Second-lines parade roll on, less expensively. City and Social Aid & Pleasure Club Task Force Agree on a Fee They were back at Lafayette Square, in the early morning hours yesterday morning, across the street from US. District court, right under the statue of Henry Clay, a statesman best known as the "great compromiser": Tamara Jackson, president of the Social Aid & Pleasure … [Read more...] about Second-line, frontlines (the sequel).
second line in the frontlines.
Today, U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt presides over a hearing that will have a powerful impact on a seminal New Orleans cultural tradition, second-line parades, as he hears arguments in a lawsuit against the city, filed by the ACLU on behalf of the Social Aid & Pleasure Club Task Force, in protest of security fee hikes that appear arbitrary, discriminatory, and, according … [Read more...] about second line in the frontlines.
wish i could be there.
I'm just back from the Experience Music Project pop conference in Seattle (some reflections to come, I swear). And I'm back in New Orleans, gearing up for two consecutive weekends of the Jazz & Heritage Festival, not to mention a constellation of other festivals, mini-festivals and loosely affiliated musical events (much more to come about all that, I promise even more … [Read more...] about wish i could be there.
towering hill.
Those saddened pauses that accompany the news of a jazz master's passing is something any critic knows well. But in the case of pianist and composer Andrew Hill, who died early this morning, I can reflect on the dozens of memorable performances I witnessed and the thrill I felt recently when his new recordings, his older unissued work, and his reissued classics converged to … [Read more...] about towering hill.
brass bands: to be continued
Dr. Michael White is precise and colorful in conversation, whether detailing the music of George Lewis and other pioneers of New Orleans traditional jazz or describing the sights and smells of his first tortured visit to his flooded home, post-Katrina. Here's a "Cultural Conversation" piece I did on White for The Wall Street Journal: It opens at the Sound Café, at one of the … [Read more...] about brass bands: to be continued