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Shout Out to New Orleans: Artist Links and Community Information
 Dr. John
Dr. John, or Mac Rebennack as he is known to friends and family, is universally celebrated as the living embodiment of the rich musical heritage exclusive to New Orleans. His very colorful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of the Crescent City, including recordings by Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Joe Tex and Frankie Ford. A notorious gun incident forced the artist to give up the guitar and concentrate on organ and piano. Further trouble at home sent Dr. John west in the 1960s, where he continued to be in demand as a session musician, playing on records by Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin to name a few. He also launched his solo career, developing the charismatic persona of Dr. John The Night Tripper. Adorned with voodoo charms and regalia, a legend was born with his breakthrough 1968 album Gris-gris, which established his unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, rhythm & blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots.
Homepage
Myspace
Youtube - "Goin' Back to New Orleans"
Purchase "City That Care Forgot" from Amazon
Learn More About "City That Care Forgot"
Big Sam's Funky Nation
Presiding over his Funky Nation is Big Sam, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who blows the funk out of his trombone and refuses to let the audience sit still. Between solos and trombone riffs, Big Sam second-lines (a uniquely New Orleans style of street-dance) and gets the crowd going both in movement and in replies to his call-and-response MC-style. A talented group of jazz-trained musicians makes up the Funky Nation, bringing with them the improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that's the hallmark of big band funk.
Homepage
Myspace
Youtube - "Live @ Voodoo Fest in New Orleans"
Purchase "Peace, Love & Understanding" from Amazon
 Dumpstaphunk
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk is a group of musicologists that transcend age and styles in a free-flowing approach to their art. Dumpstaphunk weaves a vocal and musical tapestry from key members of Dave Matthews & Friends, Trey Anastasio, Jewel and the Neville musical families. The band's music incorporates drops of Sly and the Family Stone and Meter-esque jams as well as other diverse influences into a spicy musical gumbo.
from http://www.bonnaroo.com/artists/ivan-nevilles-dumpstaphunk.aspx
Homepage
Myspace
Youtube - "Live @ Riverview Fest in Chicago"
Purchase "Listen Hear" from Amazon
Dr. Michael White
In addition to being a major performer whose clarinet style is inspired by the Creole and blues playing of Johnny Dodds, Jimmie Noone, Edmond Hall, George Lewis, Barney Bigard and Omer Simeon, Dr. Michael White…has appeared on more than three dozen recordings, including 11 CDs of his own, three of which are on Basin Street Records: A Song for George Lewis, Jazz from the Soul of New Orleans and Dancing in the Sky. He has traveled the world, performing in over two dozen countries, and his was the first traditional New Orleans jazz band to play at the legendary Village Vanguard, where he has been a regular for 16 years. After teaching Spanish for over twenty years, White currently holds the Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities at Xavier University. He is also featured in several dozen books, has written scores of essays that have appeared in journals, books and encyclopedias, has worked on over two dozen documentary films and worked with Wynton Marsalis in creating major concert tributes to the early New Orleans jazz greats. On Blue Crescent as throughout his musical life, Dr. Michael White keeps New Orleans jazz alive not only by celebrating the past but by creating new music in the classic tradition.
Homepage
Video - "Dr. Michael White's Original Liberty Band"
Purchase "Blue Crescent" from Amazon
 Terence Blanchard
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans native son Terence Blanchard has created an impassioned song cycle, A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), as his third album for Blue Note Records. (Since signing with the label in 2003, Blanchard has released two other critically-acclaimed albums, Bounce and Flow, the latter of which was nominated for two Grammy®s in 2006.) This 13-track emotional tour de force of anger, rage, compassion, melancholy, and beauty features Blanchard’s quintet — pianist Aaron Parks, saxophonist Brice Winston, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Kendrick Scott — as well as a 40-member string orchestra.
Homepage
Myspace
Purchase "A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)" from Amazon
Treme Brass Band
Benny Jones, Sr., a brass band veteran and son of noted musician Chester Jones, founded the Treme Brass Band over 15 years ago, following his role as a drummer with the Olympia Brass Band and a leader of the Dirty Dozen and Chosen Few Brass Bands. Although they are known internationally through their recordings and tours, the Treme Brass Band is still firmly rooted in the New Orleans street band tradition. Many veterans of Treme have gone on to found other bands, including the Rebirth, New Birth, and Little Rascal Bands. The Tremè Brass Band plays the music of a people. The people in New Orleans who know how to celebrate life with a second line parade or mourn a person's death with a jazz funeral. The Tremè Brass Band represents the future of the New Orleans Brass Band Tradition. Although their music is steeped in the deep roots of New Orleans Jazz, this ensemble of young and old bring to it a fresh, exuberance which mixes elements of funk, soul, and modern jazz to the delight of all listeners.
Myspace
Youtube - "Second Line for Ed Bradley"
Purchase "New Orleans Music" from Amazon
 DJ Soul Sister
The host of the 14-year running Soul Power show on WWOZ 90.7FM in New Orleans (Saturdays 8-10pm CST) and a live specialty DJ who has taken the local nightlife by storm, Soul Sister was one of the first US radio DJs to highlight the rare groove format and is one of the few female DJs to spin and mix 100% funk (on 100% vinyl) and related original styles in her live performances.
Homepage
Myspace
DJ Soul Sister's "Deep Funk & Rare Groove for Beginners" on Amazon
SECOND LINE JAZZ FUNERAL
The jazz funeral is a tradition based on a centuries-old African ideology that has, in modern times, become a sacred experience, unique to Louisiana, which began as early as the evolution of jazz itself. When a "jazz man" leaves the earth, there is first a viewing and service at the church followed by a march to the final resting place. En route to the cemetery, slow mournful dirges comfort the family, and once out of earshot, the elegies turn into a festive celebration of the recently departed. The Jazz Funeral is such an important cornerstone of life in New Orleans that an entire business model was established based on this tradition. Fraternal organizations known as social and pleasure clubs arose to provide burial insurance for the lower and middle class Black citizens who wanted to guarantee an appropriate send off to their loved ones.
from http://www.dirtydozenbrass.com/ffaf.html
Youtube - "Jazz Tubist Kirwin James Funeral Part 1"
Youtube - "Jazz Tubist Kirwin James Funeral Part 2"
New Orleans Community Resources
WWOZ 90.7 FM - New Orleans' Jazz & Heritage Station
Music Calendar
WWW.LEVEES.ORG - Your Source for information about levees and flood protection nationwide
COMMON GROUND RELIEF - Common Ground Relief's mission is to provide short term relief for victims of hurricane disasters in the gulf coast region, and long term support in rebuilding the communities affected in the New Orleans area.
Contributed by: Ned Sublette, Ian Staub
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