John Ellis Writes a Letter to the Editor: "Gumbo, Joie De Vivre And The New Orleans Saints"

by John Ellis

He was born in North Carolina, and is now based in New York City. But in between, saxophonist John Ellis lived in New Orleans for five years. And he still keeps One Foot In The Swamp, as he titled a 2005 album: he often takes the city as his muse in his own composing, and the rest of his current band, Double-Wide, is based in the Big Easy. After the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl last night, he was so happy that he offered to write us something to commemorate the occasion. --Ed.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees celebrates his team's Super Bowl victory. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

I am not a football fan. I haven't cared about the Super Bowl since I was 12 years old. But last night, when it all settled in, when I really grasped that the New Orleans Saints had won the Super Bowl, I cried.

It's a poetic story: a city nearly destroyed by a hurricane returns five years later to win the Super Bowl. It's appealing in a predictable Hollywood way. But this is an outsider's perspective -- a distant detachment kind of narrative, like watching a movie with a satisfying ending. For the people of New Orleans, it's much more than that. When I spoke to my friend on St. Charles Ave., as the party raged past him, he let out a huge cathartic sigh and said, simply: "We needed this."

Post-Katrina New Orleans is tragic and beautiful at the same time. The pain of the storm and the displacement is apparent in overt or subtle ways in nearly every interaction. And yet, there's a new proactive kind of defiance and a commitment to rebirth that's intoxicating. Fleur-de-lis are tattooed on skin, printed on clothing and flags, bumper stickers, candleholders, clocks, underwear. It takes significant effort to get to a place where there aren't several fleur-de-lis in your line of vision. People feel a special kind of pride about their city, a pride that they feel outsiders just don't quite understand. And they're acting in many varied ways to take charge and invest and rebuild.

In spite of the odds, they're beginning to hope again.

In spite of the precariousness of their existence due to levees and dysfunctional government and hurricanes to come, hope is returning. In spite of the sad truth that many in the nation and the world only think New Orleans is a debaucherous, sinful party destination, people are dreaming of a better future. In spite of a football franchise unparalleled in its capacity to disappoint, they dared to believe. And they were not disappointed this time.

The team transcended metaphor and symbol, and became gumbo and jazz and joie de vivre. Their performance in the game was all heart and risk-taking, and as they fought on in such an unpredictable fashion, they not only represented the city of New Orleans: they were New Orleans. They went beyond football and became poetry.

I am not a football fan, but this is so much more than football. I've never been more proud to cry.

John Ellis
Feb. 8, 2010
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Upcoming: Export NOLA "Experience New Orleans Music!" @ Sullivan Hall & Bitter End - This Friday

This Friday! January 8th Export NOLA: Experience New Orleans Music! 2 Venues 1 Ticket! $20adv - $25dos At The Bitter End & Sullivan Hall Funky Butt Revisited featuring Big Sam Williams, Christian Scott, Jon Batiste, Will Bernard, Doug Wimbish, & more Jason Marsalis' Vibes Quartet/ John Ellis & Double-Wide/ Christian Scott/ The John Batiste Band/ Paul Sanchez Duo feat. Matt Perine The Bitter End Lineup: The Iguanas/ Rosie Ledet & The Zydeco / Playboys/ Paul Sanchez/ Jamie McLean Band/ Mia Borders

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Dr. John: Chicken Gumbo For The Soul

NPR has named Dr. John's “You Might Be Surprised” (from his new CD The City That Care Forgot) as its “Song of the Day,” praising the doctor’s “grizzled, gumbo-soaked voice” (sigh — “gumbo-soaked”? Is that like “whiskey-soaked”?).

Andre Williams & The New Orleans Hellhounds: Can You Deal With It?

At age 72, Chicago’s “Mr. Rhythm” is showing no signs of slowing down. Popping up on the American soul scene in the mid-1950s, Andre Williams scored a number of small-time hits such as “Bacon Fat” and “Jail Bait” for Detroit’s Fortune Records. Through the 1960s and ‘70s he supplemented his career as a Chess Records recording artist by writing and producing material for Stevie Wonder, Ike and Tina, and Parliament/Funkadelic.

his time around, Mr. Rhythm teams up with the “alcoholic miscreants” of the Morning 40 Federation. Known here as the New Orleans Hellhounds, this rollicking ten-piece really is more beast than band. Over 33 minutes and nine cuts, Can You Deal With It? is a sleaze rock mud bath. Stylistically, you get the works. Whether it’s hot-rodded R&B, a woozy hangover ballad, or just some good old-fashioned front porch country, this album’s got just about everything you can cram under the garage rock umbrella.


Hot 8 Brass Band of New Orleans




The Eighth Annual Satchmo SummerFest Is back at theOld US Mint


Widespread Panic to Celebrate Halloween in New Orleans

These shows mark the group’s return to New Orleans for Halloween after a six-year absence. Widespread Panic performed in the Big Easy on or around Halloween each fall from 1997-2002.

Guitarist Jimmy Robinson flies solo on new CD

Throughout his long career with rock-fusion band Woodenhead and guitar collective Twangorama, the electric guitar has served as Jimmy Robinson's main ax.

To hear selected tracks from this release, click HERE.

In New Orleans, The Sound Never Sets: Music of every melodic shade.

From the Treme Brass Band in full swing among the baggage carousels at Louis Armstrong Airport to small venues where performers sometimes outnumber spectators, the Big Easy is America’s easiest place to see music of every melodic shade. As a summer destination, it merits consideration: Satchmo SummerFest starts next week. But for me, NOLA sounds best during Jazz Fest.

John Ellis: Son Of A Preacher Man

So how was that experience different from going down to New Orleans?

I didn’t really start playing jazz in any way that makes any sense until I went to New Orleans. New Orleans was the beginning of my experience with jazz. But the school was pretty disorganized by what I had been through already. And there were all these opportunities to play, you can think of New Orleans as a kind of big school. And I really started to plat a lot, and it was a community of musicians that had a lot of the same interests, we were all kind of aspiring towards a similar thing. Nicholas Payton is just about a year older than me, he was down there trying to find his record deal. And he was really influential because his talent was so unbelievable, even back then. He influenced the whole scene down there in that era. And there was a lot of informal… that actually doesn’t exist there anymore either, it was an amazing time. There were all these informal gigs, we played for tips, a couple regular gigs that were every Tuesday and every Saturday. We played for tips, it was like a jazz session basically. All the musicians were really good.

Tom Morgan’s New Orleans Music Show #10

WWOZ-FM, New Orleans: Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Tom Morgan celebrates New Year’s Day 2008 on WWOZ-FM, New Orleans, with a brilliant panorama of New Orleans music by Louis Armstrong and piano professors Jelly Roll Morton, Tom McDermott, Clarence Williams, Armand Hug, Tuts Washington, Dave Paquette & David Torkanowsky, and Josh Paxton.

Zip and de Doo Da’s

Eddie Zip was one of these guys who was around in the 60s when black R and B was rolling in New Orleans. Unlike a lot of the white population, he wasn’t scared to get to know and associate with black artists. Eddie’s main axe is the piano and, as I say sometimes, “man, that cat can JUMP!” He’s comes from the same influences as the best New Orleans piano guys in town: Professor Longhair, Dr. John, John Cleary, Joe Crown, Huey Smith, Allen Toussaint…

He’s the real deal.

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Creole Wild West: A panel and performance by legendary Indian tribe




Johnny Vidacovich's road to recovery

In a city laden with renowned drummers, Vidacovich is iconic. As a boy, older musicians picked him up "to go play music" -- labels, he thus learned, were best ignored. His animated, idiosyncratic style is rooted in New Orleans street beats, but is highly adaptable and expressive.

He's ignited stages around the globe and appeared on more than 250 recordings. His modern jazz ensemble Astral Project, founded in 1978, released its sixth studio album, "Blue Streak," during the 2008 Jazzfest.

His influence extends deep into the next generation. Galactic's Stanton Moore, World Leader Pretend's Arthur Mintz and jazz-funk-hip-hop drummer Kevin O'Day all studied in his house. Former student Brian Blade -- whose credits include Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones and Wayne Shorter -- adorns the July cover of Modern Drummer magazine and cites Vidacovich's influence in the accompanying interview.

Rebirth Brass Band | 06.13 | SF

The fact that colossal bands have been born and bred in New Orleans is no secret, but those that have stayed after Hurricane Katrina aren't as common. It's a city built under sea level with streets full of charm, gravesites above ground and "Fishwater" dumping through sloshing gutters. But, it is also a city of devastation that has displaced many musicians. One band that has stayed pre, post and in the face of more potential hurricanes is the Rebirth Brass Band. In essence, Rebirth represents what New Orleans was, and what she is now. They deserve credit when you hear big horns and think of New Orleans.

Chris Rose: 60-Second Interview with Carlo Nuccio

The people and places in the Royal Fingerbowl pantheon seem so down and out.

Anyone who has been through the trials and tribs of being a severe boozer and hanging out in bars as much as Alex and I have will encounter some pretty seedy characters. And they're hard not to recognize and pen a song about. I mean, there are certain things you can pick up from hanging out in a bar and seeing somebody fall off his stool.

Letter from the Soul Rebels' Manager

Looking out from the stage the crowd looked like a sea of people
hypnotized by the power of the Soul Rebels music. They had never seen
anything like it before. The head music critic in the country came up
to us after the show almost in tears and speechless to tell us it was
the most incredible music he has ever seen come to Greece. In a time
when it seems the world is falling apart and people don't know what to
think of Americans anymore, it meant so much when Winston (the
trombone player) said to the crowd at the end of the concert, "We wish
you peace from New Orleans and peace from the U.S.A." We left the
stage with peace symbols in the air as the whole crowd chanted "Soul
Rebels, Soul Rebels, Soul Rebels...."

Something Else's: New Orleans singing legend Aaron Neville

"We don't argue any more than any other family," Neville says. "The worst it might be is over the order of songs on the set list." They still travel together, in one configuration or another. They are also still growing together, this time toward the Lord.

Music Review: Walter "Wolfman" Washington - Doin' The Funky Thing

"Good stuff — especially if you like to get down and a little funky with a New Orleans legend."

Music from Basin Street

Listen to this weeks musical recommendations from Basin Street.

420 New Orleans Music Show #22




John Ellis & Double-Wide: Dance Like There's No Tomorrow

"Each of the players on this album shine, both independently and as a member of the quartet, with Ellis' compositions standing up to the brilliance of his past works. If you have enjoyed previous John Ellis releases, you will surely enjoy this one."

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Henry Butler Brings New Orleans to NPR

Pianist Henry Butler started playing music as a child in the New Orleans housing projects. Blind since birth, he went on to study at the Louisiana State School for the Blind, learning classical piano scores in Braille.

At Southern University, he majored in voice and minored in piano. Classical, jazz and blues music all filter into his playing. Butler has a new album out called PiaNOLA Live. He recently spoke with Melissa Block and played the grand piano in NPR's Studio 4A.

He Still Loves New Orleans, and Now He’s Mad

Mac Rebennack, the 67-year-old New Orleans pianist, guitarist and songwriter better known as Dr. John, carries the city’s lore in his fingers, his scratchy voice and his memory. He has lived in New York City and on Long Island since the 1980s, but when he revisits his birthplace it’s as if he never left. New Orleans culture, he said in his ever-surprising vocabulary, has “wacknosity” — things only New Orleanians do.

Overheated Magnolias, Refusing to Droop

Most of the band members who first brought the troupe fame in the '70s are no longer in the Magnolias, but the current participants made the outfit's catalogue of classic funk feel fresh, especially when the necklace-throwing, tambourine-shaking Indians arrived halfway through the set. Despite recent health problems, longtime leader Big Chief Bo Dollis performed several songs, including "Hey Pocky Way," adding his chanting Big Easy drawl atop the rhythm section's syncopated, deep-toned beats.

ERNIE K-DOE / “Certain Girl”

Burn, K-Doe, Burn. Good gracious, my man could dance like James, could handle up on a microphone like James, could sing like James—actually could do all that better (according to K-Doe) than James. I’d give the edge to James as a dancer, they both could whip a microphone chord and make the mike stand dance and twirl and fall perfectly into the palm of their hand when they did a split and let out a scream as they hit the floor, but as a singer, hey, I know I’ve got some home town chauvinism but in his youth K-Doe could croon, K-Doe could scream, K-Doe could whoop, holler and growl like as if he really was “the emperor” of R&B, an honorific he vociferously claimed in his later years.

Fierce Swing, Deep Grooves and Even a Little Singing

Growing up in a jazz family in New Orleans, the trumpeter Nicholas Payton absorbed a host of lessons about melody, rhythm and the implicit arrangement between an artist and his audience. And over the last decade or so he has weighed those lessons against the modernist imperative of open-ended abstraction. Now, in his mid-30s, Mr. Payton still seems to be seeking an arable middle ground, the zone where post-bop evasiveness mingles with soulful reassurance.

Jazz Saxophonist Kidd Stays In the Picture

Even people who aren't sure they've heard of Kidd Jordan have probably heard him. Now 73, the tenor saxophonist has been playing since the early 1950s. And since Mr. Jordan's spirited adolescence coincided with the dawn of rock 'n' roll and the explosion of new sounds coming out of New Orleans' fertile rhythm-and-blues scene, the Crescent City native was at the right place at the right time.

see also: For Jazz’s Avant-Garde, an Annual Gathering and a Little Competition

During his youth, the New Orleans tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan worked with some of the brightest lights of soul and R&B. “You name the genre, I’ve done it,” Mr. Jordan, 73, said this week from Baton Rouge, La., his temporary home since shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. “But when I was playing in all those other genres, I wasn’t satisfied with what I was doing. I always was one of them who would search, and keep searching.”

John Ellis: Wide Angle(a Q&A)

Saxophonist John Ellis is a hybrid of New Orleans funk, New York modernity, Presbyterian sanctification and good ol' performing skills.
Living in New Orleans, you hear a lot of tuba music. I always thought about trying to make some kind of tuba record that would be my personal spin. I've been thinking about this for years, actually. The logistics of getting everyone together can be difficult, especially with guys as busy as these guys. So I was thinking about this for several years. Initially I was thinking tuba and accordion on the whole record—a band that could play in the street.

Eldridge Holmes Sells "The Book"

Eldridge Holmes was one of New Orleans' great soul/R&B vocalists. Period. Had he gotten the opportunity to record as much as the smoother, more formal Johnny Adams did over as many years, he would be at least as well-known and spoken of in the same reverential tones.

Ned Sublette

By the time Louisiana became the 18th state in 1812, New Orleans was a city we would recognize. We don’t know what Congo Square sounded like. We don’t have recordings. But I suspect that if I were dropped down in Congo Square, I might not find it any stranger than if I were dropped down in Vienna to hear Mozart play his own cadenzas. I think we can find musics today that provide models for at least some of what was going on at Congo Square, but what was going on at Congo Square was diversity. And I really do believe that something new was created at Congo Square; an African American music was being formed.