“The Days Between”
Monday was a busy day, packed with a variety of activities. Things kicked off with my colonoscopy in the morning – no findings and so I don’t need to repeat the joy of the preparation for another 10 years.
Since it had been so long since I had eaten, Diana drove me to Juan’s Flying Burrito (excellent comfort food) where we feasted on crawfish queso – yum, followed by a breakfast chorizo burrito for me – even had some leftovers.
Our financial advisor, Paul, came over to the house in the afternoon to pick up a check and to give Diana an overview of the stuff she had missed while in California. It’s nice to have Paul just around the corner from us – a quick walk.
“Shorty Fest” is an annual fundraiser for the Trombone Shorty Academy, which provides a free music education class for local students, with meals and transportation provided. The event is held at Tipitinas with a free outdoor street party prior. We enjoyed the three Academy bands (beginner, intermediate, and advanced.) Here’s something from the advanced level:
Stanton Moore inducted the local drummer, Shannon Powell, into the Tips walk of fame:
And then my favourite part, the battle of the bands. Two high school bands face each other and try to outplay each other. See what you think about them:
What do you think? In my opinion, both were very good, with the second band having a slight edge, but that may just be due to where I was standing. I love that there are so many amazing brass bands in New Orleans.
I almost forgot this character. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone put as much oomph into playing the bass drum:
Quite the eventful Monday.
Tuesday began with a couple of laps around Audubon park. Then it was back over to Tipitinas. I had seen the annual Zildjian jam advertised between prior Jazzfest weekends and never managed to attend as it’s held in the afternoon. Semi-retirement to the rescue! Here’s a little history on the Zildjian company:
The company was founded in Constantinople in 1623 by Avedis Zildjian, an Armenian. Zildjian is now based in Norwell, Massachusetts. Zildjian is the oldest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world as well as one of the oldest continuously operating companies in the world. Zildjian sells cymbals, drumsticks, percussion mallets and other drum accessories under the Zildjian, Vic Firth and Balter Mallet brands.
Very impressive. Two members of the family were on stage for some short commentary.
The event featured an outstanding house band, including Ivan Neville, Ian Neville, and Tony Hall. A host of drummers took turns coming out to play a song with the house band. This was amazing – so much musical variety and different styles of drumming. Tif Lamson sang and played the drums, she most recently was part of Shania Twain’s band:
Nikki Glaspie is a local, multi-talented musician. Here she drummed and sang backup:
I really enjoyed the elder statesman of the group, Ricky Sebastian:
And finally, showing off for the drummer audience, Stanton Moore takes it to another level:
What a great way to spend an afternoon. I enjoyed telling the guys at trivia on Tuesday evening what they had missed. We came in fourth place, not horrible but we aim for a top three position. There was a question about what liquor comes in yellow and green versions – this reminded me of my visit to the Chartreuse distillery in France as a youngster.
Diana came across these characters just wandering down St. Charles avenue on Wednesday morning. We have no idea where they could have been coming from our going to.
I don’t think that I’ve seen chicks with those spotted markings.
We met Kara and Kenny for a late lunch/early dinner at Peche – wonderful again on our second visit, and then walked to Lafayette Square for the free Wednesday evening concert, featuring Sunpie and Eric Lindell.
Kara seems to be having fun. Lindell put on a good show, featuring Derek Huston on saxophone – I’m glad they made up.
A third day in a row with good music.
A visit to the New Orleans Athletic Club started our Thursday. In the evening we made a visit to the Bouligny tavern – Diana was there recently with Kara, and it’s been way too long since I visited. They play vinyl records, make good drinks, and have great food, sharing a kitchen with Lilette next door. The bartender was mildly grumpy to start but we quickly got her onside. Conversation turned to our travels back and forward to Pacifica – “Oh, I know where that is, I used to go to parties at Jim’s house down on Pedro Point.” We wondered if that was the same Jim that paddleboards with Adamo and Luciano. Some quick texting revealed that it was indeed the same Jim. What are the odds? The odds got even slimmer when the newly arrived second bartender asked, “Pacifica, isn’t that the one with the Taco Bell on the beach?”
We returned to Jazzfest on Friday. Diana really wanted to see the country star Luke Combs, and she should get to choose every once in a while. The Deslondes kicked off the action on the main stage with the best song that I heard at the fest, a cover of J.J. Cale’s “Drifting Wife”:
Mark Broussard followed and didn’t quite seem to have his usual powerful voice. We read the next morning that he had to cut his set short and apparently was suffering from dehydration. He still did a good job:
We met the boys at Congo Square to see some of B.I.M. (Benin International Musical). They have an unusual sound – afro beat mixed with some other styles.
From there we wandered over to the Lagniappe stage and saw Kristin Diable (very good) :
Kristin was followed by 007 – a ska band featuring Alex McMurray and friends that were celebrating 25 years:
We popped into the Gospel tent on our way back to the main stage and caught this gem from Irma Thomas (now 83):
And now it was time for the main event (at least in Diana’s eyes) – Luke Combs. I admit that he pleased the crowd with hit after hit, sounded good, and put on a very professional show. A lady next to us commented on how much she was enjoyed Diana enjoying the music – indeed she was:
We stayed for about fifty minutes and then caught some of The Wailers featuring Julian Marley at Congo Square, on our way to Gentilly:
A fun filled day ended at Gentilly with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Still sounding great and pleasing the crowd with all the hits in her sixties. I really enjoyed this show, a great way to finish out the 2025 edition of Jazzfest.
I dropped Diana at the airport on Sunday for her flight to San Francisco to prepare for Clorinda’s funeral services. Meanwhile, at St Columba’s church in Stewarton, Scotland, Hamish was being christened. I hear he listened intently to the minister (George) and didn’t even flinch when anointed with the holy water.
Coexist peacefully, with patience and kindness for all!