Uncle Lionel Gets Around!

From the Louisiana Weekly

New Orleans style jazzfest in Norway
By Thor A. Nagell, Contributing WriterAugust 13, 2007
Every summer, 100,000 people crowd together in a tiny town on the west coast of Norway to celebrate jazz, New Orleans style. One week a year, the sleepy town comes to life, and inhabitants and tourists join together in a weeklong jazz splurge, all headed by "Uncle" Lionel Batiste from New Orleans.
The little town called Molde is known mainly for two things - roses and jazz. The town slogan, "the town of roses'" should perhaps be changed to "the town of jazz," as it is host to one of the oldest and most renowned jazz festivals of Europe. Molde International Jazz Festival was established as early as 1960 by local enthusiasts and has been arranged annually ever since, this year for the 47th time.
The local jazzfest has managed to put its hometown on the map in European and international jazz circles, and despite its small scale, it continues to draw major international names to its stages. Jazz musicians from every corner of the world (and especially the U.S. seem to have a fondness for the festival, from Mr. Jazz himself, the venerable Miles Davis, headliner for the festival back in 1984, to Oscar Peterson and his trio who visited in 1987. Ray Charles has played at the charming outdoor scene of "Romsdalsmuseet," a museum for the region of Romsdal with idyllic, old log houses surrounded by picturesque ponds and birch trees. In 1996 Bob Dylan played for a record-breaking crowd of nearly 10.000 people at the museum grounds, joining the ranks of other headliners such as Sting, Paul Simon, B.B. King and Eric Clapton.
Post-Katrina collaboration
Some of the major names at this year's festival were Elvis Costello and New Orleans soul icon Allen Toussaint. Together they gave a fabulous concert at the old museum, surrounded by greenery and log houses.
The concert was almost identical to the one they did in support for the victims of Katrina. After this concert they collaborated on the album "The River in Reverse," which features seven Toussaint-classics together with five new tracks they made together, as well as some tracks signed Costello.
Other names at the festival this year were Steely Dan, Chick Corea & Gary Burton, as well as a long range of other American, Norwegian, European and African musicians. The festival had a total of about 60 different concerts at 12 scenes and an additional 12 concerts for free at two different scenes - one outside the Town Hall and another in the small "Alexandra" park with thousands of roses, adjoining the harbor.
Looking to New Orleans
While Molde is without a doubt Norway's jazz capital, there is even less doubt that the jazz-loving Norwegians look to New Orleans for inspiration. One popular establishment is called "Perspiration Hall" - humorously named after Preservation Hall on Bourbon Street. Furthermore, the festival is officially opened by a popular and crowded street parade - local musicians and dancers, the manager of the festival Mr. Jan Ole Otnes, the traditional "artist in residence," all appear in the street parade - even the Prime Minister of Norway once danced his way through the streets of Molde, proving once and for all that white men can't dance, according to local reverberations of the event.
Leading the way in the parade, we find "Uncle" Lionel Batiste - a familiar face to the regulars of the festival. Born in 1931, he has become the "granddaddy" and trademark of the festival, even appearing in marketing campaigns. When we ask him about his role in the festival, he hurries off to retrieve an issue of the local newspaper, featuring a big picture of himself and the festival manager on the front cover.
"I love being here in Molde and enjoying the music, the atmosphere and the friendly people. And I love dancing in the street parade," says Batiste.
It is perhaps no surprise that he enjoys his role as a front figure, seeing as he has been an artist and entertainer for more than six decades.
Batiste first started playing bass drum with the Square Deal Social & Pleasure Club in his home neighborhood, the Tremé, at age 11. In Norway, he has been collaborating with acclaimed singer Tricia Boutté and the local Ytre Suløens Jazz Ensemble, with whom he made the recording "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans" in 2001. Batiste himself, like so many other New Orleanians, lost his home when Katrina hit, and feels thankful that his jazz-loving friends in Norway warmly welcome him every year.
Make jazz, not war
For the sixth consecutive year, Norway ranks first at the United Nations' quality of life survey. Social Security systems provide parents with one-year paid maternity leave, and medical care, including hospitalization, is free for everyone.
The working stock is guaranteed a minimum of four weeks paid vacation every year, which means that residents of Molde and neighboring towns often take an entire week off to enjoy the jazzfest full-time. Perhaps this is the reason why serious crime is practically absent, even during the crowded and at times alcohol-fuelled week of music. The peaceful festival-goers are effectively watched over by friendly and unarmed police officers, as all police are unarmed in regular duty. This approach seems appropriate for the occasion, as Norwegian festival-goers seem more interested in making jazz, than making "war."