By the time this issue hits the streets, the Crescent City will be in pre-election frenzy in preparation for the election of a new mayor.

As a native New Orleanian, I know that the only two constant topics of conversation in this city are either politics or food (for a long time now, I also been trying to add another: music!).

For the first time since I can remember, we have a clear choice for a mayor who is not a career politician or a government bureaucrat. We have a candidate who seems totally earnest and sincere in wanting to make New Orleans a better place for its citizens; a person who’s not mired down in patronage and power trips; and most importantly to me, a person who seems to understand the music community and has made a clear commitment to music. That person is Ray Nagin. I sincerely hope you will give him your vote. If you do, maybe in four years, all our conversations will be about food and music, not politics…

MARDI GRAS, FQ FEST, JAZZ FEST

I hope everyone out there had a good, safe, fun Mardi Gras. The highlights of my ‘Gras were getting to sit down and visit with Harold Battiste and Tammy Lynn, and getting to see the Wild Magnolias meeting at Dryades in front of the H&R Bar. That’s about as deep New Orleans cultcha as you’re gonna get, baby. It’s a privilege for me to be able to experience this-and only a block away from my house!-and it’s gratifying to see that there were a crowd of people paying cultural homage to this only-in-New Orleans cultural phenomenon: two of whom were the Right Reverend John Sinclair, who is now writing OffBeat’s monthly column dedicated to blues and New Orleans roots-“Gumbo Blues,” and Quint Davis, Jazz Fest Executive Producer. Say what you want about Mr. Davis, all you Jazz Fest schedule grousers, the man is really into the music and culture of his hometown. He can’t help it if he has to make money for the fest by booking bands you don’t necessarily like.

I’m pleased to note that the French Quarter Festival-the greatest unsung festival hereabouts-is adding another stage this year at the Old Mint. OffBeat and Zatarain’s are sponsoring the French Quarter Festival’s first Cajun/Zydeco stage on the Saturday and Sunday of the festival. This year’s French Quarter Festival is April 12-14. Check their website at frenchquarterfestivals.org and offbeat.com for what’s happening at the Fest and in local clubs.

You can also check out the latest Jazz Fest info at offbeat.com, including what club shows are booked. This year’s line-up appeals to me because it seems to include a lot more local bands than usually make the cut. The House of Blues/Old School Stage no longer exists; there will be a new “Blues Tent” venue (at press time, as yet unsponsored) that will be placed near the Gospel and Jazz Tents on the cement, off the infield.

One of our longtime subscribers, Dusk Lipton, emailed me to give me some other suggestions:

“The blues belong outdoors (personal opinion, of course)! I think the sound in the tents is inferior, unless they’re completely full, and I hope and pray they won’t set the tent up with rows of chairs like the Jazz, Gospel and Lagniappe Tents. Will JF become an all-indoors, all sit-down event soon? Why not put the Lagniappe Tent where they’re going to put the Blues Tent, and turn the Blues Stage a quarter turn so it faces the Kids Tent/now-departed Lagniappe Tent area-like what they did for the Congo Square Stage-eliminating the awful gridlock at the old HOB Blues Stage area?” Quint et al., take note?

FUNDRAISERS FOR STUDENTS-CAN I GO, TOO?

Tipitina’s will host the first annual Loyola Extravabandza featuring Loyola’s top rock bands in a fundraiser for the Loyola Music Business program students on Thursday March 14, beginning at 7 p.m.. The purpose of the fundraiser is to raise money for the students to attend music business field trips to “industry happenings.” (I’m presuming it’s going to give the students experience in promoting and organizing events, too). There will be free food, cheap admission ($5) and seven bands.

JESSIE HILL

James “12” Andrews called and asked us to publicize a fundraiser at 10 p.m. on March 9 at CafÈ Brasil. His Keep Swingin’ Records will present a musical tribute to James’ grandfather, Jessie “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” Hill (featured as a “Master of Louisiana Music” in OffBeat’s February issue). The tribute, featuring James, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, New Birth Brass Band, John BouttÈ, Big Chief Alfred Doucette and special guests, will produce funds to purchase a gravestone for Hill whose grave currently only has a plywood grave marker. For more info, call (504) 258-1440.

MUSICIANS, NOT MARKETING

Native New Orleanian Branford Marsalis has launched a family jazz label, Marsalis Music, launched in collaboration with his father, Ellis. The label will be based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and will be distributed by Rounder.

“The consolidation of the record industry into major conglomerates has turned the business into a mega-hit pop music machine with a very short-term focus,” Branford said in a statement. “Artists who want to be musicians, not marketing creations, have very few places to record anymore. We formed Marsalis Music to provide a real alternative.”

Branford is the first artist signed to the label.

His upcoming album, Footsteps of Our Fathers-a tribute to jazz greats John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, and the Modern Jazz Quartet, due this summer-is among the first releases for the label, which expects to announce additional artists to its roster soon.

Marsalis Music plans to make a commitment to nurture its audience through educational and cultural outreach programs. By tapping Ellis’ background as a teacher at the University of New Orleans and Branford’s past experience teaching at Michigan State and San Francisco State Universities, the label will sponsor a “Marsalis Jams” program to focus on musicians and interested listeners at colleges.

Lakefront Digital (LFD) is a new New Orleans record label focusing on local artists. Some of the label’s new releases include Finger To The Universe, an effort that includes Brian Seeger, Ed Petersen and Jason Marsalis; and It Cannot Be Exhausted By Use, which highlights the straight ahead jazz roots of Albert-Ankrum Project co-founder Larry Ankrum. The next release, due out by Jazz Fest, will be from Jesse Lewis and Union, featuring James Alsanders, Mark Anderson, Jason Marsalis, Brian Seeger, Andrew Baham, Scott Bourgeois, and Derek Douget.

DEEP HISTORY

New Orleans producer/director Jim Gabour signed contracts at the end of January for a production in what will eventually be a multi-hour history of New Orleans Music entitled Under the Surface. The project, under development for over two years, will begin with DVD-format documentation of the multitudes of musical genres that come to the fore during the Carnival season, including Mardi Gras Indians, brass bands, and street music.

Crews and staff will be drawn almost exclusively from the local talent pool. “I felt from the very beginning that this project needed to be New Orleans speaking about itself, and not yet another well-intentioned outsider’s fabrication of what the city is,” said Gabour.

The Under the Surface title refers not only to the fact that the city is below the level of the Gulf of Mexico, but also reaffirms that most tourists and non-residents have only the most superficial image of the city and its music. “We want to show the world how deep this town really is,” said Gabour. Principal photography in Hi-Def format is tentatively scheduled for early spring.