NOLA Community Blog
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Filtering by Category: NOLA musician
WWOZ presents Festing in Place - The Next Fest Thing! 2nd Weekend, September 11-13!
John Dunlop
Festing in Place - The Next Fest Thing - the second weekend continues from Friday, September 11th to Sunday, September 13th, from 11AM - 7PM NOLA time & 9AM - 5PM L.A. time!
Check out WWOZ’s special cubes highlighting the schedule which features some of the great performances in the history of New Orleans music, including performances from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, Satchmo Fest, Crescent City Blues and BBQ Fest, WWOZ Studios and New Orleans Clubs plus rare performances from other historical collections! Dr. John * Fats Domino * The Neville Brothers * Pete Fountain * Irma Thomas * Allen Toussaint * Louis Prima * James Booker * Aaron Neville * Trombone Shorty * Kermit Ruffins * John Boutte * Professor Longhair * Marcia Ball * Jimmy Buffett * The Radiators * Treme Brass Band * Ernie K-Doe * Lost Bayou Ramblers * Al Hirt * Henry Butler * Tank and the Bangas * Jon Batiste * Mavis Staples * Rebirth Brass Band and many other Jazz, Blues, Cajun and Zydeco artists.
The broadcast will also include interview segments highlighting the music, food, and heritage of New Orleans and Louisiana to give the feeling of a wide-reaching cultural festival.
Do yourself a favor and Fest in Place with WWOZ! It’s the Next Fest Thing to being there!
Happy Birthday, Harry Connick, Jr!
John Dunlop
Harry (Joseph Harry Fowler) Connick Jr. was born in New Orleans on September 11, 1967, to his mother Anita, a New Orleans lawyer and judge, and his namesake father, Orleans Parish District Attorney (1973 to 2003), and was raised in the Lakeview Neighborhood. Connick started learning keyboards at age three, playing publicly at age five, and recording with a local jazz band at ten. His musical talents were developed at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis Jr. and James Booker.
Connick moved to New York City to study, and he met a records executive who persuaded him to sign with Columbia. He soon acquired a reputation in jazz and was asked to provide a soundtrack for the 1989 romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally... . The soundtrack achieved double-platinum status in the United States, and Connick won his first Grammy Award for Best Jazz Male Vocal Performance. His 1990 big-band album We Are in Lovewent double platinum and earned him his second consecutive Grammy for Best Jazz Male Vocal. Songs I Heard, his 2001 big band re-working of children's show themes, won Connick another Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Album. Connick has sold over 28 million albums worldwide and 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.
"Promise Me You'll Remember", his contribution to the Godfather III soundtrack, was He has been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and a Tony. As if a wildly successful music career wasn’t enough, Connick began his acting career in 1990 with the World War II film Memphis Belle. Since then he has performed in numerous films, various genres, and in both leading and supporting roles. He has appeared on Broadway and on television, including helping to organize and appearing in a live telethon concert for relief in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, as well ashosting his own talk show.
On a personal note, Connick married former Victoria's Secret model Jill Goodacre in 1994, and the couple has three daughters. Connick is a founder of the Krewe of Orpheus, a music-based New Orleans krewe, that parades on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street on Lundi Gras. Connick is a Grammy and Emmy-award winning singer, composer, pianist, actor, and television star … and a diehard Saints fan! Who Dat!
Photo by bg_nh2014 - Wikimedia commons
Celebrating the Birthday of Buddy Bolden
John Dunlop
Cornetist Charles Joseph “Buddy” Bolden was born in New Orleans on September 6, 1877, was one of the founding fathers of jazz. Many jazz musicians, including Jelly Roll Morton and the great trumpeter Louis Armstrong, acclaimed him as one of the most powerful musicians ever to play jazz. Little is known about the details of Bolden’s career, but it is documented that by about 1895 he was leading a band. Acknowledged as the cornet king of New Orleans, Bolden often worked with six or seven different bands simultaneously. In 1906 his emotional stability began to crumble, and the following year he was committed to the East Louisiana State Hospital, where he died on November 4, 1931. Today we remember, celebrate and appreciate Buddy Bolden’s musical legacy!
WWOZ presents Festing in Place - The Next Fest Thing! 7 Days - September 4-7 & 11-13!
John Dunlop
Festing in Place - The Next Fest Thing is 7 full days of New Orleans music and culture, from Friday, September 4th-Monday September 7th, and Friday, September 11th-Sunday, September 13th, from 11AM - 7PM NOLA time & 9AM - 5PM L.A. time!
WWOZ’s special cubes highlights the schedule featuring some of the great performances in the history of New Orleans music, including performances from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, Satchmo Fest, Crescent City Blues and BBQ Fest, WWOZ Studios and New Orleans Clubs plus rare performances from other historical collections! Dr. John * Fats Domino * The Neville Brothers * Pete Fountain * Irma Thomas * Allen Toussaint * Louis Prima * James Booker * Aaron Neville * Trombone Shorty * Kermit Ruffins * John Boutte * Professor Longhair * Marcia Ball * Jimmy Buffett * The Radiators * Treme Brass Band * Ernie K-Doe * Lost Bayou Ramblers * Al Hirt * Henry Butler * Tank and the Bangas * Jon Batiste * Mavis Staples * Rebirth Brass Band and many other Jazz, Blues, Cajun and Zydeco artists.
The 7-day broadcast also includes interview segments highlighting the music, food, and heritage of New Orleans and Louisiana to give the feeling of a wide-reaching cultural festival.
Do yourself a favor and Fest in Place with WWOZ! It’s the Next Fest Thing to being there!
Happy Birthday, Davell Crawford!
John Dunlop
Pianist, vocalist, composer and arranger Davell Crawford was born in New Orleans on September 3, 1975, began playing piano when he was seven and first toured Europe in his early teens. Crawford brings a synthesis of styles (jazz, funk, R&B, and gospel) to his piano playing, singing and songwriting. Fats Domino, Sarah Vaughan, Patsy Cline and Liberace are among his many influences, and he believes in the art of entertainment, occasionally leaving his piano to talk and joke with his audience. Acclaimed as the “Piano Prince of New Orleans,” Crawford brings equal exuberance to both modern and classic jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, blues, gospel, soul, pop, American folk and touches of country-western.
However, Gospel is at the heart of everything that Crawford does. As a child, Crawford attended both Baptist and the Catholic churches and watched the pipe organist so attentively that when he first sat in front of the impressive instrument he already knew the function of the stops and pedals. The organ at his church was the first he ever played and throughout his life he’s continued to man the organ in both church and club settings. At just 10 years old, he took on the position of accompanist to the St. Peter Claver Catholic Church choir, and by the time he was 11, he became the youth choir director, pianist and organist to the sanctuary and men’s choruses at the St. Joseph Baptist Church. Since then Crawford has traveled the world conducting choral workshops and making appearances in gospel music. He has also hosted award winning gospel ensembles and formed The Davell Crawford Singers, who continue to perform and can be heard on his CD, My Gift To You. That being said, Crawford is also fully versed in the traditional jazz songbook of New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. Crawford plays and sings the music of his passion—the music of his life. He has soaked up the surrounding rhythms and harmonies of New Orleans that were his deep musical roots and nurtured his natural talent. In the inimitable New Orleans tradition, Crawford is a passionate performer who has a flair for the art of entertainment, engaging the audience with his winning personality and sense of humor. Happy Birthday, Davell!
Photo: Facebook