I never knew I liked jazz until I visited New Orleans, Louisiana last week. I started playing piano as a toddler and switched to cello in the fourth grade, which I still play. I occasionally played a jazz piece in school, like “In the Mood,” but I wasn’t a huge fan, and the rhythm was tricky. I thought jazz was boring and never paid much attention to the genre.
In New Orleans, jazz was everywhere. Bands sat on streets of the French Quarter playing for passersby. Jazz bands graced the stages in Bourbon Street clubs (they are on Frenchman Street as well, but we only made it there during the daytime, and there was no jazz then). Live jazz bands played in several of the restaurants we patronized. A jazz band performed in Jackson Square several days in a row. Not only is it ever-present, but the jazz here had so much soul, some blurring the lines with blues. It was captivating, exciting, and emotional. I was converted.
Here is a video I shot of the band we often saw perform in Jackson Square. They weren’t my favorite band we saw, but the singer/clarinet player had a ton of personality:
Here are a few images I took of that band on another day (when the trombone player was present):
This was one of the many street bands we passed by:
This band below, Tuba Skinny, was quite an ensemble and one of my favorite bands we saw. They were performing on Royal Street right across the Supreme Court building, so we sat on the steps and watched them for several songs. They sang old jazz and old blues. I wish I had thought to take a video. Here is a video of them taken by someone else.
We went to Bourbon Street one evening looking for some good music. We wandered into Maison Bourbon, a music venue and bar. I fell in love with trumpet player/singer Jamil Sharif and his band, and we stayed for at least an hour. Their music was so energetic and fun. They passed around solos several times, and these are seriously talented musicians. Below was the saxophone player (Sharif is in the corner), and the next image is of Sharif. I chatted with him afterward and bought a CD–he’s a genuinely cool dude.
We wanted to have a really nice dinner one of the nights on our trip, so we went on a recommendation and visited Arnaud’s. We found out that you could pay a few dollars extra (I think $4) to sit in the jazz bistro, where there was a live band. We were seated right next to the set, but we were disappointed when they got up after one song and moved to the other end of the room. It turns out it was more like a mariachi-styled jazz band–they moved table to table performing for groups. I don’t envy the bassist! But they were fantastic musicians and it gave the room an exciting and classy ambiance. (I apologize for the blurry photo–it was taken on my phone).
Have you visited New Orleans? What did you think of the jazz scene?
