Adding to our solid music core, in November major artists fly into the city from around the globe to offer tastes of Brazil, soaring modern jazz and rhythms of Africa.
The month begins with the 1st (and we hope annual) Brazilian Festival of New Orleans (November 3 through 7). In honoring multi-instrumentalist and composer extraordinaire Hermeto Pascoal, two of his longtime band members, pianist/flautist Jovino Santos Neto and drummer/percussionist Marcio Bahia will appear several times during the event. Those who’ve been privileged to experience Pascoal at performances in New Orleans or elsewhere know that it takes special musicians with unique outlooks to work with this master and perform his works.
Neto, who was nominated for a Grammy for his album Canto Do Rio that celebrates Pascoal’s music, performs at the UNO Sandbar Series on November 3 with combos directed by teachers Troy Davis and Harold Battiste. He holds a workshop at Delgado University on November 4 and that night heads a trio with bassist James Singleton and drummer Wayne Maureau at Snug Harbor. On Friday he’ll be back at the Frenchmen Street club to work with Bahia behind the drums in a larger ensemble. Bahia returns as one of several special guests on Saturday as the festival concludes at Snug with saxophonist Ray Moore’s group Brasilliance!.
SAXOPHONE TITAN
“I never know what I’m going to do on my set,” said saxophone titan Pharoah Sanders on his approach to live performances. At the time Sanders, who plays at Sweet Lorraine’s on November 5 and 6, was speaking of his then upcoming show at Dillard University, a 2002 event to remember. At Sweet Lorraine’s with longtime cohort, pianist William Henderson, bassist Nathaniel Reeves and drummer Nasheet Waits, the saxophonist can be experienced in an even more intimate setting.
Sanders has been an influence and innovator in jazz for over three decades and is greatly esteemed as a leader and for his work with the late great John Coltrane with whom he worked from 1964 until the legend’s death in 1967. His recordings with Coltrane include the revolutionary releases Ascension and Om. The saxophonist gained wide recognition even beyond the jazz world for his signature “The Creator Has a Master Plan,” an uplifting tune that featured vocalist Leon Thomas.
Sanders, born Ferrell Sanders on October 13, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, is always a powerful and spiritual presence, so to hear him blowing in a small room should be remarkable. Like so many New Orleans artists, he was born into a musical family—his mother, father and aunts taught music. As a teenager, the saxophonist began blowing behind blues and R&B bands including those led by Bobby “Blue” Bland and Junior Parker.
“Well I think that is exactly what I’m playing today,” Sanders remarked in the earlier interview. “It’s the same feeling. I learned something about playing with all the blues players. They play in all of the keys—so it was educational. You get the elements.”
Much of Sanders’ musical development and education were derived by sharing bandstands as he moved from Arkansas to San Francisco and then New York. A noted leader, he formed his first band in 1963 that included drummer Billy Higgins, pianist John Hicks and bassist Wilbur Ware. Naturally, his time with Coltrane loomed large.
“I would say he [Coltrane] changed my way of thinking,” Sanders stated, “just like thinking different. I would say the same thing about Sun Ra. I didn’t play with him too long, but I enjoyed the experience. I loved what he was doing.”
Since the late 1960s, Sanders’ music has transcended definition while leading and recording with his own groups that have ranged from small combos to big bands. He’s explored hip-hop/fusion, revisited material associated with Coltrane, played with musicians from other lands while continuing to communicate the spirituality of jazz.
“I’m not a person who studied to be a jazz musician,” Sanders admitted. “I feel music is very spiritual and I just play what I feel. The way you feel is what’s going to come out of your instrument. I always try to create energy.”
NEW ORLEANS/AFRICA—MAKE THE CONNECTION
The varied sounds of African music will ring out from uptown to downtown as the New Orleans/African Connection presents its Fifth Annual Making the Connection Week. Produced this year in collaboration with the African Studies Association’s 47th annual convention, the activities that are open to the general public begin on November 10 with South African bassist Musi Manzini performing at the Sandbar Series with student bands directed by Harold Battiste and David Hyman. Noted as a jazz musician, Manzini performs at Snug Harbor on November 11 billed with Angolan vocalist Carlos Burity who heads a six-piece world beat ensemble.
The jump up continues for what is being hailed as an “All Out for Africa Weekend” at the Maple Leaf on November 12 and 13. Friday night’s festivities include street activities with the Shaka Zulu Connections, stilt walkers and Mardi Gras Indians. Inside, Burity will again perform as well as the unique sound of Cape Verde’s Ferro Gaita. The name of the band is derived from a combination of two instruments, the ferro (a piece of iron played with a knife) and the gaita (an accordion). The group, which formed in 1996 and also includes drums and bass, is credited for reviving the traditional music known as funaná that was once deemed revolutionary and until 1975 was banned from public performance.
“The Cape Verde accordion feels so close to home, yet it’s from another continent away,” says Damon Batiste, who heads the Connection organization. “It has the same feeling. I’ve really learned that these countries really want to show off their music, their cultures and business.”
Saturday night (November 13) at the Maple Leaf continues the links with the Lion King & Zulu Warriors blending reggae rhythms and South African dancing and singing. Bassist Manzini teams with two of New Orleans finest young players, trombonist/trumpeter Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and pianist Jonathan Batiste, who is presently a student at Juilliard and flying in especially for this occasion.
