Another day in NOLA

I usually fit in a few snippets of music and there’s lots of opportunity here in New Orleans. They say this is not a busy time – Americans come here for the warmth during their winter and the current tourists are reasonably contained by numbers and humidity – but there’s still a lot of music around on the streets of the French Quarter. I caught the One for All Brass Band with second line in the Louis Armstrong Park for a fair-cum-festival. They started with When the saints come marching in, and moved through funky grooves to Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon. The sousaphone was loud and insistent but nicely improvised, the snare was march-like, the two trombones and three trumpets developed into some decent solos on the march. I’ve learnt that the Second line is a set of revellers who appear after the “deposit” of the coffin to lead the “release”, a wake-like celebration of the deceased’s life. This was all well away from Bourbon Street and its sleaze. As an obvious visitor with a strange accent (often heard as English), I met a string of fine locals. These are people I could live with. But there was also a stroll along Bourbon Street again, intent on finding Preservation Hall. On the way, I caught the trombone trio of Dave Ruffner (vocals, trombone) with Mark Wayne (bass) and Bob Walters (drums) and got a chance to sit in (Almost like being in love, Alone together). I had a chat with bassist Dave. He has a background in orchestral bass but has been playing jazz in NOLA for several years. Oh, and one other thing. I heard a calliope on a paddle steamer: a simple steam-driven pipe organ. Very cute and quite loud