My Visit with Ellis Marsalis

I've considered myself very fortunate to have this sabbatical.  It's not every profession where you can take a year or a half a year to do what you want to do and still have a job.  I even get paid while I'm away.  I've also had few brushes with jazz icons.  I guess you can consider a single jam session with Les McCann one of them.  That was 30 years ago as a young student.  But the most recent and most memorable to date is my visit with jazz great Ellis Marsalis.  He is the patriarch of the famous Marsalis family of New Orleans.  Just for those of you who are not hip to this "master of the keys", Marsalis has been performing on the piano for the past 50 years and his sons Bradford, Wynton, Delfaeyo, and Jason have carried on the tradition in a masterful way.  Mr. Ellis has been playing with the likes of Canonball Aderley, Al Hirt, David "Fathead" Newman, and Eddie Harris.  He's has a prolific recording career and has taught at the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts.  The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music at Musician's Village in New Orleans is named in honor of Ellis Marsalis.  
Every Friday evening you can catch him at Snug Harbor, one of the top jazz clubs in New Orleans.  I met him during a break between sets at Snug Harbor.  I found him very approachable, a very good listener, and very aestute.  At one point he even questioned my questions.  I had asked him about his involvement in the "Village", his opinion of how Katrina affected musicians, how musicians in New Orleans were trained, and how the musical families of New Orleans evolved.  My interview with him was cut too short and he had to leave to play the next set.  I asked so many questions that he asked if I was writing a book.  I said I don't know yet.

Bayou Baratarian

Swamp Thang
One of the best tours that you can take while you're visiting New Orleans is the swamp tour.  It's a 30 to 40 minute drive south of New Orleans.  You are then in the midst of Jean Lafitte National Park and Bayou Baratarian.  The best boat to be on is the pontoon flat boats.  They are better than the air boats because they are more quiet and they enable you to see more wildlife.  The boats will take you over  Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and you will learn what is being done to rebuild and protect South Louisiana's disappearing wetlands.  The best part of the tour are the Alligators!  You can see them swimming around the boat.  The guide will call them in French and they will come to the boat knowing that they will get a snack.  The guide will open one of the side doors to the boat and hold pieces of chicken for the alligators to jump at.  On one tour (I took 2 tours) the guide even picked one alligator up out of the water.  They are not endangered species and are pentiful in South Louisiana. Another highlight of the tour is getting to hold a live baby alligator!  The picture above shows Michiko, my daughter, and her son Juan holding the gator.  It's skin is soft and not as scaley or slimey as you think.  Just don't let your finger in their mouth!

Mr. Smokey Johnson, Drummer

When you stop by the Village be sure to say "hey y'all" to Mr. Smokey Johnson.  Mr. Smokey lives in the green house on Alvar and Bartholomew Streets.  He is from New Orleans from the Sixth Ward...the Treme neighborhood.  The Treme is where Louis Armstrong and many other musicians came from.  He is always moving around the Village in his motorized chair.  I had a great conversation with him about his life and living in the Village.  Mr. Smokey, as I like to call him (it's a sign of respect here in New Orleans), was once the main drummer for Fats Domino of national fame in the halls of Rock and Roll.  He spent 28 years with him off and on.  Every time Mr. Smokey wanted a raise he'd quit the band.  Then Fats would want him back and paid him more.  Mr. Smokey went on the road with Fats,  all over the world.  He's been to Europe, Asia, and all over the States.  When I told him that I was getting paid $100 a week for being on the road with a band he laughed (really hard).  He was getting 12 times that amount on the road.  Mr. Smokey is retired now and has been for a while.  When Katrina hit he was living in New Orleans East right next to Lake Pochartrain.  He left before the storm and was holed up in a Baton Rouge Hotel for months before he returned.  As a Habitat home owner he had to put hours in for his sweat equity.  I asked him how he did that with his limited mobility.  He said he was the master of nail sorting.  He would seperate the nails that would be left to mix with other different nails on the construction site.  His home has a wheelchair ramp at the back side.  When I left him he said he was "gonna ride in a second line at Saint Claude".  I'll explain a second line in a latter blog.

Musician's Village

When I arrived at Musician's Village the homes were almost all completed.  There are about 76 brightly colored houses that line two and a half blocks of space at the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans.  Habitat is about to complete the last home within the Village.  The Upper Ninth Ward is to the west of the Industrial Canal that divides it from the Lower Ninth Ward which was the hardest hit during Hurricane Katrina.  Here the water flooded to about four feet.   In the lower Ninth it flooded 20 feet.  The design of the homes are based on a "shotgun" home that was a prevalent in the southern United Sates (http://www.casasugar.com/1017383).  These are modified shotguns with a corridor to one side or the center with living/dining in front and bedrooms at the rear.  These homes are designed to resist hurricanes and Habitat has adopted the Florida building codes to that affect.  The homes have a foundation that is raised about four feet (based on the flooding by Katrina) and underneath they have piles that go bellow the surface ten feet.  Most of New Orleans is previously swampland hence the pilings.  This is why the roads in New Orleans are always in disrepair with sink holes and large cracks in the sidewalks and streets.  What impressed me the most about the homes was that despite the use of volunteer labor Habitat was very conscious about the quality of construction and finishing.   For more information about Musician's Village go to Habitat's website: http://www.habitat-nola.org/projects/musicians_village.php

Habitat for Humanity

Working Stiff or Stiffly Working
The second week here I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity.  They are doing a great job of building affordable housing in New Orleans.  To date they have built 300 homes within the last few years.  The most of any home developer in the area.  Many of the people working here are wonderful giving people.   I was fortunate to meet them.  Among them are Americorp Volunteers that help the volunteers and foremen.  My favorite foreman was Andrew also known as "catfish".  He was very dilligent and quality concious.  At one point he stopped working and helped a neighbor next door fix his car.  Wow, what generosity.  While I was here I witnessed a house dedication for a new home owner and a wall raising (picture above) of a new home.  These new home owners have to spend 100 hours of "sweat equity" to help build their home.  They are so appreciative, they are in tears.  After a week in the hot sun, say 90 degress with 80% humidity I was dark, tired, and stiff.  But it felt sooooo good!

New to New Orleans

I am new to New Orleans. I've been here for almost six weeks and I am starting to feel comfortable with this place. It's like wearing an old pair of jeans or putting on those comfortable addidas. I know where the quiet cafes are. I know where to get a good Po'Boy. I know where to see good live music. I know the difference between Cajun Gumbo and Creole Gumbo. I've walked the French Quarter, took the Streetcar through the Garden District, walked Audubon park, worked in the Ninth Ward and had a great meal at Mid-City. New Orleans is a great town! The music, the food, the art, the old quaint buildings, the warm friendly people, the diverse influences of African, French, European, Native American, Spanish, Caribbean that make this place one of the most unique places in the world. It was once described to me as NOT the Southern most City of Louisiana BUT the most northern city of the Caribbean.

The music which is pervasive is lively, danceable, earthy is some ways, and natural as it comes pouring out of its musicians. New Orleans loves its music and musicians. Every neighborhood bar and tourist attraction will have music whether it's live or recorded. There is nothing like live music on a warm night with a cool drink. This is how New Orleaneans have there music served. It's a time to have fun, enjoy yourself, enjoy your friends and enjoy the music.,,,to enjoy life.

I hope that with this blog I can share some of my experiences, observations, and opinions about this place. A place that is full of culture.