Can it really get any better?

French Quarter Fest was my second tour of duty in NOLA with the Frenchmen Krewe (despite feeling like it was my twentieth...love you guys) and I find myself asking, "can it really get any better than it was last weekend?" Funny, but I asked myself that same exact question after Satchmo Fest last August. And the answer I'm most comfortable with is YES...and NO.

Every weekend was or will be unique even though the names are familiar. From friends -- Peter, Kevin, Kim, Maria, Barri, Leroy, Katja, Carol and Boz -- to performers -- Trombone Shorty, Bonerama, Treme w/ Uncle Lionel, Hurricane Brass Band w/ Leroy and Katja -- to places -- 13, dba, Blue Nile, Electric Ladyland, Rays, Vaughn's, Donna's -- to...well, you get the point. NOLA is both incredibly familiar and unbelievely new and fresh every time I now visit. Traditions are taking shape (Crawfish Boils MUST be one of them!!!) yet spontaneity rules. Friendships are intimate without effort or expectations. The one word that most closely describes our time together?...MAGICAL.

I'll be blogging more thoughts (with my shirt ON...thanks, Kev!) and will post a few pics shortly. Miss you all already and can't wait for Satchmo Fest 2008 to arrive.

"Break Out Your Beads..."

The headline in the NY Post proclaimed it and Fat Tuesday arrived early in The Big Apple this past weekend. A proverbial all star line up of NOLA musicians -- aptly named the Kings of Crescent City -- blew us all away!! The performance was at the Rose Theater, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the band included:

- Victor Goines on clarinet and soprano sax
- Marcus Printup on trumpet
- Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews on trumpet and trombone
- Wycliffe Gordon on trombone and tuba
- "Papa" Don Vappie on banjo and guitar
- Jonathan Batiste on piano
- Reginald Veal on bass
- Herlin Riley on drums and percussion
- Wendell Pierce as host and narrator

The program, musical selections and narration focused on four of the original Kings of Crescent City -- Joe King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong. I won't bore everyone with an exhaustive list of the numbers they chose but the combination of musical talent and superb narrative brought together NOLA's history and paid marvelous tribute to four men who changed the history of jazz and left a legacy which we all are privileged to still enjoy today.

It was a bit strange at first to see this ultra cool group of jazz artists in suits and ties on stage at Lincoln Center with music stands and sheet music but within the first several measures of the opening number, it was clear that although the atmosphere was more formal and dignified than most any club we frequent down in the Quarter, the experience would be something very special and unforgettable -- and as comfortable as sitting together with them in a private club. It was truly magical.

My favorite part of the performance was how the narrative helped to bring the whole thing alive. Garnering insight into the lives of the legends who wrote and/or performed the music we were treated to that night made me feel closer than ever to the essence of what makes NOLA jazz the most incredible form of music on the planet, IMHO.

Kevin tells me the performance might be broadcast on radio or Internet radio in the future so hopefully we'll all get to taste the magic one more time!