That is so utterly tremendous to open a set in a bar with that tune! My compliments.
I’ve read a bit about Gottschalk over the years, but — ha ha — thinking he was dead and gone long before Edison did his recording thang, never thought to getting around to looking for recordings of his compositions, of which I now see there are many. Sometimes I am so damn slow!
Anyway, now listening to the entire CD from which you so imaginatively and bravely played that cut. Thanks for the inspiration. The modern world ain’t so bad when things like this happen.
So I am totally cheating now because we are someway into the afternoon hours of Ash Wednesday even out here on the Pacific coast. I’ve been distracted with thinking about the Rate thyself as a dj - are you better now than ever? topic, which is a bit gnarly from my personal point of view of answering that question.
Anyway, even an antique such as I admits that a lot of that old NO r’n’b style music, wonderful as it is, is a bit tame by today’s standards of sonic mayhem. Even Little Richard for all his pioneering qualities wouldn’t stand out today.
So the answer was to switch to something almost contemporary, Galactic’s Carnivale Electricos, which came out in 2012. I’d not liked it much at first, but a few months ago in an enhanced state I happened to play it from mp3 on my phone. I could not believe my ears. Sonic mayhem galore! Actually, I thought the files must have got corrupted and so sent off for a CD. My ears were not mistaken. This is wild music, a mashup of NO with some Brazilian input. And even some old Clifton Chenier sampled in from an Arhoolie recording, which always impresses me 'cos for awhile I worked in Arhoolie’s retail store, Down Home Music, and I have very warm feelings for Chris Strachwitz, who is a total character and a good guy to work for. Although he is very strict in his musical tastes! No mouse music! That’s Mickey Mouse, nothing to do with a computer mouse.
I’m not going to post up every track, but you’ll get the idea — and no doubt if you’re sufficiently excited will be able to find the whole thing somewhere.
and so on to the end, which appropriately enough is Ash Wednesday Sunrise:
After some domestic time, how could I finish the evening without THE New Orleans album of all-time : GRIS-gris from Dr. John the night tripper. I’ve been listening to this masterpiece for over 50 years now and owned multiple copies, both CD and vinyl. Yes, I love it. I really don’t care about all the critical flimflam you can read about it with the simplest search.
Just in case you haven’t heard it:
One small note I’ll make that even though I have the supposedly 2017 remaster, there is a better sounding CD version of the key, much covered track, I Walk On Gilded Splinters. It’s the opening selection on a BGP compilation, Black Roots Funky and Abstract Directions in Jazz 1965—1975. Just sounds richer, with a fuller bass. I’m partially to the whole somewhat strange selection of this album. Easy to find if you’re sufficiently piqued and still buy CDs.
This morning’s NO choice was The Majesty Of The Blues from Winton Marsalis. Looks like a lot of videos of live and performances from the album, but I didn’t dredge up tracks from the album itself. It’s on Spotify. Here’s the Discog’s page for it:
This is one of those albums that always impresses me with its depth of vision for Afro-American music and its unflinching gaze at the injustices Africans have suffered in their time here. And, yes, it is majestic even if also pained. Very appropriate for Ash Wednesday morning. I’d say that if you have a serious interest in black American music you have to give it a listen.
Oh, yes! Totally. I was going to listen yesterday, but ran out of time. Did play it last week or so, however. Oops, no I got confused with The Wild Tchoupitoulas! Either way, the New Orleans Indians have been a source of fascination for me forever, well a long, long time.
Ned Sublette wrote an awesome book on the earlier history of New Orleans with The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square. If you have even a glimmer of naivety about what happened to Africans with the slave trade, this book will flense your mind. A little about the music if I remember but not a “music book” even though written by a musician. Ned Sublet wrote the short but informative see notes for Galactic’s Carnivale Electricos.
