The New Orleans trumpet man lifts his horn to his face. He casually sounds a short call and scans the bandstand. Only the drummer responds with a nod and shifts in his seat. Then, looking straight ahead, the trumpet player inhales, his right heel meets the floor twice, and he starts to play. But Whoa! […]
A 2018 grant from Chamber Music America (CMA) supporting new works in jazz gave me a valuable opportunity with unique challenges. The main challenge? How does one portray New Orleans and convey New Orleans style in an original composition?I should start with some background to how the grant came about. It’s important because the Faubourg […]
It was a glorious Sunday morning in late-March, typical for that time of year. The “Flying Jazzman’s” musicians were upstairs setting up in the Little Gem Saloon’s homey “Ramp Room” as my team of mentors arrived. This was our first ever New Orleans band workshop. Strains of blues from the brunch downstairs would swell and then […]
For Clarinet Road, do you want to know the best thing about Carnival Season? It’s that the New Orleans Festival Season is just a few weeks away, which means great local shows. We can’t wait until French Quarter Fest and the Jazz & Heritage Festival. Read on to see what we have scheduled so far. […]
