It’s not often that I am at a loss for words. But on September 11, 2001, I watched in speechless shock and horror at the worst thing I had ever seen in my life, live as it happened in New York.
All of us are feeling all kinds of emotions now: numbness, outrage, sorrow, anxiety and much, much more. The first thing I thought was, “Oh my God, we’re going to have to go to war!” That looks like the case, but it seems that the concept of “war,” as someone of my generation has experienced it, is tied mostly into scenes on television, movies with lots of explosives (where no one really gets hurt), and of course, the Vietnam debacle we all experienced in the 1960s and ’70s.
But this one is different. We don’t know who our “enemy” is. Even worse is the paranoia—something we must remember the terrorists want to foster in the American public—that our enemy could even be a neighbor. Not knowing what you’re dealing with is the worst. The best we can do is to try to hold onto our way of life, try to return to a semblance of how we lived before September 11, and more importantly: begin to love our fellow man a little bit more.
It’s appalling that some Americans, whose very country was built on the concept of tolerance of inherent differences, would jump at the opportunity to “blame” their countrymen for this horrible act of terrorism. On the day after September 11, bomb threats (and more) began plaguing Mona’s, the little Middle Eastern restaurant across the street from the OffBeat office. Unconscionable!
The members of the music community here are very lucky people. The “language” we speak has nothing to do with race, age, gender, religious orientation, nationality. It has to do with the ability of music to reach directly from the musicians’ creative source to the souls of others. Music allows us to speak to each other when we don’t understand words. In the words of Sir George Martin: “ We have music because we need it. It’s an essential tool in our endless desire for communication, and it’s as natural to us as speech itself.”
I really believe that the emotion, strength and healing that’s imparted by music is an important part of what is going to keep us all together as Americans. Have you noticed how beautiful and touching “God Bless America” or “America The Beautiful” or “The Star-Spangled Banner” seem to be these days when you hear them performed? Did you know that the music telethon last week that ran on 35 cable channels all over the country helped raise $150-million for the victims of the September terrorist activity? I rest my point.
Music has the ability to heal, to soothe, to create and amplify understanding and communication in all of us. Because a lot of us in the music community were at a loss for words, and because this magazine is made of paper and not composed of tones and semiquavers, we decided to ask our local musicians to make a small statement—in the form of a picture—in this issue of OffBeat (see pages 52-53). We put it together very quickly, and bless them all, we had a great turnout for this small token of our concern and sympathy for the victims and heroes of the tragic events that occurred in the second week of September.
Life will go on—differently from what we knew—but we will and must hang together, more than ever. Sharing our music and our hearts will help us heal and reach out in compassion to all the people affected by this tragedy, both now and in the future.
Tower Not Toppling
On the same day as the September 11 terrorist attacks, another disturbing message came across the OffBeat email channels. A British news report said that a bankruptcy filing was imminent for music and video retailer Tower Records. The news spread like wildfire—a terrible occurrence, especially on September 11. Tower Records New Orleans opened its doors not long after OffBeat started operation. It’s become an integral part of the New Orleans music community over the years.
A Tower spokesman told OffBeat that the company has been experiencing a financial crisis for some time now, as a result of the downturn in the economy and in the music business in general. But the company is implementing a plan to lower operating costs and has closed several stores that were not as profitable as they could be. “New Orleans is still a very profitable store. In fact, net profit has been on a steady rise there for better than a year due to some intelligent cost cutting measures. It is a bit of a shining star these days,” said Bill Duffy, Tower’s Regional Manager.
It’s looks as though Tower will be around for quite a while longer. So everyone—go on out and buy a CD at your local record store and support the music!
Jazz Awareness
The New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park has taken up the reins of promoting Jazz Awareness Month with a month-long series of performances, informances and lectures at their current headquarters at 916 N. Peters Street. Jazz historians Don Marquis, Bruce Raeburn, and Tad Jones will present workshops; tours of historical jazz sites in the French Quarter are available, and performances from trad and contemporary jazz musicians including the Pfister Sisters, Dr. Sybil Kein, Jerry Adams, Harold Battiste, Doc Paulin and Bleu Orleans, among others, will be featured. Call (504) 589-4806 for more information on dates and times.
Tony Dagradi, eminent jazz saxophonist and leader of Astral Project—as well as an Associate Professor at Loyola’s Jazz Studies program—tells OffBeat that Loyola is beginning a new jazz series, “Jazz Underground,” at the recently refurbished Underground Café in the Danna Center on the Loyola campus. The series, scheduled for Thursday evenings at 7:30, kicked off on September 27. “Jazz Underground” will feature weekly jazz performances, introduced by WWOZ DJ Mike “Mr. Jazz” Gourrier, as well as monthly tributes to jazz greats: “Shorter Moments—A Tribute To Wayne Shorter” (October 18) and “On Holiday—A Tribute to Billie Holiday” (November 15). The list of featured performers reads like a “Who’s Who” of jazz luminaries from the Crescent City: saxophonists Aaron Fletcher and Dagradi, trumpeter Rex Richardson, drummers Johnny Vidacovich, Adonis Rose and Troy Davis, bassists Chris Severin and James Singleton, vocalists Leah Chase and Phillip Manuel, pianists Michael Pellera, Peter Martin and Victor Atkins.
In addition to the tributes mentioned above, every other Thursday during the regular semester will feature standout students from Loyola’s award winning jazz department.
“We tried this format on a smaller scale last year and were delighted with the turnout,” said Dagradi. “The Underground is really a wonderful, smoke free, environment to hear live jazz, and we’re hoping
that the time and venue will attract new listeners on campus and jazz aficionados from all over town. This year we’ve expanded our schedule and included the student concerts so that we can establish Thursday
night as jazz night at Loyola.”
The Danna Center is centrally located on Loyola’s main campus and parking is free at Loyola’s West Road Garage (next door to the Danna Center), which can be accessed from St. Charles Avenue. Price for admission is $10.00 or $5.00 with a student I.D. For more information, call (504) 865-2074.
More Jazz Stuff
John Mahoney, another Loyola Jazz Studies prof, and trombonist, pianist, composer and arranger, will release his new Big Band CD, In From Somewhere, at Snug Harbor on Tuesday, October 2. Mahoney’s band has been performing on Tuesday nights at Snug Harbor, and did a set at the 2001 Jazz Fest. John Mahoney’s Big Band features a “Who’s Who” of New Orleans jazz performers, including Ray Moore, Scott Bourgeois, John Ellis, Johnny Vidacovich, Rick Trolesen, Clarence Johnson III, and many more. The band is dedicated to the performance of Mahoney’s music, and recorded in 1992 as a part of the Louisiana Jazz Composers Series. The band has also performed as a part of the CAC’s “In the Solarium” series, and also appeared at the IAJE 2000 Conference in New Orleans.
Blues Hall of Fame
Congratulations to the inductees into the Baton Rouge Blues Hall of Fame. The awards were held in Baton Rouge at the Varsity Theatre on September 17. Festival Productions’ Quint Davis received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the award was renamed in his honor. The surprise of the evening was an award—and an appearance by—Huey “Piano” Smith, who performed his classic tunes with the accompaniment of vocals by his grandkids. The complete list of inductees is available at http://commerce.xspedius.net/blues/.
