Tim Sweeney

Haiti & New Orleans – A Treasured Melting Pot

I cannot help but wonder at the talent, beauty and opportunities the United States loses out on when we deny entry to refugees. This week’s show starts off with a musical nod to the travesty that resulted in one of our country’s diplomats resigning in disgust.

Lakou Mizik, a Haitian band, recorded HaitiNola in New Orleans to celebrate and highlight the city’s shared cultural heritage with New Orleans. That shared experience dates back to the early 1800’s when the first and only successful slave rebellion in the Americas resulted in the formation of Haiti, scattering French refugees and their slaves and some free people of colors throughout the Caribbean. As luck would have it, a large portion, roughly 10,000 people, ended up in New Orleans doubling the size of the city and changing it forever.

This public radio podcast goes into greater detail on the history and the shared architecture, art, food, language and music that evolved from this cultural infusion to the city. In this week’s show, you’ll hear Lakou Mizik perform with King James and the Special Men followed by tracks from Bamboula 2000, Sunpie Barnes, and Fredy Omar. Apparently, the U.S. has a tradition of diplomats resigning over its treatment of Haiti, dating back to Fredrick Douglass who would later say “Haiti is Black, and we have not yet forgiven Haiti for being Black.” That was in 1893 and it seems that things have not changed.

This week’s show has very little New Orleans style jazz. Near the end of the show, you will hear Haruka Kikuchi‘s wonderful rendition of Salty Dog, including some lyrics sung in Japanese, that she does with Shake’Em Up Jazz Band. But its stands nearly alone in the hot jazz category. Instead, you’ll hear Egg Yolk Jubilee getting loud with “Black Drawers,” Garage a Trois fusing it up with “Calm Down,” and George Porter Jr. funking it up with “Nice, Very Nice.” Also, I feature two songs by The Soul Rebels who will be performing in Olympia and Seattle in February 2022.

Bonerama from the band’s “Live at the Old Point” 2001 release

I also need to say a little bit about the New Orleans band Bonerama mostly so I have an excuse to display this gratuitous photo. The band is still active though with fewer trombonists and more clothing. On this show, you’ll hear the band’s performance of “Blues for Ben.”

Moving into a Bluesier, Funky Fall

A fall freshet of rain (almost two inches) has slaked the thirst of my drought-stressed landscape and brushed off the dust of summer. We’re in that sweet spot where the sun shines enough to ensure the oncoming chill and damp doesn’t quite over stay its welcome. Well, at least for now. And the other harbinger of Autumn? The arrival of students on the Evergreen State College campus starting Monday.

This week’s show was captured, as usual, during its original broadcast on KAOS and edited for rebroadcast on KMRE. Since returning to producing live shows in the KAOS studios in May, the campus of the Evergreen State College has been rather ghostly. Empty parking lots, an occasional distant body scurrying across the square, the quiet yet freaky noises of previously unnoticed machinery in the College Activities Building where the studio resides.

But this week, there were some stirrings. More cars in the lot, students animatedly chatting in pairs on the square and after 20 months, this four-year college appears to be coming back to life with in-person classes and activities. Next week, the studio, which has been empty every time I’ve come in for my show over the last four months, will be a lot more active. I’ll have to get used to other people working near me again.

Why this description? Well, this milieu can affect my show, even though it features music from a city over 2,600 miles away. You’ll hear a good example when I break tradition and start the first set with a song that is by Jonathan Bree a New Zealander whose song, “You’re So Cool,” is very different than what I usually play. But given that it was a request by a student who was listening as my earlier morning show was ending, I wanted to be welcoming and play the song. It was followed by good company – Clayton Doley‘s “Disbelief.” This piano-playing Aussie went to New Orleans and jammed with some of its best horn players, creating Bayou Billabong. Preservation Hall Jazz Band follows with its Cuban-influenced original “Santiago.” Before the set ends, I get back on message with The Melatauns’ “Day of Sunshine” followed by Dr. Brice Miller’s poignant yet jammin’ “You are my Sunshine.” And that’s just the first full set — which you can listen to right now by using the player above.

Other show highlights include:

The Shiz which bills themselves as “New Orleans conscious, hippie, lesbeaux Folk-Rock and Soul”
A nearly 8 and half minute rendition of “Let Me Do My Thing” by The Hot 8 Brass Band — edited for radio but not to be confused with the radio version of this song which is half as long. Here’s the site to donate to help the family of bandleader Bennie Pete who died from COVID-19 earlier this month.
Sarah Quintana performing with a kazoo.
Greetings and songs by Sonny Landreth and Andrew Duhon.
Dozens of other great New Orleans songs.

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George Wein’s influence in New Orleans will live forever

I cannot imagine what the New Orleans music scene would look like today without the half century legacy of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. So it should be no surprise that I give a nod to the recent passing of George Wein, one of the founders of the festival in this week’s show

First though, Fats Domino kicks off the program with one of his less well-known hits “I’m Ready.” A song that charted in the spring of 1959 with Domino cautioning: “Talking on the phone is not my speed. Don’t send me no letter, ’cause I can’t read. Don’t be long, ’cause I’ll be gone. We’ll go rock and rolling all night long.”

George Wein was a jazz pianist with his own nightclub and record label when he was hired in 1954 to organize a music festival in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Jazz Festival was a smash and he was invited to replicate that success in other communities, including New Orleans. While it took several years for the New Orleans festival to manifest, it appears that Wein was pivotal in helping to develop the concept of an affordable event with multiple stages where audiences were free to roam about and sample a variety of music. In short, the modern music festival. (though the affordability issue today is debatable.)

Wein was a regular performer over the years at the festival and I feature in this week’s show his 2003 performance of “Back Home Again in Indiana” from the Smithsonian Folkways 50th anniversary JazzFest compilation. You’ll also hear Beausoleil from that same compilation in recognition of that band’s upcoming performance in Olympia. See my calendar page.

But before Wein and after Domino, I feature a different kind of New Orleans music set starting with Quintron & Miss Pussycat’s “Shoplifter.” The distorted organ post-punk dance sound may not be what you think of as New Orleans music, but it is very much part of the New Orleans music scene. Galactic follows up with “Shibuya” — a very deep track from their release recorded live at Tipitina’s along with Papa Grows Funk’s “Gorillafaceugmopotamus!” and Lena Prima’s “Frog Legs Man.” It’s one wild set and I dare you to listen to all 25 minutes of it.

Noted for her clarinet and saxophone, Aurora Nealand is multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer.

Later in the show, I highlight four projects by Aurora Nealand who has been recognized by DownBeat Magazine for her ability to perform with clarinet and soprano saxophone. So you will hear her work with nightclub mainstays Panorama Jazz Band and The Royal Roses. You’ll also hear from her unique rockabilly project Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers and her original solo project called The Monocle which has been brought to life in a fully staged adaptation a few year’s back.

Tank and the Bangas, Lakou Mizik, Alex McMurray and the New Orleans Swinging Gypsies follow along with others including two covers of “I’m Ready” by Davell Crawford and someone named “George” from an unmarked Jay Miller recording included in the Swamp Pop by the Bayou compilation.

Thanks for tuning in.

Seven Year Itch – Time to Move On?

Why am I still doing this show? Isn’t seven years long enough?

I’ve produced over 350 radio episodes focusing exclusively on music from New Orleans with some some well justified forays into Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Mamou and other nearby swamp lands. Perhaps its time to move?

On the plus side, the music I play is damn good. Hear for yourself when you get the player started above with my seventh anniversary show. How can you not be a fan with Theryl “Houseman” DeClouet’s opening number “You Came” as in “you came to the party.” That party stays funky with help from Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes and Flow Tribe.

My roots with New Orleans go back to the early 1960s with my Dad playing from his jazz record collection that included several from native son Pete Fountain. You’ll hear Fountain’s version of “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue” along with songs by Royal Street favorite Doreen Ketchens and Rebirth Brass Band.

Bennie Pete – a screen capture from a video on the The Hot 8 Brass Band’s website

It’s not all party though. Bennie Pete died last week at 45. As bandleader and sousaphonist for The Hot 8 Brass Band, Pete and his band has been a symbol of the city’s resilience since Hurricane Katrina. The band was featured in Spike Lee’s epic documentary on the city and the storm “When the Levees Broke” and has gone through one tragic event after another including three band member deaths to gun violence (one a shooting by New Orleans Police Department). The band’s record Tombstone was intended to put the bad shit behind them. I play the the first and last track from that release and the song “We Goin’ Make It.” Long live Bennie Pete!

As in past anniversary shows, I point to the gateway acts that have fueled my 15 year addiction to this city’s music scene. Notably, you will hear the New Orleans Nightcrawlers who grabbed my attention with their Live at the Old Point Bar. This album makes me wish I was in the Algier’s Point bar that night in 2010. On the other hand, I was there for the Radiators performance at the 2006 Jazzfest– the one right after Hurricane Katrina. You’ll hear a a great jam from that performance.

On the question that started this post, as long as I’m having fun, I see no reason to stop doing the show. What do you think?

Mama Don’t Like It But I Do – You Too?

This month’s Gumbo YaYa dance party starts off with Smiley Lewis’ “Mama Don’t Like It” an R&B spinoff of the even older “Mama Don’t Allow” standard. And a fitting start to the September dance party edition of Gumbo Ya Ya. If you can read this while dancing, go ahead and start the player below.

First, a nod to the victims of the Gulf of Mexico storm Ida, hitting Louisiana and Mississippi with Category 4 winds and picking up sky loads of water that created flash flooding in New Jersey and New York City. This is the time of year that I have produced a show-long annual recognition of Hurricane Katrina – a tradition I decided to retire this year.

This first long set of songs and a set later in the show were all recorded in the famous Cosimo Matassa studios which was located in the French Quarter in the 1950’s and 1960’s. You’ll hear some you expect such as Fats Domino and Little Richard but also Jessie Hill, Shirley & Lee, Paul Gayten, Roland Cook, Chris Kenner and The Showmen. These songs got the country to dance and still works for me.

The show allows you to catch your breath (because you are dancing to all this, right?) with a waltz by Shotgun Jazz Band and gradually works the pace back up to a frenzy with Tuba Skinny, Meschiya Lake, and Chloe Feoranzo. Later, Eddie Bo (“Check Your Bucket”), Earl King and two from the Meters allow us to show off our more funky moves.

Later in the show, if you have the stamina, we spin some Zydeco and a bit of salsa — thanks to Terrance Simien, Donna Angelle, Fredy Omar and Jon Cleary.

Al “Carnival Time” Johnson recording “Red Beans”

A little after the 30 minute mark, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson sings his new song “Red Beans”— a tribute to the Krewe of Red Beans which has been doing great work in supporting New Orleans’ entertainment community. Here’s more on them.

Listen to Hurricane Katrina Recognition Shows

During the course of hosting Gumbo YaYa, I did a number of shows dedicated to Hurricane Katrina, using the music from New Orleans to highlight aspects of this catastrophe. I would air the show around the anniversary of the hurricane’s landfall in Louisiana. And you can listen to them even now. Below is a summary followed by a player for each show.

When the levees broke after Hurricane Katrina hit, the force of the unleased water pushed houses off foundations and cars down several blocks.

The 10-year anniversary 2015 Katrina recognition show was a two-parter . The first goes into detail of the storm and its impact. The second focuses on the musicians and their stories. The shows features short excerpts from Spike Lee’s movie “When the Levees Broke.” I dedicated these two radio shows to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The 2016 show aired after Louisiana, particularly Baton Rouge was flooded from torrential rains. Using appropriate examples, particularly from the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, I ponder what new songs more recent floods will inspire.

The 2017 Katrina recognition show was dedicated to ALL flood victims around the world. .

The 2018 Katrina recognition show was dedicated to Puerto Rico which had just been chewed up by Hurricane Maria.

Much of the city was under water for over a month.

The 2019 Katrina recognition show focused on ‘the delta and Louisiana coastline.

The 2020 show followed up on the 2019 theme, highlighting the strong connection between coastal erosion and the severity of hurricanes. The show featured a brief audio message from the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

Time to get up for school & do your homework – Gumbo YaYa

Normally at this time of year, I do a full show dedicated to Hurricane Katrina, but after doing six such shows it seemed time to adjust. Instead, this week’s show offers one set of music featuring Trombone Shorty, Shamarr Allen, and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

It’s not that I don’t think Hurricane Katrina has lost its significance but with an earthquake in Haiti, frenzied evacuations in Afghanistan and a persistent plague across the globe combined with wildfires and other increasingly dangerous events, it seemed like a good year to tone it down.

And focus on the start of school instead with the help of Davis Rogan’s very funny “Mr. Rogan” about his life as a music teacher during the day and New Orleans musician at night. Larry Williams follows that up with “Little School Girl” and Shamarr Allen returns, this time with his son Jarrel Allen and friend Dinerall Shavers (son of the the late drummer for Hot 8 Brass Band) to do “Ima holla back” about doing your homework before playing on your Nintendo. Check out their video below.

Later sets include New Birth Brass Band, the Original Pinettes and grammy-winning New Orleans Nightcrawlers. I also play a vinyl track from Keith Richards debut solo album from 1988 featuring Ivan Neville, Michael Doucet and Buckwheat Zydeco accordionist Stanley Dural. Another vinyl track offers the hard to find recording of “Drink Jax Beer” by Ramsey McLean & the Survivors (with Charmaine Neville singing).

Thanks for tuning in. You can listen to the show by activating the player above and if you subscribe you’ll learn when new shows are released.

Show’s grumpy opening finishes with Davis Rogan visit

The news was getting to me when I took the air today (August 19, 2021). JazzFest and French Quarter Fest were cancelled and life once again seems to be backpedaling as COVID rears its ugly head. So I guess I was a little grumpy at the start. Hear for yourself.

To get out of my funk, I turned to my reliable performers: Al Hirt, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Beausoleil, as well as some strong new contenders such as the New Orleans Dancehall Quartet and the Smoking Time Jazz Club.

Jon Cleary’s “Doin’ Bad, Feelin’ Good,” Bon Bon Vivant’s “Dancing in the Darkness” and Dr. John’s “What Goes Around Comes Around” provided some necessary mental adjustment. By the time, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors chanted out “Sing My Song” I was swinging the other way.

And then Davis Rogan called from the sunny white sands of Grayton Beach, Florida. He’s coming to Seattle, Olympia and Portland next week for house concerts. You can hear our chat starting around the 55 minute mark. And if you want to attend the Olympia show, let me know.

This show also features two fine musicians from Shreveport: David Egan and Buddy Flett. The New Orleans Swinging Gypsies, featuring a tap danced rhythm, does Irving Berlin’s “Russian Lullaby,” Shamarr Allen performs the War classic “The World is a Ghetto” (He also performs in the region this week.)

Sierra Green, Coolbone, Aurora Nealand and Champion Jack Dupree handle the anchor leg of the show. Thanks for tuning in.

Live shows, New records and Fire on the Bayou

As COVID cases begin to rise again, bands that thought the coast was clear are starting to announce their tour plans, or in some cases, already getting out there and performing. This week’s show features those New Orleans acts with plans to tour the Northwest as well as new records released in recent months.

My Live NOLA Shows page tracking Northwest shows has been reinvigorated with concert dates by The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Soul Rebels, Rebirth Brass Band, Dumpstaphunk, Shamarr Allen and Davis Rogan. You’ll hear songs from all these groups.

New music by Tuba Skinny (with Maria Muldaur), Jon Batiste, Kid Eggplant and the Melatauns, Secret Six Jazz Band, Chris Acker, Ted Hefko, and Tiffany Pollack.

There’s other music in this two-hour show (featuring the KMRE edit version), including Helen Gillet, Kevin Sekhani, Josh Garrett, Debbie Davis and Josh Paxton, Egg Yolk Jubilee to cite a few.

The funky Meters jump on around the 35 minute mark to do a live version of “Fire on the Bayou” from the 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Once again, COVID has cancelled this very important event to the New Orleans economy. The news sucks but the song is good.

Wildfires in the West Inspire Gumbo Show

This fire season over 100 large fires have incinerated two million acres of land in the U.S. And new fires are reported each day. . . Let’s play some music, starting with Rebirth Brass Band’s “Fire.” (you can listen to the show while still staying on this page using the player below)

While New Orleans sits on the western side of the hurricane season, Olympia sits on the western edge of the fires. We might be mostly safe from the flame but the smoke is creating a haze and red hue to our sunlight. Air quality is holding but is vulnerable to a shift in the winds. New Orleans Suspects kick off the first full set with “You Got the Fire” carried on by Mike Doussan’s “Breathe” and Papa Grows Funk “Fire in the Garage.” The Royal Southern Brotherhood finish the set with “Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire.”

Fire and smoke in song are metaphors usually for love though Randy Newman’s “Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield” covered by Papa Mali seems more about destruction. Alexey Marti does his instrumental “Fire Land” and Trombone Shorty performs “Fire and Brimstone.” You’ll even hear the patron saint of this show, Ernie K-Doe, say his trademark “Burn K-Doe Burn.”

Ernie K-Doe, New Orleans singer and lounge owner, was a deejay with New Orleans community radio station WWOZ.

Midway through the show, we take a break from the fire for “Indian Summer” one of my favorites of Eric Lindell along with a radio edit version of Tiffany Pollack’s “Crawfish and Beer.” In honor of Davis Rogan coming to Olympia, I play an All That song and Buckwheat Zydeco does Bruce Springsteen’s “Back In Your Arms.”

But I eventually bring it back to theme of fire aided by Bon Bon Vivant’s “Burn” and New Birth Brass Band’s “Smoke That Fire.” The topic gives me an excuse to play the nine-minute live version of “All Our Fire” by Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes at the Maple Leaf Bar and I finish the theme with the Neville’s “Fire on the Bayou.” And somewhere before that, Davell Crawford does “Fire and Rain” with Nicholas Payton doing his interpretation of that song on trumpet.

There’s more music that follows. The player is above and you can listen from this page. Just don’t let smoke get in your eyes.