Bad Joke?
You can’t be serious about “jail time for musicians,” right? This is a joke, yes? I’m writing from Florida; have been coming to New Orleans for 40 years. If this isn’t just a joke, what will become of the Quarter and its itinerant musicians?
Bill Adams, Plantation, FL
Hey! This is Louisiana-never underestimate the outrageousness of our legislature! Blowing your own horn, so to speak, can now land you in Parish Prison. For the sordid details, see Bunny Matthews’ “TCB” column in this issue. Ed.
The Good Booker
I would like to express my frustration at my bad “luck of the draw” at OffBeat’s choice of reviewers for my reissues of James Booker’s Peacock music. I think Booker’s early ’60s Peacock work is awesome. Its compact, jazzy yet danceable B-3 organ-fronted sound paved the way for the music of Booker T. and the M.G.’s and the Meters, yet maintained Booker’s singular spookiness.
I had to endure a slam of my first Booker Peacock reissue on “James Booker: More Than All The 45s” (NTI CD 7084) by Tom McDermott (OffBeat, April 1997) who was clearly partial towards the “Booker as heir to the Jelly Roll Morton throne” and the magisterial, ornate, classically-driven displays of piano virtuosity of Booker’s live piano recording of the ’70s. (He reinforced this prejudice in his review of Booker’s organ jams on Night Trains United Our Thing Will Stand CD (OffBeat, July 1999.)
Now with the review by the usually definitive Almost Slim (Jeff Hannusch) of the two unreleased Booker Peacock tracks that were included in Jazzy Funky New Orleans (DEL CD 0022), I had to wade through gobs of “I knew him and saw him when, and knew what his day job was” style of criticism while seeing an actual description of the two tracks limited to “stripped down lounge funk.”
I beg to differ big time. Unearthing these two tracks, covers of Paul Perryman’s “Next Time You See Me” and Junior Parker’s “Just To Hold My Hand” (both Peacock artists), is I believe to be like finding the Holy Grail. So much is made in the course of historical discourse about recordings being lost to posterity because they were too advanced for their time. Slim (Hannusch) himself appreciated this in his recounting of Edgar Blanchard’s bemoaning his lost, unreleased Atlantic recordings that the label deemed to be too jazzy (OffBeat, April 1999). Here you have an example of such recordings being found 35 years later.
To those who know the music business, it is incomprehensible that an old-time indie label owner like Peacock’s Don Robey would not release a recording like “Hold My Hand” to which he owned the publishing, thereby increasing his share of profits. The answer is intensely apparent in the listing.
This stunning fucker of a recording has the kind of proteanly New Orleans second-line rhythm that was unimaginable for public release for another fifteen years. It is at once a telling example of the pristine good taste, yet restlessness and imagination that was Booker’s alone.
That said, I applaud Slim (Hannusch) and all at OffBeat to keep up the good work.
Aaron Fuchs, President, Tuff City/Funky Delicacies
Jazz Fest Expansion?
Are there any intentions for expanding Jazz Fest to include the Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday between the two weekends? I call these days the “bridge days.” This seems like a worthwhile suggestion because of the following reasons: 1) the facility is already set up and there are no capital expenditures to include more days 2) the Fest is too crowded on the weekends so having more weekdays would enable the locals as well as the visitors to capture the Fest as it was originally intended 3) many musicians would probably enjoy being able to play on two separate days 3) the hotels wouldn’t mind 4) the vendors would like it 5) more slots for more bands (diminishing the “who’s not invited this year/ sellout” discussions 6) the clubs would love it 7) the crafts folks would love it, and 8) the city would enjoy the added revenue. If the argument against this idea is that it is not economically feasible, well okay. If the argument against this idea is that the big name bands wouldn’t be interested in playing to smaller weekday crowds, then I think that if you took a survey of the Fest regulars one would find that the real gems of the Fest are not the big names, but the bands, food and sightings one happens upon.
”Big Chief” David Keiser, via email
Bad Boy
I would like to thank Dan Willging for his complimentary review of my new CD Badmouth. I especially appreciate his suggestion that the CD is “an ideal choice for your next barbecue.” To me, no higher honor can be bestowed. I would like to point out a factual omission: the name of the keyboardist/producer, John Gros must be added to the list of the awesome band assembled for this project. In addition to adding the perfect keyboard parts throughout the entire CD, John also painstakingly saw this project through every step of the way to completion.
Rockin’ Jake, New Orleans
Massage Therapy
While in NOLA early last January I picked up “free Metro” January issue from a small Louisiana music record shop in the Quarter, and used it to persuade friends to go find some Sidney Bechet CDs, if they couldn’t locate his old Hot Jazz Club of America, 10″ 78 r.p.m. single of “Squeeze Me” (jes’ squeeze me, but don’ tease me), for its rough soprano sax vibrato massage.
Have you put out a cumulative offprint of all 100 Essential Louisiana CDs? Please advise. Many thanks! Sincerely.
Bowen Davis, Alvin, TX
We’re not sure what an “offprint” is but you will find a complete list of the “Essentials” in this month’s issue. A stand-alone booklet will be printed and offered as a subscription premium to first-class subscribers.Ed.
