From: ujwb@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Jeff Beer)
Subject: no la
Organization: Educational Computing Network
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 20:58:07 GMT

NO LA stands for N'Orleans Louisiana.  I have heard a couple things
lately that are real good, and if you haven't heard much N'Orleans
stuff, there is a lot happening in it, and these new albums are good
ones to start.  N'Orleans has an extremely huge body of music, you might
think it is just dixieland jazz (which is not exactly accurate in the
jazz respect) but there is a lot of r&b and other musics which are unique
to the area.  Probably the most well know musicians in the pop arena are
Dr John and the Neville Brothers.  But there is a lot of other stuff,
like Cajun, Zydeco, Mardi Gras Indians, and piano styles such as
Professor Longhair.  New Orleans has been influenced and been the
influencer of many musics in the Caribean.  While I am no expert on the
musicology of this, many people have remarked how ska is similar to the
R&B of New Orleans in the 50s.  Ska evolved into reggae, and that has
made its influence back into people like the Nevilles.  Professor
Longhair has incorporated rhumba rhythms into his style of boogie woogie
piano.  All this is to show that music has been around New Orleans for a
long time, and it has grown up in a big way.

Dr John has a new album out which is his first record he recorded
completely in New Orleans.  It is very good all around, all the tunes
are keepers.  Not only that, he is making a conscious attempt to present
sort of a panarama of different New Orleans styles.  So on it are many
guest artists such as the Nevilles and Al Hirt.  There are also many
historical tributes to people such as Jelly Roll Morton and Professor
Longhair.  But don't let this musicology make you think it is something
for the music school.  The tunes are very entertaining and infectious,
and the rhythm sections are burning.  If you never heard New Orleans,
look no further than Dr John's new one.

Donald Harrison has come up with a modern jazz equivalent to Dr John's
on Indian Blues (Candid CCD79514)  Harrison was in Art Blakey's band
in the early 80s, just after Wynton had departed.  He is one of the
so-called "young lions of jazz", sometimes criticized (by myself
included) for being to over-bound by the tradition of jazz in the 50s and
early 60s.  So it is good to see Harrison come up with a project like
this.  The music keeps many of the harmonic elements of the modern jazz
he plays in his bands, but incorportes the vocal and rhythmic styles
of the Mardi Gras Indians.  The Mardi Gras Indians are a whole tradition in
New Orleans.  According to the liner notes, they go back at least into
the last century.  During the time of slavery,  slaves were allowed
to gather in Congo Square once a week, where they would gather and chant
and play small percussion.  They dressed up as Indians because they felt
a bond with oppressed Indians.  I think I have heard from other sources
that some of the Indian tribes in the area would help slaves escape, so
this was a means of honoring them.  Again, I am not expert on the history,
I am just passing this information along.  It was also a means of
celebrating Mardi Gras, since black New Orleanians were excluded from
many of the white Mardi Gras celebrations, they had their own
alternative parades of dressing up as Indians.  It has developed into a
tradition of many rival tribes competing over "who's got the baddest
costume".  So much of the music on this album incorporates the music
from this tradition.  Particularly in the rhythm section, the percussion
are playing the african oriented roots rhythms.  They also cover some
of the tradition chants (Hiko Hiko and Hey Pocky Way).  Dr John is on
hand for the vocals, and the piano cops a lot of McCoy Tyner's piano
styles, and Harrison solos over this with his sax.  If you are
familiar with McCoy Tyner, he is the pianist who came up through John
Coltrane, and his style evokes a very ritualistic pathos, so it fits the
rhythms very well.  If I had one criticism, I think sometimes Harrison puts 
his sax into a role that he can't quite pull off, but he more than redeems 
himself on other tunes, and you have to (as Arsenio Hall would say) give it 
up to him for coming up with such an interesting project.

So check this stuff out, especially if you are always looking for new
styles.  It also is great party music.

Jeff
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