Tag: Only in New Orleans.
This past week, we’ve endured rainstorms of biblical proportions, causing some severe flooding in places and generally disrupting the city’s normal habits and schedules. For pianist Thaddeus Richard, those habits include a regular Tuesday night gig with Shannon Powell and the Preservation Hallstars at Preservation Hall. But with Richard unable to drive into the city due to weather, the Hall was forced to improvise.
Luckily, Hallstars drummer and bandleader Shannon Powell knows a few folks. So it was no big deal when he called up Mac Rebennack, his former boss, to ask if the Doctor could sit in on piano for the night. No big announcements were made, although the word was leaked out via Twitter by the folks at Pres Hall.
Sure enough, when the band walked to the front a little after 8pm Mac was with them. He sat down, focused on the piano, and didn’t move his eyes away until the first set break. The band started in the classics—”Lazy River”, “Bourbon Street Blues”—and Mac comped along, subdued at first, but quickly becoming confidently serene with his supporting chords.
It’s not how much you play, though, it’s what; and every-so-often Mac would be sinking his veteran fingers into a deep chord when all of a sudden his right hand would burst open into a corinthian roll or trill. Powell would give a sly smile and a snare or hi-hat flourish of his own, and if you looked towards the back of the room you could catch Jon Cleary in the audience with a big grin of his own.
And then, when it was the piano’s turn to take a solo! Being only a few feet away while Mac adapted his classic solo to the band’s rendition of “Careless Love” was like being in the true New Orleans piano master class. Shades of blues, Fess, and Jelly Roll would spill out in his rich runs. But best of all—you could tell that although most of Dr. John’s recordings and live performances have been in the funk/R&B vein, making him a true legend all over the world, he’s as comfortable and in love with our traditional jazz classics as much as he is with this city.
Happily, I can say it with experience now: when you’re standing that close to Mac and singing the response parts of “Big Chief” or whistling the intro to “Go to the Mardi Gras” right along with him, you can’t help but feel that love, emanating from those fingers, that beard, or from his pair of badass alligator shoes.
More pics from Tuesday night at Preservation Hall (excuse the iPhone quality):
[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157622888655595"]
