“Fall Weather – must be festival season”
Monday morning was all Diana – she started with a run with Laurie and then the poor thing had to have a root canal done. Her mouth was sore the rest of the day and night.
I was surprised to get an email for a Rush concert tour presale. Their amazing drummer, Neal Peart, died several years ago and I really didn’t expect them to ever replace him. And they haven’t only replaced him – but with a girl. Who knew? I’m hoping to be able to see them on this tour – one last time. I’ve loved every one of their shows that I’ve attended. Here’s what Rick Beato has to say about the new drummer, who played in Jeff Beck’s band before he died.
Late breaking news – I tried to buy tickets and was abhorred by the price they were asking. There’s no way I’m paying close to $400 for a ticket when I can see amazing music here in New Orleans for $20. That doesn’t even take into account the airfare and hotel to go and watch the show. So disappointed in the remaining two members of Rush – just a money grab.
I watched a documentary about Paddy Chayefsky and enjoyed it a lot. If you’re not familiar, he is the only screenwriter to win three Academy awards (for Marty, The Hospital, and Network.) Here’s some more detail:
I smiled when I heard that Paddy, Mel Brooks, Bob Fosse, and Neil Simon used to eat lunch together at the Carnegie Deli every day – can you imagine how entertaining those sessions were?
We made an excursion over to the old Gretna mall (10 minute drive, but on the other side of the Mississippi) on Tuesday afternoon. I bought a replacement bezel and insert for my old watch and wanted to see if the watch repair guys there could install it, as I followed the instructions and couldn’t make it work. It’s been a long time since I was in one of these malls – food court, Dillard’s, JC Penney and all the rest of the stores you would expect, and I realize that I have spent waaaay too much time in those over the years. They couldn’t make the bezel work but did show me that it was slightly the wrong size and told me what model number to try and find. I think I found one and will give it a try.
After that excitement, I stopped by the New Orleans Athletic Club (NOAC) for a pleasant swim and steam.
Diana started Wednesday with her usual run and yoga routine. Meanwhile, I worked on the guitar part of “Centerfield” by John Fogerty – there is a lot of work to be done. This is the first time that I’ve picked up the guitar in a while, and I’m looking forward to getting into learning some new songs. I’m amazed at all the different way YouTube teachers tell you to play the same song. And none of them seem to match up with what I watch Fogerty playing on his videos.
In the afternoon, we made the short walk down to Aquila Bistro for a coffee and a chat (crossword already done.) I regaled Diana with stories from the “Perfect Tuba” book that I’m reading – discussing how the two perfect tubas created by the York company in the 1930s have not been duplicated after all the major and specialty manufacturers have tried. Just like the difference between a Stradivarius and all comers.
We tried the NOAC pickleball court on Thursday morning. It wasn’t useable, even for warm up rallying. There were too many dead zones where the ball didn’t bounce at all. I have since talked to the owner of the club who told me he’s having the stones re-laid and flattened to provide a better court. We look forward to that happening.
I had a swim instead of pickleball and Diana walked on the treadmill.
After that, I twisted Diana’s arm and we drove over to 1,000 figs for a delicious Mediterranean lunch – sharing the falafel platter (more than enough for two.)
In the evening we watched the movie “What Happens Later” starring Meg Ryan and David Duchovny, and directed by Ryan. This was a quiet movie – the two characters had a relationship many years ago, and meet randomly when attempting to catch connections in a small airport. A snow storm delays their flights and they have an opportunity to catch up on their lives. I enjoyed this one.
After that, I watched “Famous Last Words”, an interview with Jane Goodall that she made to air after her death. She is so straight forward, open, and clear in her feelings. One that made me laugh is when she talks about putting Musk, Trump, Trump’s lackeys, and Putin into Musk’s spaceship and launching them off into oblivion. A very engaging watch.
Friday began with some time in Audubon park. Diana and Julia met up for a walk and I had a short run and then walked with them. Julia always has some entertaining news to share – this time that her husband, John, had just made his first hole in one on the golf course. Had to happen at some point for someone who plays golf four or five times a week.
After that I drove Diana around on various errands – over the Mississippi (again) to the Harvey Target for some returns, over to the NOAC to pick up the fancy water bottle she forgot on the treadmill yesterday, and then to the Whole Foods on Broad Street to pick up some supplies for the weekend. Quite the tour of New Orleans area hotspots…
John Prine’s (likely my favourite song writer) birthday was celebrated at the Broadside on Friday night with Dave Jordan and an amazing band that he assembled.
Rurik Nunan was the star of the band for me – wonderful violin and a great voice, and seemed to be keeping the band on point and organized. Here he is doing the hilarious “In Spite of Ourselves” with his wife:
I think she did a great job of hamming up the Iris DeMent part.
Lynn Drury did a great job with “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”, followed by “Hello in There” and finally “Angel from Montgomery.” The emotional impact of those three in a row was almost too much for us.
Dave Pomerlou did a good job on a couple of songs and was very solid on the bass:
Jacob Tanner was a star on the pedal steel and slide resonator:
What an amazing band playing some of my favourite music!
Saturday started early so that Diana could vote in the local election before meeting Laurie for a run. I walked down to the Magazine Street firehouse with her and had a coffee while she voted across the street.
Walking in the newly arrived fall weather is a treat.
After the walk, I spent some very pleasant time reading on the front porch. Tourist season is picking up rapidly and there were many folks walking past to meet up with walking tours or to enjoy jazz brunch at Commander’s Palace.
Tommy showed up to change out the air conditioning filters and do some other minor A/C work. I had expected him yesterday, but was happy he came by.
We drove to Jeff and Merry Lee’s place on Saturday afternoon, parked there, and then walked to the Blues and BBQ festival at Lafayette square. Carolyn Wonderland, a favourite from our time at the Kessler theater in Dallas and at various venues in Austin, got things started for us.
I learned something new in Carolyn’s intro speech to one of her songs. She was the lead guitar player in the John Mayall Blues band from 2017 until he retired in 2022. That’s the same band that introduced us to Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and many others. Here’s some more details from Carolyn:
Carolyn Wonderland in John Mayall Blues Band
And a performance with John Mayall:
Kara and Anne met us at the festival and the girls enjoyed a chat on our blanket:
After Carolyn, Leo Nocentelli did a set on the opposite stage. This festival is run by the guys that do the Jazzfest and everything runs to the minute with no downtime between stages. Leo was a founding member of the Meters – the famous funk band from New Orleans that created a whole new style of music. Leo wrote “Cissy Strut” – part of Diana’s introductory course to New Orleans music.
And here’s the 1975 Meters song, “Fire on the Bayou”:
Diana organized food – bringing me yummy garlic shrimp and noodles from the wonderful Vietnamese “Magasin,” and a pupusa for herself from the batture farmer’s market guys.
The Devon Allman Blues Summit were the headliners. Devon is the son of Cher and Duane Allman – looks somewhat like his mother and sings like an even more soulful version of his father. I loved this entire set – alternating Allman Bros songs with their own band and other covers.
My favourite from the Summit was “Little Wing”, the Jimmy Hendrix song that was covered by Duane Allman (Devon’s uncle) on the Derek and the Dominoes album. Here’s the start of the Dominoes version:
And the end:
Larry McCray, a special member of the Summit, did an amazing version of Soulshine:
I love the Les Paul guitar sound on Mellisa:
And the band finished up with “Midnight Rider:”
What a great afternoon and evening of music.
Sunday brought a whole change of pace. We started with a long walk down St Charles Avenue (the streetcar line) to the Jefferson intersection, approximately 2 miles, stopping for a coffee at the Columns on the way back home. Such luxury in such nice weather.
We went to a new country and met the people with their different language and customs on Sunday afternoon. What Kenny calls “the Bahamas of the 9th Ward.”
Trey lives in Venetian Isles – I had no idea that it was a 30 minute drive from our home. The annual Fishing Rodeo was a hoot – not our normal group of folks but a great time. Trey’s friend Nina provided the great music:
Denny participated in the competition but didn’t win the flounder category he was betting on:
A quote from Trey – “No sharks on my boat, you can go to Popeye’s for dinner and it won’t bit you back – absolutely no sharks on my boat.”
Look at these keen fishermen:
And this guy with the hat that Will gave me from his Wolf clothing line – the guys were calling it my “rapper hat” because of the straight bill:
I oscillated between a few books this week. The first was “The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Bass Horn, Band, and Hard Work” by Sam Quinones, a decorated journalist who had focused on drug issues until now. Here’s an online summary:
“The tuba’s sound is mighty, emerging, it seems, from deep in the human body. Very little music has, up until recently, been written to play to its strengths. The best the tuba seems to promise is a seat at the back of the band. No stadium shows, no Internet adulation. And yet, this horn-the youngest of all brass instruments-has captured the hearts of an inspired group of musicians ever since its invention in 1835.
In The Perfect Tuba, Sam Quinones embarks on a trek to get to know American tubists. He tells the astounding stories of two men who set out to replicate the “perfect tuba,” an instrument made by York & Sons in the 1930s and never since equaled; of Big Bill Bell, whose 1950s album rearranged the tuba landscape; and of Arnold Jacobs, a tuba guru at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who studied the physiology of breathing and offered rune-like nuggets of wisdom to his legions of students. Quinones also takes us through the tuba scenes of New Orleans, Orlando, Knoxville, New York City, and, most importantly, Roma, Texas, a dusty town in the Rio Grande Valley where a visionary high school marching band director fashioned a program that now regularly wins state championships and sends its students off to college.
After nearly a decade on the front lines of America’s battle with drug addiction, Sam Quinones delivers another story of our nation, this time brought together by the transformative power of shared joy and humble achievement.”
I remember the first time that I heard Arnold Jacobs and the Chicago Symphony on a piece where the tuba was somewhat prevalent – I was amazed at the depth and resonance of the sound and assumed it was related to the location used for the recording. Turns out he was playing one of the two “perfect tubas.”
There’s a quote in the book about a tuba student who sees John Fletcher play with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble for the first time and is astounded when he breaks out the “Flight of the Bumblebee.” I vividly remember Dad taking me to see these guys and being amazed at the versatility and quality of the playing.
Here’s my favourite John Fletcher and overall tuba recording:
A recording called “Big Bell and his Tuba” from the 1950s was mentioned in the book as the earliest album to feature the tuba as a solo instrument. This is a very entertaining album:
My second book was “The Common Good” by Robert Reich (of the documentary that we watched a couple of weeks ago.) This was an insightful and frustrating read. I agree with most of Reich’s points and we are moving so quickly away from anything resembling what he advocates for.
Reich’s premise for why something needs to be done about “The Common Good”:
” I WAS AT the impressionable age of fourteen when I heard John F. Kennedy urge us not to ask what America can do for us but what we can do for America. Seven years later I took a job as a summer intern in the Senate office of his brother Robert F. Kennedy. It was not a glamorous job, to say the least. I felt lucky when I was asked to run his signature machine. But I told myself that in a very tiny way I was doing something for the good of the country. That was a half century ago. I wish I could say America is a better place now than it was then. Surely our lives are more convenient. Fifty years ago there were no cash machines or smartphones, and I wrote my first book on a typewriter. As individuals, we are as kind and generous as ever. We volunteer in our communities, donate, and help one another. We pitch in during natural disasters and emergencies. We come to the aid of individuals in need. We are a more inclusive society, in that African Americans, women, and gays have legal rights they didn’t have a half century ago. Yet our civic life—as citizens in our democracy, participants in our economy, managers or employees of companies, and members or leaders of organizations—seems to have sharply deteriorated. What we have lost, I think, is a sense of our connectedness to each other and to our ideals—the America that John F. Kennedy asked that we contribute to.”
A definition of “The Common Good:”
My third book didn’t last long – I gave it one chapter and was thoroughly bored with the quoting of names, record labels, and recordings with no through story or narrative. Absolutely not my thing.
I love this song that I heard on a recent TV show. Is it sampling Leon Russell? I think it has to be but haven’t confirmed yet:
I just listened and can confirm that the vocal is definitely sampled:
This band is playing at the newly reopened Jazz Market soon and may be worth a visit:
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and patience for all.