Jazz City 408
Jazz City
By Jay Mazza
The New Orleans South Africa Connection (NOSACONN) brought in a variety of musical acts two weeks ago that demonstrated the depth of musical talent in that country. While the headlining act was the one and only Miriam Makeba, “Mama Africa”, the lesser known acts gave locals a chance to check out jazz- South African style.
The week of concerts kicked off with a press conference at the newly opened Café Negril on Frenchmen Street. With city and state officials along with New Orleans organizer Damon Batiste on hand, the Rebirth Brass Band gave a rousing New Orleans welcome to the visitors from across the Atlantic Ocean.
They played a couple of traditional jazz standards before the press conference began. After the press conference, they performed “No More Teardrops” and the gathered crowd got a chance to hear some of the funkier tunes in the band’s repertoire.
Wednesday night was the first actual concert in the week of musical and business events. Snug Harbor was the scene for a performance by Salaelo Selota. Salaelo is a slight man who brought forth incredible amounts of energy as he played guitar and sang with fine accompaniment from his band. Damon Batiste joined the group with wonderfully sympathetic percussion work that belied the fact that he is from New Orleans, not Soweto.
The music ranged from traditional African folk songs rendered mostly solo by Selota to high-energy jazz songs that took advantage of the powerful instrumentalists in his band. The piano player was particularly impressive and on the break I found out that he is not even thirty years old.
Besides being a tasty guitar player and a truly emotive singer, Selota is also an incendiary performer who let loose with some wild dance moves and at the end of his second set he stripped off his shirt and got down on his knees while still playing his guitar. It was an emotional moment that was rendered even more impressive by the fact that the performance was taking place in the relatively staid environs of Snug Harbor. I would be willing to bet that it was the first time in Snug’s history that a performer stripped on stage!
One of the most poignant moments in the show came as the guitarist was talking about his life in South Africa. He spoke of being a young boy and dreaming of coming to New Orleans- to the place where jazz was born. As the band vamped, the emotions were practically dripping off the stage as he told the crowd about working in the fields of South Africa, before the end of apartheid, for sixty cents a day to work his way through school.
During the second set, local reedman, Greg Dawson joined the band on stage. He added some stellar alto work that had people wondering if he had lived in South Africa in this life or perhaps in another. He communicated directly with the band and they seemed completely at home with each other despite never having performed together before.
The following night at Snug Harbor, an all star band of South Africans, featuring bassist Musa Manzini, guitarist Prince Kupi, and saxman Moses Khumelo, took the stage. Damon Batiste joined them as well. It was mostly Manzini’s show, but he gracefully gave up the spotlight to highlight a brief appearance by local trumpeter Irvin Mayfield. It was a wonderful cross-cultural moment that demonstrated that jazz is indeed a universal language.
About a month early, another incredible international performer graced the stage of Snug Harbor. Filo Machado is well known in his native Brazil, but few in New Orleans had heard of him before his performances here.
He is also a guitarist and a singer who comes across as a very emotional performer. However, while Selota had the advantage of being able to speak English, Machado needed a translator to explain his remarks. His music needed no translation.
Accompanied only by his hollow bodied electric guitar, Machado was nothing short of awe inspiring. He is an accomplished master of vocalese and his singing ran the gamut from sweet romantic whispering to over the top shouting. All the while his fingers ran up and down the fretboard amazing the audience with his ability to mirror his vocals with the notes he was playing.
At one point in the concert, the translator literally got a bit teary eyed as he discussed spending time with Machado off the bandstand. It seems, like Selota, Machado had always dreamed of coming to New Orleans and seeing the Mississippi River. He then played an improvisational song that he had written on the spot to celebrate his visit to the Crescent City.
Let’s hope that the various organizations involved, NOSACONN and the UNO Jazz Studies program, continue to bring high caliber international jazz performers to the Crescent City. While we see ourselves as one of the world’s jazz capitals, they are proof that there is great music coming from all over the world.