Happy Birthday, Harry Connick, Jr!

Harry (Joseph Harry Fowler) Connick Jr. was born on September 11, 1967, in New Orleans. Connick is a Grammy and Emmy-award winning American singer, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States. He has had seven top 20 US albums, and ten number-one US jazz albums, earning more number-one albums than any other artist in US jazz chart history. Happy Birthday, Harry!

By bg_nh2014 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42602732

Happy Birthday, Ivan Neville!

Ivan Neville was born in New Orleans on August 19, 1959, to one of the great musical families of the Big Easy. He is the son of Aaron Neville and nephew to members of The Neville Brothers, and has clearly inherited the family’s legendary musical talent. He is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter who has been performing in bands since 1977. Ivan has joined his father and uncles in The Neville Brothers, was a member of Bonnie Raitt’s band in the 1980’s, was a member of Keith Richards’ X-Pensive Winos tour, and has played with numerous musical luminaries including the Rolling Stones, Don Henley, Robbie Robertson, Delbert McClinton and Rufus. Neville and his cousin, Ian Neville (son of Art Neville) formed Dumpstaphunk in the early 2000s and play their own incomparable brand of funk and jazz. Neville is also a member of JazzFest phenom Dragon Smoke, along with Eric Lindell, Rob Mercurios and Stanton Moore. No matter who he is playing with, never miss an opportunity to see Ivan Neville perform! Happy Birthday to NOLA musical royalty!

Photo by Newber Machado

Happy Birthday, Jon Cleary!

Jon Cleary was born on August 11, 1962, in Cranbrook, Kent, England, but for at least the past 20 years he has been a student of New Orleans life and musical culture. Based in New Orleans, Cleary is an accomplished pianist, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He has performed with numerous music luminaries including B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and Eric Burdon. Be sure to catch Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen when they perform their brand of funk and R&B … you will be happy you did! Happy Birthday, John!

Photo by Masahiro Sumori

Celebrating the Birthday of Louis Armstrong

Trumpeter and vocalist Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo, Satch, and Pops, was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1901. He is the most famous and influential jazz musician of all time, and was a beloved American icon and cultural ambassador. He was born into poverty, learned to play the coronet at the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys in 1913, and emerged as a trumpet virtuoso whose highly inventive, improvised solos transformed jazz. His distinctive, gravelly voice and charismatic stage presence propelled him to great popularity, both at home and internationally, and not just with his musical recordings, but on radio, films and television. He has innumerable popular songs, but he is best known for the heartwarming “What A Wonderful World” and the cheerful “Hello Dolly”, for which he won a Grammy in 1964. Armstrong passed away in his sleep from a heart attack, a month before his 70th birthday, on July 6, 1971. A 12-foot statue of Armstrong, trumpet in hand, is located in Louis Armstrong Park, located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, just across from the French Quarter.

Satchmo Summerfest is the premier American festival dedicated to the life, legacy, and music of New Orleans' native son, Louis Armstrong, and it takes place at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the U.S. Mint the first weekend of August.

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, Little Freddie King!

Delta Blues guitarist Little Freddie King, born Fread Eugene Martin, celebrates his birthday on July 19th. Born in Mississippi in 1940, he moved to New Orleans at age 14. He performed in juke joints with legendary blues artists, and played with luminaries Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker, as well as playing bass for Freddy King. Style comparisons between the two artists led to his use of the name “Little Freddie King”, though his playing sounds more like his cousin, Lightnin’ Hopkins, He is a three-time New Orleans “Blues Performer of the Year”, he is also a member of the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Happy Birthday, Freddie!