"DOWN HOME" #365 Thursday, April 28, 2005 Hosted by Chuck Taggart, email chuck (at) downhome (dot) org Visit The Gumbo Pages

"DOWN HOME" April 28, 2005 JAZZFEST SPECIAL, PART 2 All artists on the show tonight are performing this coming weekend at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. For more information on Jazzfest go to www.nojazzfest.com Legend: ARTIST - Song [ALBUM/Label information] (Composer) @ fill in the time the song was played Various interesting things to say about the artist/song! Set 1 RANDY NEWMAN - Ragtime [THE RANDY NEWMAN SONGBOOK, VOL. 1/Nonesuch 79689] (Newman) @ Gorgeous short piece from his soundtrack of the film "Ragtime". THE NEW ORLEANS KLEZMER ALLSTARS - Struttin' with Some Doner Kabob [FRESH OUT THE PAST/Shanachie 9015] (Jonathan Freilich) @ Pronounced DONNER kabob. The title is a hilarious takeoff on Louis Armstrong's "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" -- Set 2 FREDY OMAR CON SU BANDA - Mardi Gras Mambo [LATIN PARTY! IN NEW ORLEANS/Mardi Gras 1052] (Frankie Adams, Ken Elliot, Lou Welsh) @ The top Latin artist in the Crescent City, Omar hails from Honduras and his band comes from all over Latin America. This is his latinized version of one of his adopted hometown's mots famous Carnival songs. ALLEN TOUSSAINT - Country John [THE ALLEN TOUSSAINT COLLECTION/Reprise 26549] (Toussaint) @ Pronounced TOO-sann. New Orleans' most eminent composer and arranger, Toussaint has written more of New Orleans' R&B classics than anyone cares to count. Sadly, his own solo work is less known, but is wonderful. CHARMAINE NEVILLE BAND - Dance [IT'S ABOUT TIME/Gert Town 1111] (Gregory Boyd, Jeffery Cardarelli, Reggie Houston, Amasa Miller, Charmaine Neville, Raymond Weber) @ Daughter of Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers, she's been one of the most popular jazz and R&B vocal acts in the city, performing regularly at Snug Harbor. Saxophonist Reggie Houston and ace piano player Amasa ("AM-a-see") Miller anchor her tremendous band of many years' standing. Charmaine's a hoot. GALACTIC - Uptown Odyssey [RUCKUS/Sanctuary 84643] (Galactic, Greer) @ The premier young funk ensemble in New Orleans, Galactic have been developing a national following in the last few years and have toured extensively. Vocals by Theryl "The Houseman" deClouet. Pronounced de CLOO-ay. -- Set 3 PETE FOUNTAIN - Lazy River [IN CONCERT/Hindsight 617] (Sidney Arodin, Hoagy Carmichael) The most famous of all New Orleans clarinetists, and the most beloved. DR. MICHAEL WHITE & HIS ORIGINAL LIBERTY JAZZ BAND - Angel in the Day, Devil By Night [DANCING IN THE SKY/Basin Street 503] (White) @ Composer, musicologist, jazz historian, educator, clarinet player and bandleader, he teaches at Xavier University by day and plays the music halls of New Orleans by night. Brilliant clarinetist. LEIGH HARRIS - Make A Better World [POLYCHROME JUNCTION/self-release] (Earl King) @ Also known as "Little Queenie", a fabulous singer in just about any genre. We love Leigh. THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND - Bongo Beep [THIS IS THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND COLLECTION/Shout! Factory] (Charlie Parker) @ This Charlie Parker cover, highly unusual for a New Orleans brass band at the time, was long out-of-print but is now available on this brand-new compilation, co-produced and with songs chosen by Chuck Taggart. It spans the Dirty Dozen's entire career, all ten albums, and Chuck carefully chose all the songs himself, no matter what it says on the sticker on the album's shrink wrap. -- Set 4 THE RED STICK RAMBLERS - The Devil With the Devil [RIGHT KEY, WRONG KEYHOLE/Memphis Int'l. DOT 0211] (Larry Clinton) @ Brand-new from the Ramblers, and their first recording since their personnel changes: Joel Savoy is out on fiddle, former Balfa Toujours fiddler Kevin Wimmer is in, plus mandolinist/songwriter Josh Caffery has unfortunately left the band. THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ VIPERS - Did You Mean It? [LIVE ON FRENCHMEN STREET/self-release] (Mort Dixon, Abe Lyman) @ Still playing great 20s/30s jazz at the Spotted Cat on Frenchmen Street every Monday and Friday, plus this coming weekend at Jazzfest's Economy Hall tent BANU GIBSON & NEW ORLEANS HOT JAZZ - I've Got My Fingers Crossed [WWOZ ON CD, VOL. 22: THE SOUNDS OF NEW ORLEANS/WWOZ-FM] A live performance from last year's Fest, from the long series of subscribers-only premium CDs made available to members of WWOZ New Orleans. (Insert plug for how great it is to be a member of your favorite public radio station!) -- Set 5 (Mini-set around the top of the hour) The Gospel Tent! We'd like to give you a bit of an idea what it's like inside one of the most popular Jazzfest stages, the Gospel Tent, plus a little visiting reggae ... ONE-A-CHORD - Sweeping Through the City [NEW ORLEANS GOSPEL TENT/Louisiana Red Hot 9151] (James Hendon) @ VAL & LOVE ALIVE CHOIR - Oh Lord We Praise You [SANCTIFIED! GOSPEL FROM NEW ORLEANS/Tipitina's Records 1404] (Trad.) @ TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS - Monkey Man [THE VERY BEST OF TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS/Island 542345] (Frederick Hibbert) @ -- Set 6 NICKEL CREEK - This Side [THIS SIDE/Sugar Hill 3969] (Sean Watkins) @ This amazing, exhilirating young bluegrass/rock/jazz group makes their Jazzfest debut this year. FRANKIE FORD - Roberta [MORE NEW ORLEANS PARTY CLASSICS/Rhino R2-70587] (M. Smith, John Vincent) @ The greatest white singer in New Orleans R&B of the 1950s. EDDIE BO - Hard Times [KEYS TO THE CRESCENT CITY/Rounder 2087] (Eddie Bocage) @ Perhaps New Orleans most underappreciated R&B/funk piano players, and a great singer to boot. There's a lot more to Eddie than his early '60s dance-craze hit "Check Mr. Popeye" COOLBONE BRASS BAND - The Saints [BRASS-HOP/Hollywood Records 162066] (Trad., arr by E.D. Clay) @ The first N.O. brass band to fuse traditional street brass band sounds with hip-hop. -- Set 7 CLARENCE "FROGMAN" HENRY - Ain't Got No Home [WWOZ ON CD, VOL. 10: THE SOUNDS OF NEW ORLEANS/WWOZ-FM] (Clarence Henry) @ One of N.O.'s R&B masterpieces for going on 40 years. Frogman'll do it again this weekend, and here he is performing his biggest hit live at Jazzfest 1998. CLARENCE "GATEMOUTH" BROWN - Honey Boy [WWOZ ON CD, VOL. 13: THE SOUNDS OF NEW ORLEANS/WWOZ-FM[ (Billy Butler, Bill Doggett) @ -- Set 8 THE SAVOY FAMILY BAND - Chataignier Two-Step [CAJUN ALBUM/Arhoolie 508] (Trad.) @ Pronounced sa-VWAH and sha-TAN-yer. From the first album featuring renowned Cajun musicians Marc Savoy (accordion), his wife Ann (guitar and vocals) with 3 of their 4 children: Joel (pronounced zho-ELL) on fiddle, Wilson on accordion, vocals and Jerry Lee Lewis piano, and Sarah on guitar and vocals. THE HACKBERRY RAMBLERS - Une Piastre Ici, Une Piastre Là-Bas (A Dollar Here, A Dollar There) [J'AI ÉTÉ AU BAL: I WENT TO THE DANCE, VOL. 1/Arhoolie 331] (Luderin Darbone) @ Pronounced oon PYASS EE-SEE, oon PYASS LAH-BAH. The Hackberry Ramblers were formed in 1933, and have been performing continuously since then with two of the founding members still in the band. This year they celebrate their 72nd anniversary playing Cajun music! BELTON RICHARD - Un Autre Soir Ennuyant (Another Lonely Night) [J'AI ÉTÉ AU BAL: I WENT TO THE DANCE, VOL. 2/Arhoolie 332] (Richard) @ Surname pronounced REE-shard, song pronounced "en oat swahr on-wee-awnt" D. L. MENARD - Ti Galop Pour Mamou (Little Ride to Mamou) [NO MATTER WHERE YOU AT, THERE YOU ARE/Rounder 6021] (Trad.) @ Pronounced "tee galo poo mah-MOO" "The Cajun Hank Williams", and one of Cajun music's finest and most expressive singer/songwriters for 45 years. -- Set 9 Jazzfest traditionally closes with performances at the two biggest stages on opposite ends of the Fair Grounds, by two of the top bands in New Orleans. Here they are, to close out our Jazzfest specials. Chuck will be back next week, with an armload of CDs to share, having spent way too much money on music, as usual! THE RADIATORS - Oh Beautiful Loser [LAW OF THE FISH/Epic EK-40888] (Baudoin, Bua, Malone, Scanlan, Sears, Volker) @ When the Rads are asked "What kinda music y'all play?", they always respond "Fish Head Music!" ... their own brand of New Orleans inflected rock 'n roll. THE NEVILLE BROTHERS - Over Africa [VALENCE STREET/Columbia 68906] (Gretchen Peters) @ The First Family of New Orleans music.

 

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