Coconut Times - Ocean City's Entertainment Web Magazine http://coconuttimes.com Coconut Times - Ocean City's Entertainment Web Magazine - New Orleans Jazzfest en http://coconuttimes.com/ Coconut Times - Ocean City's Entertainment Web Magazine http://coconuttimes.com 11681404228694 New Orleans Continuing Adventure http://coconuttimes.com/articles/New-Orleans-Jazzfest/New-Orleans-Continuing-Adventure “Oh Santana - oh won’t you play for me,
Well ya come to Louisiana with a gee-tar on your knee.”
Carlos Santana saw, he came and oh so assuredly conquered Jazz Fest once again with his almost 200 minutes of non-stop sheer magnificent magical, mystical, and most memorable performance that closed out the main stage of Jazz Fest its opening day last April. The man is simply amazing and my hero.
I do not attempt to catch many of the international acts that perform at the huge Acura stage at Jazz Fest because of the heat and crowd. However, I’ll never miss a Santana show as he is one of my all-time favorite musicians who always delivers his best. I last saw him at Jazz Fest in 2008 standing right up front in a crowd of many thousands. I remember a delightful gal from New Jersey performed random acts of kindness by handing out fans to those of us near her to help with the heat. Santana was my favorite act in ‘08 and this year as well.  
At the age of 66, and with close to half a decade of experience, Santana has the energy and stamina on stage as someone a quarter of his age; Santana has a passion and talent like no other! Did you know that only Santana and the Rolling Stones have had an album in the top ten each decade from 1960 on? Rolling Stone magazine ranks him as #15 of the all time great guitarists stating “Santana’s crystalline tone and clean arching sustain him as the rare instrumentalist who can be identified in just one note.”
I had the privilege of attending an interview with Santana shortly before his show this year. Santana said his love for music of New Orleans began while he was still a small boy in Mexico and first heard Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns’ 1958 chart topper “Don’t You Just Know It” on the radio. Santana’s father was a musician and young Carlos followed in his footsteps with the violin as his first instrument. The family moved to the San Francisco bay area when Carlos was a teen and he had his first hit in 1969 with “Evil Woman”. His band, known as the Santana Blues Band, was formed in ’67 with drummer Rod Harper, percussionist Marcus Malone, bassist David Brown, vocalist Gregg Rolie and Santana on lead guitar. They came to national attention with Santana’s breakthrough show at Woodstock in ‘69 which coincidentally was the first year of Jazz Fest. With his outstanding musicianship, Santana created the unique sound of fusing Afro - Latin instrumentation and rhythm with good ole rock and blues during the late ‘60s and continued his experimental deviations of ever evolving sound in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. The band hit hard times in the late ‘80s and disbanded for seven years. Santana made a huge comeback in the 1990’s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ‘98.  
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Rob Thomas sing Santana’s “Smooth”. In addition to my tax practice, I was also teaching and choreographing dance aerobic for the YMCA. I went right out and bought Supernatural and had “Smooth,” with its most infectious beat, choreographed in about 10 minutes flat. That song (as are all Santana hits) was so danceable that the chorography just flowed through me. BTW - just love it when our own Joe Smooth sings that song with his No Byscuyts Band at Caribbean Pool Bar at Plim Plaza on Sunday afternoons.  Supernatural was a 15 times Platinum Award winner. Do you remember the Grammy’s from 1999? Santana won Grammys that year for best album (Supernatural), song (“Smooth”) and best male artist of the year. Santana has 10 Grammys to date, but who’s counting.
Three years later Santana really let his spiritual side shine through with Shaman which may be my favorite Santana CD.  The hits have continued ever since.  Santana was supposed to release his latest CD in May. It’s entitled Corazon and pays homage to his Latin roots. It is his first all Spanish language release; can’t wait to get it and give a listen. Gloria Estefan, Miguel, Ziggy Marley and other Latin legends are included in this CD.
At the Jazz Fest show this year, Santana graciously stated, “It’s a joy and honor to be at this most prestigious event.” He talked about past greats who had performed at Jazz Fest like N’walins own gospel queen Mahalia Jackson stating, “she is the light divine.” Santana’s keyboard player, David Mathews, threw in some of New Orlean’s best, using piano riffs from Professor Longhair’s “Tiptino”. Santana started with some of his all-time top hits playing the full length versions of “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va”. I had just heard the original version of “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente that morning on WWOZ. If you ever get the chance, give the original a listen as it, too, is marvelous; but you’ll see how Santana truly made it his own with his electrifying guitar.
Naturally, Santana had an amazing band of musicians backing him up. I must give mention to his beautiful wife, jazz drummer Cindy Backman Santana. Wow, oh wow, did she give a fabulous and powerful mini set with Santana and his bassist Benny Reitveld. Santana is a very spiritual man of peace and social conscience; he is a true humanitarian who preaches for us to let the light in and shine on our souls. He closed the show with “Soul Sacrifice.”  
Santana is currently finishing his autobiography and hopes to have it out by the end of the year. Santa, I’ve been a really good girl and all I want for Christmas is this bio!  Meanwhile, if you want to hear Santana tunes played note for note as he recorded them, catch a Tranzfusion show this Friday and Saturday nights at Coins on 28th Street. Hey Bob, Hank, Tom and Bobbie - please play some Santana for us!
 
]]> Fri, 13 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400 5251311356885 HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY Lionel Ferbos http://coconuttimes.com/articles/New-Orleans-Jazzfest/HAPPY-100th-BIRTHDAY-Lionel-Ferbos-
    Jazz Fest always features a number of tributes each year to music icons on the hundredth anniversary year of their birth.  However, I don’t ever recall a tribute being given to a musician while he’s still alive and actively pursuing his profession. Thatss right my friends, let me tell you about trumpeter and vocalist Lionel Ferbos who performed with the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra the first Saturday of Jazz Fest, and the Palm Court Jazz Band the second Friday of Jazz Fest at age 99 and 7/8 years young. This musician played at the first Jazz Fest in 1970 and has played all but two Jazz Fests during his career.
    Mr. Ferbos was born July 17, 1911 and grew up in the downtown Creole section of New Orleans. A late comer to music in that city, he took up the trumpet at age 15 and has been blowing N‚walins style Dance Hall Jazz ever since. He’s known as “The Melody Man.” In the early days of his career he played the vaudeville circuit and then toured with John Handy and Walter “Fats” Pichon. During the depression until World War II, Ferbos earned $13 a week playing for Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration Band (WPA). Mr. Ferbos is the last survivor of WPA. He played with the Mighty Four during the ‘40s and ‘50s.  During the ‘60’s he was in the Herbert Leary Orchestra. He joined Lars Edegran’s New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra in 1970 and gave a stellar performance with them this year at Jazz Fest. With this band he performed in the 1978 movie “Pretty Baby” set in Storyville (the red light section of New Orleans) starring Brooke Shields.  According to John Simerman (Times Picayune), he was recently given a $20 tip to play “Pretty Baby” at one of his weekly Palm Court Jazz Café gigs. Ferbos has had the weekly gig at Palm Court since 1991!
    By the end of the ‘70s, Lionel Ferbos joined Vernel Bagner’s hugely successful musical entitled “One Mo’ Time” as the original trumpet player and featured singer. This is where one of my favorite clarinetist’s, Dr. Michael White, first met and worked with Mr. Ferbos. Mike was just starting out at the time and Ferbos became a good friend and mentor.  Mike wrote a beautiful article about Ferbos in this year’s Jazz Fest program book stating “From the start, he represented the highest standards of professional musicianship and was always willing to give helpful advice to an inexperienced young musician.  Some of his insights and shared experiences in music and life in general continue to inspire and enrich my life to this day. His keen sense of humor, gentlemanly manner and dapper dress style have made it easy for him to be instantly accepted and well-liked by everyone he meets.”
    Lionel Ferbos had another career as well.  He followed in his dad’s and grandfather’s footsteps as a sheet-metal tradesman and owned his own shop until he lost it and his home to flooding from hurricane Katrina six years ago. Ferbos has had other burdens to bear since the storm. In 2006, he lost his only son, Lionel Jr., to cancer and three years later lost his dear wife of 75 years. Ferbos has had heart and circulatory problems as well but continues to practice every day. He says that if he doesn’t practice daily, he will lose his lip so practicing is a must for him.
    The Palm Court Jazz Band show at Jazz Fest was absolutely awesome from start to finish. Just prior to the first note, Henry Lacey and other directors of New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation presented Ferbos with an award stating “we’re honoring one of our real heroes.”  Ferbos soloed on numerous tunes proving practice keeps you sharp at any age.  And my does he still have a fine voice - he sang “When You’re Smiling” and the entire audience was smiling from ear to ear. He also did a fine job on vocals on “Bill Bailey” and “When I Grow Too Old to Dream” which is a favorite local song at Preservation Hall. When members of the audience at the Economy Hall tent get into a performance, many will show their appreciation by second lining which is parading and dancing in a congo line around the tent while twirling a festive parasol. Well, of course, there were hundreds of folks second lining and Mark Shearer (announcer for Economy Hall tent) later stated “Economy Hall - where second lining is not an option; it’s a standard - second lining, the New Orleans weight loss program.”  What a fun time was had by all!
    I later had the chance to ask Mr. Ferbos about his plans for his 100th Birthday and he said he hoped to see some friends and enjoy a nice piece of cake with his daughter Sylvia.  Happy 100th Lionel Ferbos; I so look forward to seeing you next year!

OTHER 100 TRIBUTES
    I adore the Phister Sisters and no, they aren’t Phisters, nor are they sisters. They are Holley Bendsten, Debbie Davis and Yvette Voelker and they just thought the name “Pfister” was phunny.  I’m sure you’ve heard of The Andrews Sisters who were popular during WWII with their “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B.” They took their style from the renowned Boswell Sisters of New Orleans who harmonized so beautifully during the ‘20s and ‘30s. The innovative Boswell gals created the close harmony jazz singing style. I believe they were also the first to provide a “horn section” using their vocals and hands to simulate horns. The Phister Sisters brilliantly demonstrated the Boswell vocal harmonies and “horns” when they performed “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing.” A member of the Bonerama group, who was on stage with the Phister’s stated, “that’s it Boswell fans, you’ve just been Bosed!” The Smithsonian institute CD set of Jazz has only one song with female vocals and it’s the Boswell Sisters. For the past thirty some years I’ve enjoyed hearing New Orleans’ Phister Sisters sing Andrews and Boswell tunes as well as other local hits worthy of great three-part harmony. Beth Boswell was born in October of 1911 so the Phister Sisters paid tribute to her and her sisters. As always, it was a fine show.
    I also adore Dr. Michael White and New Orleans’ own Soul Queen - Irma Thomas.  Mike and Irma both had tribute shows to the late great gospel icon Mahalia Jackson. Also, Fantasia is the American Idol winner who performed at Jazz Fest for the first time this year; she is working on a movie where she will portray Mahalia Jackson and try to emulate Jackson’s powerful contralto voice.
    I missed Mike’s tribute to Jackson but saw him at Louisiana Music Factory and received permission from him to record one of his new songs at another of his shows at Jazz Fest.  Be sure to check out Dr. Michael White’s latest recording for Basin Street Records titled Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, part 1; it’s what I’m sending this year to out-of-town relatives for Christmas.
    Grammy winner and Louisiana Music Hall of fame inductee Irma Thomas gave a most special tribute to Mahalia Jackson. Irma was backed up by Dwight Franklin’s band and John Boutte (Treme) sang several numbers as a special guest. This was the fifth year in a row that Irma has given a tribute show to Mahalia Jackson and the third one I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. Irma always sings straight from her very soul and this tribute to Mahalia Jackson was no exception. In the middle of singing “Didn’t it Rain”, Irma suddenly lost it and broke down sobbing. Her daughters came on stage and helped her to a chair. After a few minutes, Irma came back to the mic and said “In March I laid my mother to rest and this is the first day I’ve been able to think about it.”  Irma is always such a professional and was able to pull herself together and finish her tribute like the trooper she is. I so enjoyed hearing her sing “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” which was one of Mahalia’s favorites. I’d like to think that Irma’s Mom’s spirit was standing on one side of her and Mahalia’s spirit on the other to help her give such a soulful performance. Oh my, so many special moments at Jazz Fest! Last pic is Irma Thomas paying tribute to Mahallia Jackson on her 100th birthday]]> Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400 4981308967330 KHRIS ROYAL – A SAX-CESS STORY http://coconuttimes.com/articles/New-Orleans-Jazzfest/KHRIS-ROYAL-A-SAX-CESS-STORY-     My son, David, got suspended for the first time in second grade the day before I attended my first CHADD national conference held in D.C. that year. CHADD stands for Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. David had been patiently waiting in the bus line to go home and was fidgeting with a pencil (kids with ADHD often have a fidget item to help curb their hyperactivity). According to other kids in line that day, a fourth grade bully had pushed David from behind three separate times before David turned around on the fourth push to push back. I think this took amazing restraint on David’s part (for any kid’s part for that matter) and where were the teachers when the bullying began? Because David had a pencil in his hand when he pushed back, the pencil was considered a weapon and David was the one who got suspended. Worse than that, my son said to me when we got home, “I’m sorry I’m such a bad boy. Mrs. Feeney (the Vice Principal) is right, Mom, I shouldn’t be allowed to go to school.” This so broke my heart and I wanted to cancel going to the conference the next morning, but another CHADD Mom came over to console me after David went to bed that night and she said, “You need to go to that conference more than ever now.”
    In New Orleans, Karran Royal was facing similar difficulties with her son Khris who was also in second grade at the time. At my first CHADD conference I met so many wonderful parents from all across the country and from many other countries as well. The best session I attended that year was given by a Harvard professor named Russell Barkley. I felt as if he was speaking directly to me when he said I must become an “Executive Parent” to my child and strive to successfully coordinate my son’s care from pediatricians, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, speech pathologists, teachers, guidance counselors and other school administrators, coaches and numerous other professionals.
    Karran and I both left successful careers to become “Executive Parents” for our high maintenance/whirly bird sons. We led our local CHADD Chapters and later served together on the national CHADD board of directors.  Karran and I shared our stories with many other CHADD leaders across the country on a list serve which was most helpful at that time.  I first met Khris Royal when he was 14 or 15 and attended the national CHADD conference (held in Chicago that year) with his Mom.  Khris played Sax as a solo performer at the CHADD VIP party and simply wowed us all with his immense talent. He also served on a teen panel called “Ask the Real Experts” attended by parents and leading experts from all fields.  I thought Khris was the most real of the teens as he shared his views about his ADHD, meds and their impact on his music, education and family life. When I got back home, I planned a teen panel including my son for a local chapter meeting. Both panels were most memorable!
    Dr. Robert Brooks lectures around the world urging parents and teachers to help kids find their “island of competency”. Karran and her husband helped Khris find his island of competence - music! They helped Khris follow his passion by enrolling him at the Jazz and Heritage Foundation’s Don Jamison Heritage School of Music and later Khris attended the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA). Khris was taught by none other than the late Alvin Batiste (affectionately known as Mr. Bat) and many other famous New Orleans musicians and educators.  
    NOCCA was founded in ’73 and is perhaps the best music high school in the nation.  Its graduates include Ellis Marsalis’s Grammy winning sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. Grammy winner Harry Connick Jr., Irvin Mayfield (Grammy for One Book) and Terrence Blanchard (Grammy for Katrina inspired A tale of God’s Will) are also musicians at the top of their game in this contemporary Jazz era who graduated from NOCCA.
    Kris Royal is part of the new generation of NOCCA graduates and his schoolmates include Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Jonathan Batiste (piano), Christian Scott (trumpet), Gregory Agid (clarinet), Sam Williams (Trumpet - leader of Big Sam’s Funky Nation) and Steve Masakowski’s (guitarist for Astral Project) beautiful daughter, Sasha Maskowski (vocals and musical theatre). I’m listening to Sasha Masakowski’s newly released Wishes as I write - great CD! Watch out for these youngins as they take the lessons they learned at NOCCA and college to form the new rich sounds of New Orleans.
    More often than not, Khris would stay in the practice room at NOCCA until 8 p.m. practicing and it surely paid off. At age 16, Khris received a full scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. After Berklee, Khris spent time in LA working as a session musician with The Game, Bobby Brown, Nelly, Ashanti and Mary J. Blige. During this time, Karran Royal and her husband and younger son lived in a FEMA trailer as they struggled to get their life and home back in order after Katrina.  However, New Orleans is where Khris’s heart was so he soon returned home and has found success and full acceptance from the greatest musical community in the world.
    I caught Khris and The Khris Royal Trio last year playing at Irvin Mayfield’s beautiful new club in the French Quarter. He told me about his new band called Dark Matter, but I didn’t get to hear them in ‘10 because all the gigs were late night. This year I was so surprised to run into Khris at the Louisiana Music Factory just before Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Orchestra took the stage. Khris greeted me with a big hug and admitted he was a little nervous about this performance of Marsalis’ arrangement of Duke Ellington’s 12-part suite based on Shakespeare’s works.  I must say that Khris sounded just fine and when he soloed, Delfeayo sported a huge grin. After the show I asked Khris if he had any shows that started before 10pm.  He told me he had 20 some gigs in the next 10 days and the only early ones were at Jazz Fest.
    Khris first played Jazz Fest at the age of 7 with his school band and has played every Jazz Fest since except for a year when he couldn’t break away from his studies at Berklee. That’s 17 Jazz Fests, my friends, quite an accomplishment for a 23-year old!
    I next saw Khris at Jazz Fest ‘11 that first weekend playing with George Porter’s Runnin’ Pardners  band.  Khris often tours with George Porter who is one of the most respected bass players around and is mostly known for his years playing with Snooks Eaglin and Earl King. This performance was mostly N’walins funk with some blues and rock ‘n roll added to the mix. Khris did an amazing job on his sax and oh so cool electronic sax synthesizer; I also enjoyed seeing Khris and George Porter’s daughter, Katrina, sing back up. It was a great show!  
    Now the highlight of Jazz Fest for me this year was sitting with Khris’s family in the Blues tent the second Saturday of Jazz Fest and seeing Khris lead his own band, Dark Matter. Khris and his band mates played with conservatory intelligence and youthful high octane energy as they unleashed their unique brand of progressive jazz/electronic funk music. Most of the explosive set was made up of Khris Royal original material.  I so enjoyed “Kendrick’s World” dedicated to brother, Kendrick Royal, who is a young teen whose passion is video games and he wants to design video games when he grows up. I must say Kendrick was thrilled to have his big brother play his song at Jazz Fest.  Khris’s synthesizer made me feel as if I were living inside a video game. My other favorite of Khris’s originals was “Big Booty Express” which was simply a superbly fun dance song with a great beat that made me want to stand up and move my big booty. This was also his Mom’s favorite song.
    At the end of the day I went with Karran back to her home for a fabulous after-fest pig-out party. Karran was so well organized; she put us to work with clear instructions and in less than half an hour she had everything out with all the hot things hot and the cold things just right. The feast was amazing and I so enjoyed being with the Royal’s and their friends. Of course Khris and his band had to leave around nine thirty to get to their gig at the Blue Nile on Frenchman street that night. Look for Khris’s debut album coming out soon; I’m sure it will knock your sox off! If you get to New Orleans, Khris’s band has a regular Wednesday night gig at the Blue Nile so go hear him live if he isn’t touring.
    Khris Royal is one of our kids who just happens to have ADHD. With lots of hard work on his part, loving dedicated parents and caring teachers and medical professionals, Khris has, as we say in the ADHD  community, grown up good! CHADD has lots of great success stories, but I believe this may be our first sax-cess story.]]> Fri, 24 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400