Now that the “Who’s the new producer of the Jazz Fest?” controversy has been somewhat contentiously settled (we think), with the selection (again) of Festival Productions, Incorporated New Orleans, we can look on to fall festivals. It would have been interesting if AEG/Rehage Entertainment was chosen, because they may have added a different flavor to the Fest, based on what Rehage has been able to accomplish with the Voodoo Music Experience. At press time, Festival Productions and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation were still hammering out the terms of their new contract, which includes a guarantee that FPI will pony up $2-million as start-up capital for the 2005 Jazz Fest. FPI is reportedly also considering teaming up with wunderkind Superfly Productions for certain portions of the festival.

OffBeat has been accused of not covering more contemporary music. This is bull; we try to expose as much music and culture of the city and region as possible, and this issue demonstrates that. We believe that music and food help define any culture, and the fact that what we have here is different from any other place is what makes this place great. Not that there’s anything wrong with the introduction of new ideas into the mix. New blood keeps us alive and kicking. So we hope that the new “improved” Jazz Fest will manage to keep the traditions and infuse the event with some new ideas.

This month there’s so much going on: Voodoo, the Louisiana Swampfest, Art For Arts’ Sake, the New Orleans Film Festival, Gretna Heritage Fest, the “Rockening” at One Eyed Jack’s and the Circle Bar, Halloween events like the House of Shock, the Wooden Boat Festival in Madisonville, Oktoberfest at the Deutsches Haus, and a new one, the Voice of the Wetlands Festival in Houma. Tab Benoit, whose club, the Lagniappe Café will host the opening and closing events, is passionate about saving the wetlands. “We’re losing thousands of acres of land every single day,” he says. “It’s not so much that we should—or even could—build a barrier to keep the water away. We have to find a way to redirect the Mississippi River’s course so that it deposits the silt into the delta the way it used to. The fact that we’re losing so much is not a natural occurrence. Man did it and we should put it back the way it was.” The Mississippi was diverted by the Corps of Engineers decades ago so that silt would not block the mouth of the river. The silt forms the land of southeast Louisiana. “We’re working on this really hard,” says Benoit. “This is the first festival to try to bring this serious problem to the people. We want to continue this event around the country to draw attention to this problem before Louisiana literally disappears.” The VOW Festival is in Houma on October 9 and 10. See www.voiceofthewetlands.com for more info and also www.saveourwetlands.org for more information on national efforts to save these precious resources.

The legendary swing and blues guitarist/vocalist/fiddler Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown confirmed in September that he has lung cancer. Recent tests at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston verified the initial cancer diagnosis from a routine exam; he is still not experiencing any significant symptoms. The 80-year-old Brown, a longtime pipe smoker, has opted to forego treatment. Instead, he plans to “face this challenge head on with a positive spirit, much the same way he faces any challenge,” according to a statement from his management. “He chooses to continue performing, savoring every moment day by day with an eagerness to be with his fans.” To that end, Brown performed in the first installment of the “Louisiana Masters Series,” a succession of performance classes being filmed for DVD release by John Snyder, the new director of Loyola University’s Music Business program. Gate just returned from a gig at this year’s Austin City Limit Festival, and will also play with his band, Gate’s Express, at a record release party for his new CD, Timeless, at the House of Blues. The event is on Saturday, October 16 and includes guest John D. Loudermilk, who appears in public very rarely, according to Brown’s manager, Jim Bateman. “Gate also just finished recording a ‘Super Seven’ project in Austin with Freddy Fender, Joe Ely, Augie Meyers, Flaco Jiminez and others, with Charlie Sexton producing,” said Bateman. “Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson are also expected to sit in on the sessions.”

I am sad to report that we’ve lost another great New Orleans jazz icon: the legendary trombonist Waldren “Frog” Joseph, father of tuba player Kirk Joseph passed away on September 19.

Joseph played with many of the jazz bands that used to play (more’s the pity) on Bourbon Street as well as with Papa Celestin, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Placide Adams’ Onward Brass Band and many others. A touching tribute to Mr. Joseph was recently posted on OffBeat’s message board by musician and teacher Joe Torregano: “On Monday, after returning home from teaching all day, I received an e-mail from Sheik Richardson and one from saxophonist Tim Green letting me know that the great New Orleans jazz trombonist, Waldren “Frog” Joseph had passed in the hospital on Sunday night. Tim and Frog’s son Kirk Joseph had just returned from a trip with Anders Osborne, and Kirk got the call as he was leaving the airport. Frog was truly a jazz treasure. He was the premier trombonist of his time, and his association with bands led by Paul Barbarin, Louis Cottrell, Alvin Alcorn, Teddy Riley and Jack Willis left many thousands of hours of exquisite music, and thousands of entertained fans of New Orleans traditional jazz. Frog also recorded with Al Hirt, Pete Fountain and many others, and was a strong influence on Freddie Lonzo, Scottie Hill and Lester Caliste. He had three sons who were professional musicians, Kirk on sousaphone, and Gerald and Charles Joseph on trombone. I must admit that I spent many long hours with Frog at his home, and on the bandstand, he was always an interesting person to be around. Every night on the band stand was a lesson in musicianship, professionalism, and humankind.

“Several years ago in Torino, Italy, I was fortunate enough to meet piano great Dave Brubeck while touring with the late Teddy Riley. Brubeck got into a conversation with myself and Gregg Stafford about New Orleans musicians he knew and one of the first ones he asked about who he still thought was living was Frog Joseph. I was impressed. He gave me a message to give Frog when we returned home. I remember making a special trip to Preservation Hall to deliver it in person on Frog’s regular gig with the late Harold Dejan. Frog was so delighted to hear from his old friend. Thank you Frog for all that you gave us, and thank you for passing through my life in your own special way.”

Who is carrying on the tradition created by these musicians? How about the city’s R&B tradition? Kids, realize that the old stuff is the foundation for the new. You can’t throw away or ignore tradition and replace it with something that’s inauthentic. It’s up to us, and you, the readers of this magazine who are hopefully devoted to our culture, to make sure that we don’t succumb to the homogeneity of the rest of America. We’re different, and we need to keep it that way.