Celebrating the Birthday of Big Chief Tootie Montana

Big Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana was born in New Orleans on December 16, 1922, and was a New Orleans cultural icon who acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "Chief of Chiefs" for over 50 years. Tootie is revered in the Mardi Gras Indian culture as the Big Chief who is responsible for making the the culture of the Mardi Gras Indians about pageantry rather than violence.

In 1982 Tootie is quoted to have said that "Now, people run to the Mardi Gras Indians; back in the day, people would run from them". Montana is a recipient of a 1987 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Tootie continued to mask as Chief until 1998, when his son Darryl took over as Chief of The Yellow Pocahontas Tribe. At the age of 78, Tootie was the oldest continuously masking Mardi Gras Indian. In 1995 he stated, "I am the oldest, I am the best, and I am the prettiest". 

On June 27, 2005, Tootie was making a speech at the New Orleans City Council Chamber against the NOPD abuse of the Mardi Gras Indians, when he suffered from a heart attack that took his life. At his funeral, different tribes from across the city gathered to sing, dance and honor Tootie, the Big Creole Chief, the Chief of Chiefs. Today we commemorate the birthday of the Chief of Chiefs and his invaluable contributions to New Orleans culture.

Celebrating the Birthday of Louis Prima

Trumpeter, singer, songwriter, actor, bandleader and composer Louis Prima was born in New Orleans on December 7, 1910. In the late 1920s Prima formed a New Orleans-style jazz band, then he led a swing band in the 1930s, and a big band group in the 1940s. By the 1950s, he had helped popularize jump blues and was a featured act in Las Vegas. From the 1940s through the 1960s he played early R&B, rock’n’roll, boogie woogie and Italian folk music. Despite that musicians of his era were discouraged from displaying their ethnic roots, Prima embraced his Italian heritage and helped pave the way for other musicians to display their ethnic roots in their music. Some of his most popular songs include, “Just A Gigolo”, “I Wanna Be Like You”, “Jump, Jive an’ Wail”, “Pennies from Heaven”, and “When You’re Smiling”. Sadly, Prima passed away on August 24, 1978, after a lengthy illness. Today we celebrate this unique performer who always left us smiling’!

Photo by: William P. Gottlieb

Happy Birthday, Tab Benoit!

Singer songwriter, guitarist, and drummer Tab Benoit was born November 17, 1967, in Houma Louisiana. A guitar player since his teenage years, he plays primarily Delta blues on his 1972 Fender Telecaster, but he’s skilled in a number of blues styles. Benoit learned from blues legends, and formed a trio in 1987, playing clubs in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Two years later he began touring other parts of the South, and started touring more of the United States in 1991. He landed a  recording contract in 1992, and has been prolific since then, releasing 19 recordings between 1993 and 2012. In that time, he has collaborated and performed with countless legendary musicians including his regular crew, bassist Carl Dufrene and drummer Darryl White, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville, Brian Stoltz, George Porter, Jr.., Kenny Neal,  Debbie Davies, Jimmy Thackery, Charlie Musselwhite, Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton, Anders Osborne, Michael Doucet, Ivan Neville, and more.

In 2007, Benoit won his first B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award presented by the Blues Music Awards, the most prestigious recognitions afforded to Blues musicians. Benoit was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and two years later, he won three separate Blues Music Awards: Contemporary Blues Male Artist; Contemporary Blues Album (for 2011's Medicine); and for the second time, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. In 2013, the second year in a row, Benoit won the Blues Music Awards Contemporary Blues Male Artist.

In 2003, Benoit founded 'Voice of the Wetlands,' an organization promoting awareness of the receding coastal wetlands of Louisiana.He promotes the issues that plague Louisiana's imperiled coast to his national audience, and supports outreach and education about Louisiana's Wetlands loss and how Louisiana's rich culture is endangered as its wetlands disappear.In 2010, Benoit received the Governor's Award - Conservationist of the Year for 2009 by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.

Photo: Bengt Nyman

Celebrating the birthday of Ellis Marsalis!

Pianist, composer and music educator Ellis Marsalis was born in New Orleans on November 14, 1934. Marsalis was the patriarch of a musical family, with internationally famous sons, saxophonist Branford and trumpeter Wynton, as well as accomplished jazz musicians, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason. Marsalis played with Al Hirt and other musicians in the 1950s and ‘60s, and in the ‘70s he taught at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and became a leading educator there, as well as at the University of New Orleans and Xavier University of Louisiana. His students have included New Orleans musicians Terence Blanchard, Harry Connick Jr., Donald Harrison,  Marlon Jordan, and Nicholas Payton. Marsalis recorded numerous albums and was featured on the recordings of many musicians, but he focused his efforts on teaching, encouraging students to listen and experiment. As a result, he influenced the careers of many musicians, and in 2007 he received an honorary doctorate from Tulane University for his contributions to jazz and musical education. And, in 2008, Ellis Marsalis was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. A further honor was bestowed on him when the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music at Musicians' Village in New Orleans was named in his honor, and in 2011 he and his sons were group recipients of the 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award. Sadly, Marsalis passed away on April 1, 2020, at 85. Ellis Marsalis was beloved by all, not just for his musical talent, but his gift to his students, his City, and the world. He was a truly great musician and educator, and he is sorely missed. Today we celebrate his life, and we are thankful to have had him as part of our lives.

Photo by: Leepaxton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4375231

Happy Birthday, Jon Batiste!

Pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and television personality Jonathan Michael Batiste was born on November 11, 1986, in Metairie, Louisiana, into a legendary musical family that included Lionel Batiste and Harold Battiste. He started playing percussion and drums at the age of 8 in his family’s Batiste Brothers Band, and by 11 he switched to piano at his mother's suggestion. Jon developed his piano skills by taking classical music lessons and transcribing songs from video games. At 17, Batiste released Times in New Orleans. He attended St. Augustine High School and New Orleans Center for Creative Arts with Trombone Shorty, and went on to receive a bachelor's and master's degree from the Julliard School. While at Juilliard, he released his second album, Live in New York: At the Rubin Museum of Art. By the end of 2006, Batiste had been a featured performer in the U.S. and internationally. He has recorded and performed with accomplished artists in various genres of music, released his own recordings, and performed in over 40 countries. Batiste regularly tours with his band Stay Human, and appears with them every night as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste also serves as the Music Director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He has been awarded the American Jazz Museum Lifetime Achievement Award, the Harry Chapin ASCAP Humanitarian Award and the Moved Future Legend Award. So much has been achieved by this incredible artist, but we know the best is yet to come! Happy Birthday, Jon!

Celebrating the Birthday of Beau Jacque

Zydeco musician and songwriter Beau Jocque (born Andrus Espre) was born on November 1, 1953, in Duralde, Louisiana, to a father who was a well-respected accordion player. He played guitar in a high school band, and his early influences were not zydeco musicians but rather acts such as War, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Santana. After high school, he spent nine years in the Air Force, and then worked at an oil refinery, where in 1987, he experienced a work-related accident that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. He began playing his father's button accordion as part of his therapy, gaining proficiency and studying the styles of C. J. Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco, Boozoo Chavis, John Delafose.

He grew up speaking Louisiana Creole French fluently, and took the stage name "Beau Jocque," meaning "Big Guy," because he stood 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 270 pounds. In 1991, he put a band together, including his wife Shelly on rubboard, playing a few gigs in small clubs and parties. Along with his bass vocals and growling lyrics, he incorporated guitar solos, blues-rock beats, and rap lines into his songs, appealing to crowds and causing word to spread quickly about his band. Beau Jocque's first recording My Name is Beau Jocque was issued in 1992, and he sent cassettes to area radio stations and also sold them at his gigs, creating a buzz. Within a short amount of time, Beau Jocque was playing clubs four to five nights a week and was one of the biggest draws on the Louisiana zydeco circuit. Rounder Records took notice and signed him, releasing Beau Jocque Boogiein 1993, which contained the song "Give Him Cornbread”, his first hit and ultimately his signature song. In 1995, Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers were the headliners on the Rounder Records "Louisiana Red Hot Music Tour". In June 1999 they were a featured band at the first annual New Jersey Arts and Music Festival. Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers won the Big Easy Music Awards three times as Best Zydeco Artist. 

Beau Jocque recorded five studio albums for Rounder, with a sixth live album and two compilation albums released posthumously. All were financial successes for both the label and the artist. His contract with Rounder was not exclusive, so Beau Jocque also recorded two albums for New Orleans-based Mardi Gras Records, as well as a mini-CD on his own label. Sadly, Beau Jocque passed away at home in Kinder on September 10, 1999, the day after he and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers performed a two-set show at the Rock n' Bowl in New Orleans. He was at the height of his career when he passed, and his music will always be remembered and enjoyed by his many fans.

Photo: Masahiro Sumori