Hello Again Kats & Kittens, Friend & Fiend,
THE GARDENER’S HERE!
Couple very Kool music sites & playlists…try them out….they are also APPS for phone/pad things.
MIX-CLOUD U.K. (☜ hidden button). Hundreds of folks proffering playlists… all over the planet…Kool stuff.
SOMAFM, SanFran (☜ hidden button). 40 + channels, no djs, no adverts…. get this APP, worth it.
ONWARD!
Today we stroll south from THE SHOALS to THE BIG EASY…Nawlins… for some fine fine music. Let’s COOK!
When one thinks New Orleans, it’s usually with a hungover smile, no pants, & beads (that did not happen), one might hear JAZZ, BLUES, DIXIELAND, SOUL, ROCK, SWAMP COUNTRY, HILLBILLY, even METAL……all are present in Cresent City… a very turbulent & fun gumbo…Music with African, Cuban, French, Sicilian backings…what a mess! But it hears sooooo good.
Music is in the air….the city thrives on it…from Joyous Jazz, Rock-n-roll, a Blues tear…to Hillbilly.
The Big Shindig begins in 1830’s…African music is heard at Congo Square. This being pre-civil war, slaves gather on Sundays for music & dance!…white folks join in too, Brass Bands mix with African beats…it’s joyous, a cultural stew. Local piano phenom, LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK composes music & plays here…WAR! GOTTSCHALK sides with the north, moves there during the Civil War…NYC is the place he wants to be… he’s a hit…then travels the world playing piano. At one time, the most famous piano player in the NEW WORLD. Father Jewish, Mother Creole…brought context to his work…Mr. G is regarded as the father of Creole culture & music.
Early 1900’s the Sicilians move in, they have their style it’s called JASS…they have a band too, THE ORIGINAL DIXIELAND JASS BAND & they’re a hit… its the birth of Dixieland Jazz…they record what is believed to be the first Jazz record sold to the public, 1916-17. “Livery Stable Blues”.
Notice…“For Dancing”…
Cuba enters the kitchen…more African beats, plus Carribean rhythms & something called Tresillo rhythms, three beats. On a daily basis musicians from Cuba overnight ferry from Havana to New Orleans. ViceVersa, Nawlins musos cruise to Havana too…CULTURE MIX! Yes there was daily ferry service between the two cities…think about that for a momo…
SECOND LINE is tossed in the pot…Marching Brass Bands, big & boisterous, usually following a casket to Boot Hill (this is New Orleans so the Boot Hill is at sea level, the graves are above ground). Second Line elements whip into JAZZ, pushing the music into full on raucous DIXIELAND…we see them a lot during Mardi Gras.
JELLY ROLL MORTON is considered a progenitor of the Nawlin’s JAZZ sound…stirring in Tresillo & Contradenza rhythms, he called it “The Spanish Tinge” & essential to Jazz.
Post WWII, 1949. A new thing called RHYTHM & BLUES is percolating… Keys Legend FATS DOMINO & Trumpet/Producer Extraordinaire DAVE BARTHOLEMEW… mix into the R&B pot a healthy dose of Cuban Tresillo percussion rhythms, stir it up…aaannnnnd BOOM!…there it is. “Blueberry Hill”, “I’m Walkin’”, “Ain’t That a Shame”, “Whole Lotta Lovin’”, “Walkin’ To New Orleans”.
FATS & DAVE working it out…
Dave Bartholemew…played ‘til the end…..passed away at 100.
Nawlins has a Metal scene too…. EXHORDER the architects of the “Louisiana Sound” a mix of DOOM Metal & Thrash Metal…both ear bleedingly loud…got off ground, late 1980s, EYEHATEGOD, DOWN, CROWBAR, ACID BATH, SOILENT GREEN, GOATWHORE, KINGDOM OF SORROW, GRAVEYARD RODEO & SUPERJOINT RITUAL…such great names. We could, but won’t, do a whole missive on this scene….we’re staying’ in the jazz/blues kitchen.
New Orleans is such a Kool place…wish we could get there for some cookin’. We’ve heard the food is OK too. Our music pot is full, has to simmer overnight…
Thanks for listening, until tomorrow.
Peace & Distance.
