New Marsalis Music Honors Series Releases

MARSALIS MUSIC CONTINUES HONORS SERIES BY CELEBRATING TWO GIANTS OF NEW ORLEANS

CAMBRIDGE, MA – For the second set of recordings in its Honors Series, Marsalis Music places the focus on two of the most steadfast voices of New Orleans, the hometown of label head and producer Branford Marsalis. The discs, one of which features clarinetist Alvin Batiste and the other drummer Bob French, will be released on April 10 by Marsalis Music/Rounder Records.

“Watching the post-Katrina flood wash away so much of the city, my love for New Orleans was painfully confirmed,” Marsalis says. “These recordings are a tribute to just a small portion of the music my city has to offer.”

Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste is the first recording in over a decade for the legendary clarinetist, composer and educator. In keeping with the Honors Series concept of bringing veterans together with musicians at the start of their career, Batiste is joined by pianist Lawrence Field and bassist Ricardo Rodriguez as well as guitarist Russell Malone, vocalist Ed Perkins and two former Batiste students – drummer Herlin Riley and Marsalis, who sits in on tenor sax. The program leans heavily on the original compositions with which Batiste redefined notions of New Orleans music. “Along with my father and a few others,” Marsalis notes, “Alvin was part of a small group of Crescent City musicians dedicated to playing modern jazz in a city as far away from the urban environment where modern jazz thrived as any you could imagine. His playing and writing prove that, at any age, true `modernity’ is more than a harmonic exercise – it’s a philosophical construct.”

The sounds are more traditional on Marsalis Music Honors Bob French, as befits the drummer, vocalist and radio personality who is about to lead the Original Tuxedo Band into its second century of continuous performance. The program, filled with classic compositions associated with the Crescent City, confirms Marsalis’ comment that “Bob’s recording should remind everyone that New Orleans is one of the only cities in our country with its own music.” French assembled a band for the occasion from among several generations of his musical associates, including his contemporary Bill Huntington on banjo; young protégés Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown on trumpet and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews on trombone; a pair of longtime associates in bassist Chris Severin (another Batiste pupil) and vocalist Ellen Smith; and two men who French has known and encouraged since they were kids – Marsalis, heard here on soprano sax, and pianist Harry Connick, Jr.

“I felt honored myself that both Alvin and Bob would allow me to share the stage with them in these recordings,” Marsalis admits. “Both discs are very special to me, because they pay tribute to two men who have inspired me, Harry and generations of other musicians with their tutelage, their wisdom and their friendship.”

The Honors Series, launched in 2006 with volumes featuring drum giants Jimmy Cobb and Michael Carvin, is designed to spotlight veteran musicians whose contributions often get taken for granted in multi-generational settings of their choice. The initial releases were extremely well received, with Marsalis Music Honors Michael Carvin being selected as one of the ten best jazz discs of 2006 by The New Yorker. As with the initial releases, the covers for the new volumes feature the images of noted photographer Lou Jones.

Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste and Marsalis Music Honors Bob French join other recent releases on the label, including the Branford Marsalis Quartet’s Braggtown and Harry Connick, Jr.’s Chanson du Vieux Carré (the third volume of the Connick on Piano series), in showcasing diverse approaches that all represent the best in jazz music.

Bob French and his band (w/special guests Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr.), Alvin Batiste and his band, and the Branford Marsalis Quartet will be featured in the Jazz Tent at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 6. Harry Connick, Jr. will close the Festival on the Main Stage.