NPR: Tom Waits Sings Mardi Gras Music

This song and that rasp were made for each other.

Waits is singing here with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the tune is "Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing." It first appeared on the early 2010 compilation Preservation, a benefit album for Preservation Hall featuring tons of special guests (Del McCoury, Andrew Bird, Ani DiFranco, Dr. John, Merle Haggard, Steve Earle, etc.). It's also available, as you can see, on a limited edition 78 rpm record along with the B-side "Corrine Died On The Battlefield." That disc comes out this Friday, Nov. 19 (in New Orleans) and Saturday, Nov. 20 (online). Those not in Louisiana can visit the band website for more info.

Wait, a 78 rpm single? You mean those heavy suckers from before 1950? Yup. If you don't have a turntable capable of playing 78s, you can buy one of 100 custom record players from Preservation Hall's deluxe bundle. All I'm saying is that you New Orleaneans better not shut me and my AT-LP120 out on Friday.

Both songs are old Mardi Gras Indian tunes. For source recordings, see the Baby Dodds album Jazz A La Creole, referenced a number of times on HBO's Treme. (It's Danny Barker's group who plays them, but Dodds' name is on the jacket.) You might also know "Tootie Ma" from the Medeski Martin & Wood version with John Scofield.

Stream Songs from "Preservation Hall – Benefit Album"

All Tracks featuring the PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND:

Andrew Bird – “Shake It and Break It”
Paolo Nutini – “Between the Devil and Deep Blue Sea”
Tom Waits – “Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing”
Yim Yames – “Louisiana Fairytale”
Del McCoury – “After You’ve Gone”
Ani DiFranco – “Freight Train”
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – “Blue Skies (Comin My Way)”
Jason Isbell – “Nobody Knows You”
Brandi Carlile – “Old Rugged Cross”
Richie Havens – “Trouble in Mind”
Merle Haggard – “Basin Street Blues”
Blind Boys of Alabama – “There is a Light”
Dr. John – “Winin’ Boy”
Louis Armstrong – “Rockin’ Chair”
Amy LaVere – “Baby Won’t You Please Come Home”
Steve Earle – “Tain’t Nobody’s Business”
Cory Chisel – “Some Cold Rainy Day”
Buddy Miller – “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
Angelique Kidjo with Terence Blanchard – “La Vie En Rose”

Bonus Tracks (Deluxe CD):

Anita Briem – “C’est Si Bon”
Paolo Nutini – “Pencil Full of Lead”
Yim Yames – “St. James Infirmary”
Tom Waits – “Corine Dies On The Battlefield”
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – “Sailin’ Up Sailin’ Down”
Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger – “We Shall Overcome”

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Ponderosa Stomp

While the Stomp crew was in New York City this July, a crew of music lovers, including Brian Gourley, the Butler Brothers, and acclaimed director Jeff Nichols, was putting the finishing touches on the first Ponderosa Stomp film.

Classie Ballou, Lil' Buck Senegal and Roy Head are integral Stomp performers—these three exemplary artists enjoyed early success, but found themselves toiling in obscurity later in life. Their first-person remembrances of their careers, their experiences playing on the Stomp, and the impact the Stomp has had on their lives are at the core of this riveting piece. The film also includes live concert footage and additional interviews with the likes of musicologist Peter Guralnick offering a rare peek inside the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation.

A cultural feast lies east of the Quarter

Head over to Faubourg Marigny (``mare-a-nay''), the neighborhood just to the east, where off-work musicians and locals convene to hear the cultural gumbo of the Big Easy -- jazz, blues, zydeco, klezmer and more. Its hub, Frenchmen Street, is neither as crowded nor as loony as Bourbon. But I did see a pair of howling-drunk young drifters at Frenchmen and Chartres asking passersby for money: They said they were honeymooning right there, inside an abandoned Lucky Dog wiener pushcart.

This is New Orleans, after all.

Frenchmen Street is a funky mix of low-slung supply stores, boutiques, maybe 10 restaurants or coffeehouses and almost as many music rooms. The whole street extends 3 ½ miles due north, almost to Lake Pontchartrain, but you'll want to visit the close-in six or so blocks between Decatur and Rampart.

Bonerama and George Porter, Jr. "Out In The Country" from Sullivan Hall (NYC)

Trombone Shorty

When booking Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, don’t think smooth jazz. Don’t expect a quiet, sleepy crowd. Think raucous, sweaty, jamtastic celebrations.

“I saw him a few years ago at a club during Jazz Fest,” co-manager Mike Kappus told Pollstar. “He just took the stage and the energy level shot up. It never went down. It was just constant intensity and great playing.”

Fritzel's fourtieth anniversary recalls a simpler, happier time for Bourbon Street jazz

The 40th anniversary celebration at Fritzel’s included two jazz acts that normally play there during the week. Fritzel's is open with live jazz seven nights a week. The club boasts being the “Oldest Operating Jazz Club in New Orleans ” with its debut in October 1969. Fritzel’s also boasts an impressive history during its 40 years and has had many legendary jazz musicians grace its tiny stage in the historic 1831 building. The bar at Fritzel's offers many different schnapps (usually served cold) and a variety of German beers to enjoy. Fritzel's has become a sort of mecca for jazz lovers in the local and international community amidst all the noise and rock bands playing nearby in other establishments on Bourbon.




Jazz Appreciation Month: Episode 13 — New Orleans Brass Bands

New Orleans Brass Bands come in many shapes and sizes. From leading funeral processions to performing for packed houses at places like Blue Nile or The Maple Leaf, these bands are staples of the New Orleans music scene and overall culture. Below are a few links to get you started in your Brass Band journey.

Chuck Perkins - Frenchmen Desire Goodchildren

If you're from New Orleans, you'll get it right away.
If not, you'll get a crash course in the city's
quirky and colorful street names. We filmed this at
Chickie Wah-Wah's back in May.

Tom Waits Recording Two Tracks in New Orleans

In one trip to New Orleans, Tom Waits hopes to produce new tracks for a pair of compilations. Marking Waits’ first new material since 2004’s Real Gone, the tracks will follow the songwriter’s forthcoming Nov. 24 release of Glitter and Doom Live.

As noted on his website, the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus devil is set to record one with the city’s Preservation Jazz Hall Band. It will benefit the band’s efforts preserving the historic French Quarter, a cause that has thrived off of such collaboration since The Edge joined in its rendition of “Vertigo” three years ago.

Free Download: Galactic @ Brooklyn Bowl

A 2nd smokin' night of Galactic w/Cory Henry on trombone.
With a SMOKIN' special guest sit-in of DJ Logic on turntables
(the encore is on fire!)

Torrent away:http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=529146