later) that more than stand the test of time and are classics of the era. The sidemen on these albums included jazz greats Lee Morgan, Elvin Jones, Joe Chambers, Freddie Hubbard as well as his colleagues with Miles.

Wayne Shorter - The All Seeing Eye

The 70’s ushered in all manner of fusions. Shorter’s first electric bands were also ground breaking as you can hear on the incredible sessions for Super Nova '69 (click), Motto Grosso Feio and Odyssey of Iska. Incredibly we’re just hitting the 70’s with the first self titled debut album by Weather Report just coming into focus. Co-lead with Joe Zawinul, Weather Report was one of the most popular jazz rooted bands of all time and continued to 1985 with varying personnel. Check out Second Sunday in August (click) from 1972's I Sing the Body Electric.

In 1974 Shorter recorded one of the most exquisite albums of his career, Native Dancer (with the brilliant Brazilian singer/songwriter Milton Nascimento) a funky, lyrical work with Brazilian rhythms that foreshadowed a new perspective that saw jazz musicians incorporate diverse world traditions into their own music. Native Dancer (aside for 60’s bossa, Jobim etc) was incredibly popular, it was definitely the album that turned me onto Brazilian music for real. Listen to Ponta de Areia (click) one of the most beautiful tunes ever - brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it!

As we can see Wayne Shorter has been a restless explorer – as a saxophonist, bandleader and composer this man has compiled one of the most important legacies in modern jazz. His current acoustic quartet is incredible. Among the finest creative jazz ensembles performing today, formed in 2000 with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade –each musician is a virtuoso and consummate musician. A few months ago I was lucky enough to be just a few feet away from Brian Blade at the Blue Note in NYC when he played with Chick Corea and Gary Peacock - mindblowing! I’ve only heard this band live a couple of times and I’m hungry for more, this is one of the concerts marked by a big star in my calendar!

The Quartet on Masqualero in Montreal 2003

Revered by musicians and audiences alike, Wayne Shorter leads one of the significant jazz ensembles of our time. The iconic Wayne Shorter Quartet - Vogue Theatre – June 26^th. 

Festival Picks by: Ken Pickering / Rainbow Robert

TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival Picks 

by: Ken Pickering (Artistic Director), Rainbow Robert (Manager of Artistic Programming) &
John Orysik (Media Director)

Click on the blue links to go straight to the artist page on the fest website. These choices are only the tip of the iceberg and on any given day they might be different. With such a wealth of talent at the festival - The Cookers, Eliane Elias, Mathias Eick, Angelika Niescier, Dianne Reeves, Trombone Shorty, George Benson, Colin Vallon, Médèric Collignon and many many more - these lists are by necessity incomplete. However - if they spark a little interest and get some of you out to listen - then it's all good!

John's Picks: 

Eliane Elias, Wayne Shorter, The Cookers, Francois Houle 5 + Benoit Delbecq and Janelle Monae
(all great picks - I'll be attending all of these shows as well...kp)

Wayne Shorter Quartet - Masquelero 2003 at Montreal Jazz Fest

Ken's Picks:

Bill Frisell plays Lennon

 Jeez, I’ve been a big fan of Bill’s for his whole career – remembering that I booked his first solo concert way back at the 1986 fest. This Lennon project is exquisite, the band is a killer and Bill’s relaxed take on John Lennon tunes is spot on.

 This the 3 minute trailer for Frisell's "All We Are Saying" There's also a 15 minute version.

Spectrum Road

 I've always loved Tony Williams Lifetime, especially the first two albums: Emergency! and Turn it Over. Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and Jack Bruce (Cream) conceived this project - assembling a killer band to perform Lifetime tunes plus originals. The band: monstrous keyboard wizard John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood) and killing jazz / rock drummer Cindy Blackman – Santana (Lenny Kravitz). Get ready to be blown away.

Spectrum Road in Tokyo

Ig Henneman Sextet / Torsten Müller’s Distant Relatives

 Cheating a little by combining here. I go way back with Ig and Ab, a journey that started for me with the October Meeting in Amsterdam 1991. Ig combines sophisticated compositional strategies with top drawer improvising. This new kind of chamber music has an immediacy that’s compelling in no small part due to the amazing improvisers she works with Ab Baars, Axel Dorner, Marilyn Lerner, Lori Freedman and Wilbert de Joode.

Torsten Müller arrived in Vancouver over 10 years ago. A free spirited improviser to the core, Torsten does not compromise spontaneity – working only with musicians that are as quick thinking/listening as the music requires. Distant Relatives represents the best of our Vancouver improv scene with Peggy Lee and Dylan van der Schyff with special guests Xu Fengxia and Ab Baars rounding out the group. A special night at the Ironworks with two great bands.

Ig Henneman Sextet

Francois Houle 5+1 / Hexen Trio

 More cheating! These are both very dear projects to me – these cats are not only super heavy, I consider each one of these musicians to be a very good friend as well as obviously being monster musicians and bandleaders in their own rights. Some of the finest musicians around, these two groups perform back to back on July 1^st.  The shows will serve as CD release parties for both bands, Francois Houle “Genera” (is one of the best of the year) on Songlines and Hexen Trio w. Paul Plimley, Barry Guy and Lucas Niggli on Intakt. These shows are among the last of the festival!

Terje Rypdal “Crime Scene” with Bergen Big Band

 First heard this dude on some early 70’s ECMs - Rypdal’s 1^st and Jan Garbarek’s Afric Pepperbird and Sart. At the time I’d never heard a guitar played like that - maybe some Sonny Sharrock or Hendrix, but in jazz this new Nordic guitar sound was a revolution. Rypdal hasn't toured much for a long time, but he’s been touring in Europe with this Crime Scene project with big band plus Stale Storlokken (from SuperSilent). I heard this band at Moers in 2010 and they were really happening. Don’t miss this.. very rare opportunity to catch one of the major guitarists of the last 40 years!

Terje Rypdal "Crime Scene" at Saalfelden 2010

 Rainbow's Picks:

Janelle Monae 

Powerful delivery, styling threads, killers dance moves and tunes with a positive message make this 10 pc soul review a major festival highlight.

Incredible version of Tightrope at Glastonbury 2011

Get the Blessing  

A serious treat from the UK, killer beats laid down by the rhythm section from Portishead anchoring infectious brass heavy sideways grooves.

Get the Blessing - OCDC

Destroyer  

Savagely real and surprisingly chill, introspective lyrics and bubbling brass loops make them one of Vancouver's deepest indie bands.

IPA  

Brilliant recent discovery from the from the wilds of Norway, members of Atomic and The Thing bringing us some new post Ornette swing.

Bennink/West/Ex  

Near dangerous levels of punk and free jazz cred be rolled up into one deadly Dutch/Canadian trio.

Han Bennink on Cheese Kit (solo)

George Benson - Guitar Man by: Ken Pickering

George Benson - Guitar Man

Orpheum Theatre - June 23, 2012

By Ken Pickering / Artistic Director

This show is coming up quickly - Saturday night (June 23^rd) at the Orpheum so I thought it would be cool to include a short little blog hit on Mr. Benson. Yes he's a household name but -  I know I’m at risk of sounding repetitive in this blog space but once again it’s true, this man has been part of my jazz listening for so many years – seems like a lifetime really – but maybe it’s just that I’ve been around for a few years too! Not everyone is aware of his roots in the soul jazz scene of the 60’s, so I thought it would be fun to revisit some of that music, but also to include some of his brand new stuff. So get ready to groove on some seriously funky soul jazz. I've included some great tunes from some classic albums.

His guitar sound was ubiquitous through the 60's on funky organ trio dates with Jack McDuff (check this monster out - ShadowDancers from The New Boss Guitar of George Benson with the Brother Jack MacDuff Quartet on Prestige -  1965) and Lonnie Smith. The first GB albums I heard were It’s Uptown circa 1965 (listen to Hello Birdie for some burning fretwork and listen to A Foggy Day for an early example of his fine voice) and George Benson Cookbook circa 1966 (Columbia) featuring Lonnie Smith also from that era. Check out the Cooker from that one.. very heavy! There was another album by Lou Donaldson Alligator Bogaloo (circa 1967 with George and Lonnie) on Blue Note that I heard when I was getting into jazz. Here's a funky clip called The Thang that's in the pocket featuring the great Lou Donaldson's alto, Lonnie Smith and George Benson.

Here's a piece called Slow Scene

As a teenager I recall listening to him on a fantastic old Jimmy Smith album on Verve  – The Boss (couldn't find a clip) and I always loved his very modern sounding comping on the Miles Davis classic Paraphernalia (written by Wayne Shorter - he's at the fest June 26th at the Vogue) –from Miles in the Sky (both circa 1968) and both of those records (yes vinyl records) still reside in my collection.

Sometime after that he worked with the legendary Creed Taylor at A&M (Tell it Like it Is & Another Side of Abbey Road circa 69/70) and then signed with Taylor’s fledgling (hugely influential over the years through DJ sampling) CTI label (for albums such Body Talk, Benson and Farrell circa 71-76) and then to Warner Brothers for his breakthrough crossover album Breezin’ in 1976 that also brought his voice to the forefront. As the saying goes, the rest is history!

Although he’s focused on his velvet like vocal delivery in recent years it’s really his amazing guitar mastery that’s responsible for his jazz reputation. Here’s a great clip of George sitting down and talking about guitar influences (Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow etc) with some mean playing for good measure – from his Art of the Jazz Guitar. Here’s another great clip from Breezin’ Lounge with Jody Fisher playing some Charlie Christian influenced blues over rhythm changes. Awesome!

The new album Guitar Man (Concord Records) is very fine (check out this great trailer for the album), a special treat with more of his great guitar work than we find on other recent discs with great songs such as beautiful version of John Coltrane's Naima, Danny Boy, Tenderly and Paper Moon. Benson is still going strong, touring the world and putting on amazing shows with his crackerjack soul/jazz/pop ensemble. His last festival show knocked everyone out! Check him out at the Orpheum Theatre this Saturday!

The Night of the Cookers by: Ken Pickering

"The Night of The Cookers”

The Cookers - Performance Works - June 22, 2012

By: Ken Pickering / Artistic Director

An all-star band assembled by trumpeter David Weiss, The Cookers are the crème de la crème of the hard bop scene and beyond. I don't want to categorize or put this music into a box, but I do want to give you a stylistic indication of how the music could sound and what might be in store for if you wisely attend their opening night performances at Performance Works on June 22^nd.

The reality is that these cats are some of the hardest swinging in the music. Their handle - that old cliched jazz descriptor – The Cookers – really does nail it with this band. Word is they were thinking of the Freddie Hubbard Blue Note classic The Night of the Cookers when they were naming the group. Makes sense to me! Although the band – as an entity is not that well known, most of the members of the band most certainly are.

This is a ridiculous band – I just cannot over emphasize how heavy these musicians are – The Cookers include: Billy Harper, Craig Handy (saxophones), Eddie Henderson, David Weiss (trumpets), George Cables (piano), Cecil McBee (bass) and Billy Hart (drums).  Collectively these musicians have credits that are staggering, in some cases going back to the 60’s. Check out this live clip of the band with a wickedly hot Billy Harper tenor solo!

I recently read in an interview (Ethan Iverson's Do the Math blog) that Ethan (The Bad Plus) did with BillyHart where Billy recounted that he was actually offered a drum chair with John Coltrane when Elvin Jones was cueing up to leave the band. He refused thinking he wasn’t ready to take that big step. Whoa! You've got to read this interview - I learned a ton of stuff about Mr. Hart that I didn't know. His experiences with Shirley Horn, Wes Montgomery, Eddie Harris, Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz, Herbie Hancock and plenty more. It's an incredible history lesson and clearly Ethan Iverson is a great interviewer / writer. His blog is a must read - and he's a great pianist too! Billy Hart has played with so many greats as well as establishing himself as an occasional leader - with numerous albums to his credit including a recommended new ECM All Our Reasons. Check out this trailer for Billy's new ECM  (with Ethan Iverson).

Only a few years after the Trane story, both Billy Hart and trumpeter Eddie Henderson joined Herbie Hancock’s mind-blowing Mwandishi band, thought by many to the best ensemble of his multi-faceted career. Mwandishi was a gorgeous album but it gave no indication of the power they projected off the bandstand in live performance.  As a young lad, I was lucky to hear them at the old Cellar on Watson St. (circa 1972). Smokin'! There's no recorded albums of the live band, but there are You Tube clips. One is from a performance in Molde, Norway circa 1971that I've just got to put up - it's a town I know well (the festival is still great and programmed by my very good friend Jan Ole Otnaes) plus I've stayed at the hotel in the clip! Another is from an air shot in France circa 1972 - playing Toys featuring a nice Eddie Henderson solo.

Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi Band in Molde Norway - circa 1971

Billy Harper worked with Gil Evans, Max Roach, Art Blakey and most notably Lee Morgan, one of the greatest trumpeters in jazz until his untimely death in in 1972. In the 70’s Billy Harper emerged as a leader and recorded a string of awesome albums for labels like Strata East (check this tune), Black Saint (Croquet Ballet - 1975) and Japanese Denon (Soran-Bushi with Billy Hart) that featured his passionate unmistakable post Trane saxophone sound. Harper is one of our unsung and hugely underrated jazz heroes.

Cecil McBee’s credits also go back to that halcyon era, having recorded with Jackie McLean, Wayne Shorter, Sam Rivers, Andrew Hill, Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane. By 1969 pianist George Cables had toured with Sonny Rollins and in the early 70’s recorded with Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Woodie Shaw. A generation or more younger, saxophonist Craig Handy has played with Mingus Big Band / Dynasty, Roy Haynes, Abdullah Ibrahim, Betty Carter and Elvin Jones. David Weiss cut his teeth with Clifford Jordan, Mulgrew Miller and Roy Hargrove to name a few stalwarts and is the man largely responsible for the concept of The Cookers. Taking an occasional special project and turning it into a working band, giving unsung heroes of jazz the opportunity to showcase their improvisational and compositional skills in rearrangements of their tunes by Weiss.

An evening with the Cookers is a an opportunity (a gift really) to catch important vital musicians that hold a serious place in the historical jazz continuum yet are still at the top of their game. We’ve been losing a lot of jazz greats in recent times – these musicians are still with us and still playing great so if you love fiery, hard swinging jazz I’d highly recommend checking them out. There's two shows at Performance Works on opening night June 22^nd. I know opening night is full of great music and hard choices, but do try to catch one of their shows. You'll be glad you did!

The Girls in the Band - by Donna Lytle

The Girls in the Band

Introduction by:  Donna Lytle

(Musician, Educator, Archivist & Transportation Coordinator at TD Vancouver Int'l Jazz Festival) 

Presented by Donna at VIFF (VanCity Theatre)– Monday, June 18, 2012

Don't miss this film at VIIF at 7pm on Monday night! (editor kp)

If you have ever wondered why more women weren’t playing jazz, the answer is, “they were!”   And many of us didn’t know it. 

The film you are about to see, The Girls in the Band, is a delightful awakening to a history of American female jazz musicians, with plenty of hot licks to astound.  Judy Chaiken, the film’s director, exposes a whole culture of female players and female bands, particularly during the world war.  Get ready for some great stories as she rousts these amazing old gals for interviews.

How about playing saxophone as longevity medicine?  Peggy Gilbert is 96 when this film was shot, telling stories about playing with Lil Armstrong (wife of Louis) and musing about why it was he got all the fame. (and maybe she let him!)  In 1974, at 69 years old, Peggy created her last great all-girl band, "The Dixie Belles". In 1985 the band recorded the album "Peggy Gilbert & The Dixie Belles," which is available on CD . Peggy Gilbert lived until the age of 102 .

Technique is never an issue when you hear these women play. Melba Liston knocks your sox off and I’ll bet there was not a male player could match those trombone chops anywhere, and who could do it wearing a pair of 3 inch high heels!  Melba played in the Dizzy Gillespie band during the 40’s and again in the 50’s writing a lot of the bands arrangements.  In 1958 Melba recorded her only album as leader, Melba and Her Bones, with an all-star trombone lineup of Slide Hampton, Jimmy Cleveland, Bennie Green, Frank Rehak, Al Grey and Benny Powell. Four of the 12 pieces are her compositions. The CD was reissued in 2006.

Melba Liston - Pow (1958)

One thing comes up over and over during the interviews. Music at home nurtured these players.  Being from musical families and communities opened up the possibilities for play no matter the gender. You cannot ignore the way gender has been perceived in jazz, but this is social history, and there’s plenty to remember from this film. The Jim Crow era in the southern states was a shameful time and these early touring female bands remember it well as they talk about the hardships of being on the road - the issues of race compounded with gender issues. Great all female touring bands like the International Sweethearts of Rhythm are remembered and honoured by jazz historians. In 1978 the inaugural Kansas City Womens Jazz Festival was held, and brought together many of these veteran players with their modern-day counterparts.

International Sweethearts of Rhythm - Jump Children (circa early 40's)

As the film brings us into the present, we get a welcome sense of society maturing and a contemporary landscape in which special festivals and organizations geared toward women in jazz is not really necessary. So much we didn’t know. But to keep it current, the Jazz Festival is prepared to help us vet our curiosity and excitement. I’d like to mention a few of the great players, and great bands who will be here in Vancouver in the next few weeks. 

At the Ironworks over the next couple of weeks you must not miss Hélène Labarrière (info), bassist from France, Angelika Neiscier (info), sax player from Germany and of course the Dutch/Canadian group lead by Ig Henneman (info), including well known Canadian women Lori Freedman and Marilyn Lerner.

Opening week-end of the festival and FREE at Performance Works you can hear Vancouver cellist PeggyLee with pianist Robin Holcomb on Saturday afternoon.

And closing week-end of the festival at the Roundhouse watch out for Cat Toren’s band and Lan Tung’s Proliferation with Xu Fengxia.

Please circle your programs now - we shouldn’t forget to pay attention to what is happening in the here and now.

And please, enjoy this lovely film.

Eivør / Yggdrasil - Magic of the Faroe Islands by Ken Pickering

Eivør / Yggdrasil - Magic of the Faroe Islands 

by Ken Pickering / Artistic Director

Right off the top, I’ve just got to say that Eivør Palsdottir and Yggdrasil will be one of the great discoveries of the festival and I can confidently assure you that there’ll be no disappointment – please trust me on this – you can thank me later for the recommendation. This lady of the Faroe Islands is one of the wonders of the music world (some call her the next Bjork), blowing minds everywhere she sings with a voice that simply demands to be heard. I first heard about her a few years ago, taking serious note after hearing one of her earlier albums. She’s been popping up on my radar every since.

Now I’ve been very fortunate to visit almost all of the Nordic countries (and each definitely has it’s own unique and distinctive national character) with the exception, sadly, of these remote islands. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing Danish protectorate in the far reaches of the North Sea between Norway and Iceland possessing a similar history and mythology as neighbouring Iceland. The Faroese have kept their ancient language and Nordic traditions alive in a landscape that is reputedly enchanting, mysterious and beautiful in the extreme.  Thorshofn is the world’s smallest capital city populated by only 15,000 inhabitants.

Seriously, watch this interview, you probably won't understand a word, but the video gives us a great view of the splendour of Faroe Islands - at the G Festival.

This environment is that into which the powerful singer Eivør was born and raised. Growing up in a small village she developed her passion for singing early on with her family; in early times there were no instruments so the voice was the musical focus. I think you’ll get the idea of what that might have been like from some of the musical clips.

Eivør - Trøllabundin

Although initially known as a jazz performer  (studying in Reykjavik) she is also very familiar with rock contexts recording the album Clickhaze in 2002. Often mentioned by some trusted festival colleagues in the same breath as her Icelandic muse (and much more famous) Bjork, Eivør although much younger is recently gaining the recognition she’s due. She’s already performed in a wide array of settings with Canadian Bill Bourne (2004), classical opera with Kristian Blak and with the English composer Gavin Bryars in 2008 and more recently in 2010 working on a chamber opera based on Marilyn Monroe!

Eivør - When I Think of Angels

The solo album that launched her career was released in 2000. Krisitan Blak, often cited as the mentor of the Faroese music scene invited Eivør to join his band Yggdrasil (translation: the world tree) in 2002 and recorded on the band’s first album that year. Yggdrasil (listen to this short piece) is a very impressive world / roots / jazz ensemble that has recorded a long list of captivating albums in the past decade. Although she’s worked in many contexts over the past decade, Eivør’s musicial relationship with Kristian Blak and Yggdrasil continues to this day.

My favourite context for listening to her music is in the small intimate chamber setting performing her repertoire of ancient folk tunes and original material. It really is magic! Their concert will feature Eivør in duo with bassist Mikael Blak and with Yggdrasil in full ensemble. The band will also perform some instrumental pieces sans voice. From June 20^th Eivør and Yggdrasil will embark on a tour, beginning in Reykjavik, Iceland and then continuing on to North America – Rochester, Vancouver, Edmonton and Minneapolis. Clearly I’m really cranked up about this show – but hopefully with good reason. Don’t miss this concert – please join me at Performance Works June 25^th. It’s a very special event indeed.

kp (6/14/2012)

Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Celebration of New Orleans by: Ken Pickering

Celebration of New Orleans featuring:

Preservation Hall Jazz Band &Trombone Shorty

By: Ken Pickering / Artistic Director

Preservation Hall is an iconic name in the jazz world – many folks of a certain age, even non-jazz fans are well aware of this legendary band and New Orleans music hall. Younger generations, maybe not so much, if known at all the band might be thought of as a historical curiosity or possibly that term old modern jazzers used to describe followers of the trad scene – “mouldy figs”. Well, listen up! Here’s the deal - as a good music biz friend of mine quipped, “This Preservation Hall ain’t the band you’re parents listened too!”

We’re incredibly fortunate that circumstances allowed us this wonderful opportunity to put together an exciting Marquee Series opening night double bill (Friday, June 22nd @ Orpheum Theatre) that contrasts two very different styles of New Orleans music from traditional to modern, yet also shows us some of the common threads and similarities that connect the dots over a century of Louisiana music regardless of style. The truth of the matter is that Trombone Shorty grew up at the altar of Preservation Hall and in some ways we might think about Shorty as a modern progression of those traditional brass band sounds that he heard as a young lad.

Preservation Hall has been an institution (watch, 50 Exhibit at New Orleans Old US Mint) in New Orleans for 50 years, yet the post-Katrina devastation of the Crescent City in 2005 was a game changer in so many ways. This traumatic period in New Orleans history threatened the very existence of Preservation Hall (the venue and the band), but the support of the larger music community coming together, from indie rockers to traditional jazz bands and beyond ensured that a local tradition would not only survive it would continue to grow and prosper. Life and music are intertwined in New Orleans - the city known as the birthplace of jazz (great doc with Satchmo and more) has musical roots that can be traced back to the African influence in the early 1800’s. A rich cultural mix unlike anywhere else, the history of New Orleans music is characterized by various hybrids and influences that have spawned some of the most celebrated musicians of the 20^th century, from Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Wynton Marsalis, to The Meters, Professor Longhair and Dr. John.

With gradually changing personnel over the years, Preservation Hall Jazz Band has maintained continuity of personnel through their musical families. Many band members come from multi generational music families with direct lineage to their predecessors (Allen Jaffe, Joe Lastie etc) in the band, the musicians in this iconic band all have this music in their blood. At this stage of Preservation Hall’s half-century musical arc the band can traverse styles, moving from traditional brass band to rhythm and blues, roots rock and gospel with ease. What’s great is that they always perform with an authenticity that is true to their roots and respectful to their Crescent City heritage. On that note check out this amazing tune: Preservation Hall with Tom Waits! Tooty Ma is a Big Fine Thing was released in a limited edition 78 rpm vinyl in 2010 available at Preservation Hall. Must be out of print but worth looking for!

In January the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band celebrated its 50^th anniversary with an incredible show at Carnegie Hall (trailer) in NYC that featured an impressive array of high profile musicians guesting with the venerable New Orleans institution.  Allen Toussaint, Blind Boys of Alabama, My Morning Jacket, Steve Earle, bluegrass legend Del McCoury and Trombone Shorty were among the guests enlisted to ensure that their anniversary concert would be one for the ages.  By all accounts it was.

 No longer big news, it’s common knowledge that Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews) has taken the music world by storm in recent years with his incessant touring and incredibly powerful live shows. Having grown up in the Tremé district of New Orleans (as portrayed on award winning HBO series) Trombone Shorty (who appears in 4 episodes) hasn’t even reached the age of 30 yet! This cat has already toured in support of Jeff Beck and Dave Matthews, recorded with Eric Clapton, Lenny Kravitz and Dr. John.

Trombone Shorty

Everywhere he tours (all of the world in fact) he wins over audiences with his joyous New Orleans brew. His albums don’t really tell the full story, lacking some of the impact of his potent electrifying live performances. Many of you heard his Vogue show at last year’s festival – so you know first hand what I’m talking about here; Trombone Shorty has one of the most seriously rockin’ kick ass bands around. At its core his sound has a traditional street marching vibe, but brings on modern rap, rock and funk tactics that transform the music and broadens the appeal. The New Orleans brew becomes a rock and roll stew. Video.

This concert is a celebration of the essence of New Orleans music and the strength of its people. We hope that you’re as excited as we are! Opening night party!