Happy Birthday, Don Vappie!

Banjoist, guitarist, bassist, singer, arranger-composer, educator, lecturer, record and event producer, Don Vappie was born in New Orleans on January 30, 1956. He was surrounded by music growing up, with notable relatives playing music, including Papa John Joseph who played bass during the era of Buddy Bolden. A cousin gave Don piano lessons but he preferred bass, playing with a funk group from the age of 13. When the band’s guitarist left, he taught himself to play and worked in Bourbon Street clubs as a teenager. After a few years he began playing bass with jazz trios, taught himself banjo, and studied music theory and classical bass at Loyola University and Xavier University.

He made his recording debut as a leader in 1986, started his own Vappielle label, began yearly visits to Europe around that time, and in 1990 recorded Crescent City Serenade with clarinetist Dr. Michael White. After meeting and impressing Wynton Marsalis, Don began working regularly with the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra as a guitarist, banjoist and vocalist in 1994, an association that has continued for 25 years. While best known for his work in vintage New Orleans jazz, Don Vappie has a versatile style on his instruments and has performed and recorded along the way with such numerous luminaries. He has also led eight albums of his own including with his Creole Jazz Serenaders, a group that emphasizes superior obscurities from the 1920s.

Don Vappie has also been involved in many special projects. He starred in and co-produced the PBS documentary American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, writing the music for that special and for Zora Neal Hurston – Jump At The Sun, Mandeville: The Good Life, The Homefront, NCIS New Orleans and Treme. Don’s transcriptions of many early jazz recordings are available from Warner Bros. Publishing. He has done extensive research on the Creole music of New Orleans and the Caribbean, and as a speaker has lectured about everything from the influences of early jazz to the history of the banjo. In addition, he is a popular and prolific educator. Don is the jazz guitar instructor at Loyola University, an instructor at the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, works with many public schools, teaches privately (guitar, banjo, bass and mandolin), conducts master classes, clinics, workshops and seminars, and has presented many programs on New Orleans music for such organizations as Jazz At Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Tulane University, NPR, and the Smithsonian.

Don Vappie is constantly creating music and spreading the gospel of New Orleans jazz. “Traditional New Orleans jazz is the foundation for all of the music that is around today. Although I’m best known for playing the older music, I still play modern jazz too. The music all connects together. When I came up, the older guys in New Orleans played everything. They would say that they play music. That is what I do too.” Happy Birthday to an incredibly talented artist and proud son of New Orleans!

Photo: Facebook

Happy Birthday, Dr. Michael White!

Jazz clarinetist, bandleader, composer, Jazz historian and musical educator Dr. Michael White was born in New Orleans on November 29, 1954, and he began his jazz musical career as a teenager playing for Doc Paulin's Brass Band. White is a classically trained musician who was discovered by Kid Sheik Colar while performing in Jackson Square in the French Quarter. He was a member of the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band, played in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band since 1979, and led a band called The New Orleans Hot Seven during the 1980s.

In 1981, White founded The Original Liberty Jazz Band to preserve the musical heritage of New Orleans. The group has performed an end-of-year concert at the Village Vanguard every year since the early 1990s. He is a recipient of a 2008 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. White is also a college professor who teaches African-American Music at Xavier University of Louisiana, and, he holds the Rosa and Charles Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities of New Orleans Music and Culture. He has also served as guest director at several Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts relating to traditional New Orleans jazz, often working with Wynton Marsalis. White has also served as a commissioner for the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

White is a celebrated and accomplished musician, historian and educator who shares his many gifts with students and audiences alike. Let’s all join together today to wish him a very happy birthday wishes!

Photo: Derek Bridges

Happy Birthday, Don Vappie!

Banjoist, guitarist, bassist, singer, arranger-composer, educator, lecturer, record and event producer, Don Vappie was born in New Orleans on January 30, 1956. He was surrounded by music growing up, with notable relatives playing music, including Papa John Joseph who played bass during the era of Buddy Bolden. A cousin gave Don piano lessons but he preferred bass, playing with a funk group from the age of 13. When the band’s guitarist left, he taught himself to play and worked in Bourbon Street clubs as a teenager. After a few years he began playing bass with jazz trios, taught himself banjo, and studied music theory and classical bass at Loyola University and Xavier University.

He made his recording debut as a leader in 1986, started his own Vappielle label, began yearly visits to Europe around that time, and in 1990 recorded Crescent City Serenade with clarinetist Dr. Michael White. After meeting and impressing Wynton Marsalis, Don began working regularly with the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra as a guitarist, banjoist and vocalist in 1994, an association that has continued for 25 years. While best known for his work in vintage New Orleans jazz, Don Vappie has a versatile style on his instruments and has performed and recorded along the way with such numerous luminaries. He has also led eight albums of his own including with his Creole Jazz Serenaders, a group that emphasizes superior obscurities from the 1920s.

Don Vappie has also been involved in many special projects. He starred in and co-produced the PBS documentary American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, writing the music for that special and for Zora Neal Hurston – Jump At The Sun, Mandeville: The Good Life, The Homefront, NCIS New Orleans and Treme. Don’s transcriptions of many early jazz recordings are available from Warner Bros. Publishing. He has done extensive research on the Creole music of New Orleans and the Caribbean, and as a speaker has lectured about everything from the influences of early jazz to the history of the banjo. In addition, he is a popular and prolific educator. Don is the jazz guitar instructor at Loyola University, an instructor at the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, works with many public schools, teaches privately (guitar, banjo, bass and mandolin), conducts master classes, clinics, workshops and seminars, and has presented many programs on New Orleans music for such organizations as Jazz At Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Tulane University, NPR, and the Smithsonian.

Don Vappie is constantly creating music and spreading the gospel of New Orleans jazz. “Traditional New Orleans jazz is the foundation for all of the music that is around today. Although I’m best known for playing the older music, I still play modern jazz too. The music all connects together. When I came up, the older guys in New Orleans played everything. They would say that they play music. That is what I do too.” Happy Birthday to an incredibly talented artist and proud son of New Orleans!

Photo: Facebook

Happy Birthday, Dr. Michael White!

Jazz clarinetist, bandleader, composer, Jazz historian and musical educator Dr. Michael White was born in New Orleans on November 29, 1954, and he began his jazz musical career as a teenager playing for Doc Paulin's Brass Band. White is a classically trained musician who was discovered by Kid Sheik Colar while performing in Jackson Square in the French Quarter. He was a member of the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band, played in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band since 1979, and led a band called The New Orleans Hot Seven during the 1980s.

In 1981, White founded The Original Liberty Jazz Band to preserve the musical heritage of New Orleans. The group has performed an end-of-year concert at the Village Vanguard every year since the early 1990s. He is a recipient of a 2008 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. White is also a college professor who teaches African-American Music at Xavier University of Louisiana, and, he holds the Rosa and Charles Keller Endowed Chair in the Humanities of New Orleans Music and Culture. He has also served as guest director at several Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts relating to traditional New Orleans jazz, often working with Wynton Marsalis. White has also served as a commissioner for the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

White is a celebrated and accomplished musician, historian and educator who shares his many gifts with students and audiences alike. Let’s all join together today to wish him a very happy birthday wishes!

Photo: Derek Bridges

Happy Birthday, Delfeayo Marsalis!

Trombonist, producer and educator Delfeayo Marsalis was born in New Orleans on July 28, 1965, and is the son of Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., a pianist and music professor. He is also the grandson of Ellis Marsalis, Sr., and the brother of Wynton Marsalis (trumpeter), Branford Marsalis (saxophonist), and Jason Marsalis (drummer). Delfeayo also has two brothers who are not musicians, Ellis Marsalis III and Mboya Kenyatta. Delfeayo founded the New Orleans-based Uptown Music Theatre in 2000, which has trained over 300 youth and staged eight original musicals, all of which are based upon the mission of "community unity". Delfeayo has recorded 8 of his own albums and is known for his work as a producer of acoustic jazz recordings. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music, and in 2004 received an MA in jazz performance from the University of Louisville. Marsalis, with his father and brothers, are group recipients of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award. Today we celebrate the birthday of an incredibly talented musician and producer. Happy Birthday, Delfeayo!

Photo: Delfeayo Marsalis

Happy Birthday, Don Vappie!

Banjoist, guitarist, bassist, singer, arranger-composer, educator, lecturer, record and event producer, Don Vappie was born in New Orleans on January 30, 1956. He was surrounded by music growing up, with notable relatives playing music, including Papa John Joseph who played bass during the era of Buddy Bolden. A cousin gave Don piano lessons but he preferred bass, playing with a funk group from the age of 13. When the band’s guitarist left, he taught himself to play and worked in Bourbon Street clubs as a teenager. After a few years he began playing bass with jazz trios, taught himself banjo, and studied music theory and classical bass at Loyola University and Xavier University.

He made his recording debut as a leader in 1986, started his own Vappielle label, began yearly visits to Europe around that time, and in 1990 recorded Crescent City Serenade with clarinetist Dr. Michael White. After meeting and impressing Wynton Marsalis, Don began working regularly with the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra as a guitarist, banjoist and vocalist in 1994, an association that has continued for 25 years. While best known for his work in vintage New Orleans jazz, Don Vappie has a versatile style on his instruments and has performed and recorded along the way with such numerous luminaries. He has also led eight albums of his own including with his Creole Jazz Serenaders, a group that emphasizes superior obscurities from the 1920s.

Don Vappie has also been involved in many special projects. He starred in and co-produced the PBS documentary American Creole: New Orleans Reunion, writing the music for that special and for Zora Neal Hurston – Jump At The Sun, Mandeville: The Good Life, The Homefront, NCIS New Orleans and Treme. Don’s transcriptions of many early jazz recordings are available from Warner Bros. Publishing. He has done extensive research on the Creole music of New Orleans and the Caribbean, and as a speaker has lectured about everything from the influences of early jazz to the history of the banjo. In addition, he is a popular and prolific educator. Don is the jazz guitar instructor at Loyola University, an instructor at the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, works with many public schools, teaches privately (guitar, banjo, bass and mandolin), conducts master classes, clinics, workshops and seminars, and has presented many programs on New Orleans music for such organizations as Jazz At Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Tulane University, NPR, and the Smithsonian.

Don Vappie is constantly creating music and spreading the gospel of New Orleans jazz. “Traditional New Orleans jazz is the foundation for all of the music that is around today. Although I’m best known for playing the older music, I still play modern jazz too. The music all connects together. When I came up, the older guys in New Orleans played everything. They would say that they play music. That is what I do too.” Happy Birthday to an incredibly talented artist and proud son of New Orleans!

Photo: Facebook