November Columns
Jazz in the Heartland | View from Canada | Jazz in the Sun
Continued: New Orleans Notes
For tourists and residents alike, Louisiana's African American Heritage Trail offers an opportunity to visit some 26 sites throughout the state of significance for African American history. The brainchild of Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, the program was featured in an interesting article in the New York Times last May. For more about it, check out www.louisianatravel.com and click on the link to the African American Heritage Trail.
The Historic New Orleans Collection recently acquired a rare piece of sheet music for the song "The Mysterious Axman's Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa)" by local pop composer Joseph John Davilla. The song was written in response to a series of unsolved ax murders in the city in 1918-1919. In a note to the Times-Picayune during that period, the mysterious axman admitted that he was a jazz fan and would not harm any jazz musicians. I wonder who his favorites were.
Speaking of the HNOC, they hosted a most interesting illustrated lecture Sept. 24, discussing an archeological investigation of the city's earliest cemetery, the so-called St. Peter Street Cemetery, just off Rampart in the French Quarter. No longer visible, the site was in use from about 1725 to at least 1788, being replaced by St. Louis #1 in 1789. The lecturer was Professor Shannon Lee Dawdy of the University of Chicago, the author of an excellent new book on the French Colonial period in New Orleans (Building the Devil's Empire, University of Chicago Press, 2008). Fifty per cent of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be given to Save Our Cemeteries to restore Holt Cemetery, the final resting place of Buddy Bolden. To order the book, visit www.saveourcemeteries.org.
Comings and Goings
A longtime fixture in the French Quarter, Ruth Grace Moulon, died of cancer Sept. 6 in a hospital in Baton Rouge where she and other members of her New Orleans nursing home had been evacuated because of Hurricane Gustav. She was 74.
"Ruthie, the Duck Girl/Lady," as she was known to locals and tourists alike, was a colorful eccentric who roamed the Quarter for decades in search of free drinks and cigarettes. Her nickname was derived from the duck(s) that normally accompanied her. She was immortalized in a 1999 documentary, Ruthie, the Duck Girl.
Her funeral was held on Sept. 15, followed by burial in Greenwood Cemetery.
I've also learned about the death of distinguished photographer Michael P. Smith on Sept. 26. He was 71. Author of five books of his photography (including a pictorial history of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival), Smith documented the music and culture of his hometown for nearly 40 years. His photos are in the permanent collections of major institutions throughout the world, and his collection of negatives, prints and other documents are housed at the Williams Research Center at the Historic New Orleans Collection. See www.michaelpsmithphotography.com. Funeral arrangements were not available as this was being written.
Drummer/promoter David Hansen sent along a note in September, from which the following is excerpted: "On Saturday, August 16, 2008, the Nick LaRocca Cultural Arts Center in Salaparuta, Sicily (Italy), a multi-purpose cultural center, Centro Studi Nick LaRocca, was officially opened. [Trumpeter] Jimmy LaRocca cut the ribbon and a key to the city of Salaparuta was given to [him] by the Honorable Mayor of Salaparuta, Dr. Rosario Drago. The full-day event included the official opening of the Arts Center, a press conference and an evening concert followed by a reception at the Nick LaRocca Cultural Arts Center. The event was filmed by Italian national television to be broadcast in Europe."
Jimmy LaRocca, whose grandfather came to New Orleans from Salaparuta, and Hansen performed in the concert with the local band of banjoist Lino Patruno. Photos of the events can be seen at www.odjb.com/2008.
Pianist Tom McDermott recently returned from Brazil, where he produced a recording by 24-year-old pianist Alexandre Dias. Dias plays 14 rare compositions (eight never before recorded) by choro composer Ernesto Nazareth. The recording is expected to be released on a Brazilian label.
The NOLA-Brasil connection remains very much alive. In addition to McDermott, other New Orleans musicians spending time in Brazil in August and/or September were trombonist Rick Trolsen, saxophonist Ray Moore, guitarist/mandolinist/bandolimist John Eubanks and husband-wife team Leroy Jones and Katja Toivola. The last named led their band, the New Orleans-Helsinki Connection, in concerts in Rio, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Aracaju, Belo Horizonte and Recife. In addition to Leroy and Katja, their group included Tricia Boutte, Paul Longstreth, Mitchell Player and Thomas Ronnholm.
I'm pleased to report that guitarist/banjoist Steve Blailock, who now lives in Houston, is recovering well from his recent liver transplant surgery. Although their home suffered wind damage from Hurricane Ike, Blailock remains upbeat and has begun gigging around the Houston area. He is looking forward to returning to New Orleans for a gig or two in the near future.
Until next time. twj@tulane.edu
November 2008 issue | © 2008 The Mississippi Rag
P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.