Saxophonist Reggie Houston announced that he is returning to New Orleans after living in Portland, Oregon, for the past 17 years. Houston is best known for his association with the Fats Domino Band with whom he performed for 22 years beginning in 1988.
In a letter posted to the website for Oregon Music News, Houston wrote, “I will be leaving Portland and returning to New Orleans by the end of May.” Citing the high cost of living in Portland, Houston added, “The home loan amount I could acquire to purchase a house in Portland was not a sufficient amount … As many of you know, I have been attempting to find a place for nearly three years. At present, I have made an offer on a house in New Orleans. I pray that I get the house there without any more obstacles.”
He continued, “This was not an easy decision for me to make. Neither does it mean that I am severing my Portland citizenship.”
A native New Orleanian born in 1947, Houston began studying the saxophone at age 10. His first professional gig came at age 12 when he began performing with the Batiste family band, The Gladiators, widely considered to be pioneers of funk. Following a tour of duty in the Vietnam War, Houston returned to New Orleans and resumed studies at Southern University where he met up with his former professor, Alvin Batiste, who had recently started the nation’s first university jazz program. Batiste convinced Quint Davis, producer of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, to hire students from the graduate program for the nascent event founded in 1970. In 1973, upon graduation from Southern, Houston became an integral part of the Jazz Fest, working as booking agent, stage manager, and emcee for ten years.
In addition to Fats Domino, Houston has gigged with Dave Bartholomew, Irma Thomas, Dr. John, and Charmaine Neville and was among the founding members of the Survivors, a band whose original core members included Sam Henry, Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste, The Neville Brothers, Charmaine Neville, and Ramsy McLean.
Since moving to Portland, where he has standing gigs at numerous restaurants, Houston has served on Portland’s Regional Arts & Culture Council Music Panel for Project Grants and was as a founding member of the award-winning Northwest Ray Charles Tribute Band which performed with the Oregon Symphony.
