When I would hear the snap of my mailbox shutting late at night I could be fairly certain that Rosalee Baker was on the prowl dropping off press releases. Baker, who died November 10 at her daughter’s home in Texas, was a night owl who did much of her work as a freelance publicist/consultant after the sun went down. She wasn’t a “first set” kind of woman; she’d usually appear at Snug Harbor, for whom she worked and one of her favorite haunts, for the late show. Often that’s when one of “her boys,” as she called them, the young upcoming jazz musicians who she promoted free of charge, might sit in. Of course, if any of the guys like saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Glenn Patcha, trumpeter Jeremy Davenport—all of whom have gone on to successful careers—were headlining, Baker got to the gig a bit earlier. She’d sit or stand near the back of the room to encourage them and get the news on their latest accomplishments and projects, extol their talents to anyone within earshot and schmooze with the folks from the press. Long after a performance was over, the feisty Baker could be found hanging out. Many a night she saved me cab fare offering me a ride home that often led to sitting in her car yakking about the music.

“She was like our adopted grandmother,” says John Ellis, who will come in from his home in Brooklyn, New York to participate in memorial service in her honor (6 p.m.) and to lead the Rosalee Baker Memorial Band (9 p.m. and 11 p.m.) at Snug Harbor on Sunday, January 22. “She was one of the most selfless givers of her time,” Ellis declares adding that Baker would deflect such compliments. He remembers her replying with her signature spunkiness, “Oh, I’m just an old bitch.”

Guitarist Steve Masakowski will join Ellis in the Sunday’s tribute band. The University of New Orleans music professor who presently holds the endowed chair that was once occupied by pianist Ellis Marsalis, Masakowski observed Baker in action both in her paid position as a publicist for the university’s Jazz at the Sandbar Series and with his students.

“She was a tireless supporter of the Jazz Studies students,” the guitarist remembers, “and most of what she did was volunteer work. She had a real determination and was persistent about her work. She wanted to see the fruits of her labor and if there wasn’t a good crowd at a show, she felt as if she had let the musicians down.”

A member of the New Orleans Press Club for 37 years, Baker realized the importance of emerging talent to get itself in the public eye and to engage the media. The retired public school teacher aptly used the expertise she acquired and contacts she made through her career as a public relations consultant. She also vaulted her activism in numerous clubs and organizations to further the careers of young jazz musicians. Baker passed on her knowledge by offering tips on self-promotion to her flock of jazz artists and held a free clinic on promotion at UNO.

“There was no one else like Rosalee in the jazz community here,” declares Jason Patterson, talent buyer for Snug Harbor and Sandbar Series producer. “Her publicity skills make her an irreplaceable asset for giving upcoming jazz artists a high profile in the city.”

As her late night press release sojourns revealed, Rosalee Baker went beyond the call of duty when it came to promoting “her boys” and thus jazz in its and her birthplace.

BOB IS BACK

Bob French is back behind the drum set on Monday nights at Donna’s cracking jokes and having a ball. “It was just like Mondays never stopped,” French declares of his first night at the North Rampart Street club since Hurricane Katrina. The house was packed on December 12 when he mixed it up with some old friends including the dynamic duo of trumpeter Leroy Jones and trombonist Craig Klein with Don Vappie moving from banjo to bass.

“It was great just playing some music. It’s not about the money all of the time; it’s about playing music and having fun.”

French, who returned to town in mid-November after evacuating to Washington D.C., even cooked up some gumbo to go along with owner Charlie Simms’ traditional offerings of free red beans and rice and chicken.

If all goes as planned, French will also be back in his regular time slots on WWOZ as the radio station returns to New Orleans and a temporary home in a building in the French Market. The always informed and opinionated New Orleans jazz programmer had been trucking to Baton Rouge one day a week. Now he’ll enjoy a short hop from his provisional housing at a bed and breakfast on Esplanade Avenue—where he’ll stay until a promised delivery of a trailer—to the studio for his shows at 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.

“It’s been a nightmare but I’ve gotten over it,” says French who is encouraging other musicians to return home. “The best part of coming back [to Donna’s] was seeing all the New Orleans people and the tourists. It was really cool.”