Once upon a time there was a city that made its reputation and literally sold itself on the depth and interest in its culture from people all around the world. This city was literally the Cradle of Jazz, America’s indigenous musical form. The city produced some of the finest and most famous music the world has ever known,or will experience in the new millennium. People from everywhere flocked to the city to experience its wonderful music, particularly during a 10-day period of time called "The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival." Yes, people from Tuscaloosa to Timbuktu loved the music from New Orleans. And the city prospered because its music was so great and recognized so universally.
You’d think that this city would recognize the impact that its musical tradition has on its people, its culture and its economy. You’d think that the city fathers would try to protect the city’s musicians, its musical venues, the music businesses that help make New Orleans music one of the most unique and desirable in the world.
Wrong. This city harasses club owners. It lets wealthy French Quarter residents squelch the tradition of street music that is the basis of our jazz traditions and the education of youngsters who want to perpetuate musical traditions. It tries to prevent local music retailers from presenting "in stores" to expose tourists to the great musical talent. Why is this happening?
Over the past week or so the OffBeat office has been barraged with letters and e-mail from local musicians, music business activists and music lovers around the country who are outraged at the new ordinance supported by Councilman Troy Carter which once again will place limits on when street music can be played in the French Quarter, his councilmanic district. The limitations are proposed for stopping music at 4 p.m. on weeknights and 7 p.m. on weekends on the streets of the Quarter and 2 a.m. at local bars. In an email to OffBeat, long-time street musicians David and Roselyn contend that "We feel the bars should be able to have music all night the musicians need the gigs [and] the city needs the tourist dollars. We feel the street musicians should be able to play until midnight on weeknights and 1 or 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. There is NO reason [to] restrict the mimes or tarot readers as they don’t make any noise, so why stop them at 8 p.m.?"
OffBeat has long had a positive stance on preserving street music,it’s the lifeblood and root of musical tradition in New Orleans. Street music is also one of the things that makes New Orleans unique. OffBeat supports it and will continue to do so. It’s good to see that so many locals have a stance supporting street music; we encourage them to not only write to us, but to attend the April 1 hearing on this issue in the City Council to make their opinions known.
But we’d also encourage local musicians to stop and consider that not everyone appreciates street music being played until midnight underneath their window every evening. We had several letters suggesting that the people who live in the Quarter , and many do , should "buy one of those noise eliminators for their bedrooms or turn up their TV" if they don’t want to hear the music. That’s not an attitude that’s conducive to finding a solution to a problem where everyone benefits. (How would street musicians like being kept up after a late night gig by, let’s say, a car alarm?). Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys music, and insisting that it be played ’til midnight on weeknights is not a viable solution, unless we want to turn the French Quarter into a tourist-only neighborhood.
Therefore there have to be some compromises made. It would help if Councilman Carter assembled a group of interested parties (French Quarter residents , businesses, and street musicians) to try and work out a compromise on this issue (so far we haven’t seen this happening). Why isn’t the city’s Music and Entertainment Commission more strongly involved in this issue? City government seems to do what it wants based on the wishes and needs of a few, to the detriment of some of its citizens, many of whose livelihoods are certainly negatively affected by their actions, to say nothing of the cultural effects.
Councilman Carter was contacted recently by OffBeat to look into yet another ordinance restricting activities in the neighborhood surrounding the Fair Grounds during Jazz Fest (he has not responded to a letter and calls). It seems the City Council passed an ordinance that disallows the sales of "novelty items on city streets" or the distribution on city streets of "samples, advertising brochures and pamphlets, or commercial literature of any type whatsoever" in a huge area around the Fair Grounds bounded by Florida Avenue, North Broad, Esplanade and Bayou St. John.
We know about this because for six years OffBeat has been distributed free to people in that neighborhood who want it during Jazz Fest. Last year, the police harassed our distribution people, but when we looked to apply for the appropriate permit, we were told that permits were not available because of this ordinance. We’ve been told by Festival Productions (the money-generating arm and producers of the Jazz Fest) that they want us to stop distributing OffBeat there because it’s having a negative impact on the sales of the Jazz Fest program books. (Could they be behind the passage of that restrictive ordinance restricting OffBeat’s and other music businesses’ first amendment rights?)
If you go to the Jazz Fest, surely you’ve noticed the people selling all kinds of stuff just outside the gates. But that seems to be okay? If a free publication like OffBeat can’t be distributed, then clubs can’t distribute flyers, bands can’t let people know about their gigs; it affects all of us music folk. So here’s a solution that I’m suggesting publicly to music-loving consumers: pick up your free OffBeat, but please, please buy one of the official Jazz Fest programs! I know it’s a crime for small local monthly music publications, clubs and musicians to try to promote themselves during the Fest (and last time I checked, the right to hand out free literature in public was not a privilege in this country, but a right protected by the constitution). So let’s try and up the Jazz Fest’s income a bit, shall we? Maybe they’ll make enough money to leave us alone. By the way, look for OffBeat at Jazz Fest time. We won’t be going away where there’s a will (and consumer demand), there’s a way
On a bright note, things are looking up for Jimmy Anselmo, owner of Jimmy’s Club on Willow Street. Anselmo has joined forces with attorneys Christopher Beary and Scott Weinberg to upgrade and market the club. The deal will close on April 1.
David Kunian, OffBeat contributor and producer of James Carroll Booker III: The Life, Music & Mystique of the Bayou Maharajah and Come On Baby Let The Good Times Roll: The Stories and Music of Earl King, has had his latest documentary on Earl King picked up by 40 radio stations across the nation. Kunian has done his own promotion to these stations and is hoping that a local station will air the documentary during the all-important Jazz Fest period. "I’m hoping WWOZ will pick it up for broadcast during the Fest, but that’s still being worked out." Kunian’s next project is a documentary on New Orleans’ legendary Dew Drop Inn.
