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Dear Listener,
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The past six months have been rough: first Uncle Lionel, then Sugar Boy Crawford, now Bob French. Who can begin to weigh the loss? This past Saturday, the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band paid homage to its fallen leader in a musical tribute held at the D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home. It was such a splendid send-off. The chapel was packed with his admirers – family, friends, fellow musicians, all of whom have lived their collective lives serving an unspoken vow to something so very special. Because to them, it’s the most life-affirming expression of transcendence that New Orleanians could invent to overcome the misery, the death, the pain of the mosquito-and-termite-infested sweltering swamp of random human cruelty in which they live.
You had to be there Saturday to appreciate just how deep this city’s jazz tradition really is. It’s certainly not just a performance. It’s a statement, and if you couldn’t hear it in Bob’s music, those who know him couldn't possibly miss it in the way he lived his life. His nephew Gerald sat behind the drum kit; but if you shut your eyes, you could clearly hear his uncle’s riffs. And I imagine that so much of what we heard and loved in Bob could have been heard in the voice of his father, the founder of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, banjoist Albert “Papa” French. Those musicians, young and veteran, who performed on Saturday, every last one of them—Richard Moton, Larry Sieberth, Detroit Brooks, Tom Fischer, Wendell Brunious, Lucien Barbarin, Don Vappie, David Torkanowsky, Yolanda Windsay, Leroy Jones, Raynetta Owens-Brown, -- all highly skilled in the rhythmic inventions and intricate tropes of their predecessors—that’s the secret sauce of this city’s resilience.
In the face of the devastation it has suffered, the loss of its neighborhoods and the displacement of 200,000 of its people, that’s how it is possible that we are now witnessing the renaissance of our music scene despite the annihilation of all of the institutions that served as its apparent incubator. The miracle was hiding in plain sight Saturday-- regeneration through veneration. Peace upon those who bear joy into the world. Peace to those who struggle.
Yours in celebrations and gyrations,
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David Freedman
General Manager
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James Andrews, pictured at the Candlelight Lounge, is on the slate for "Pay It Forward".
Photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee
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The devastation and continued suffering left behind by Hurricane Sandy hits home for New Orleanians, and we understand that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. To benefit relief efforts, an all-star line-up of musicians will play the "NOLA Pay It Forward Concert" at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts on November 20. Performers on the bill include Irvin Mayfield, Ivan Neville, Amanda Shaw, Stephanie Jordan, James Andrews, Big Sam's Funky Nation, Mia Borders and many more.
Hurricane Sandy Benefit Concert and More Ways to Help
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Hear Takin' It to the Streets and This Is My New Orleans
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We're excited to announce two WWOZ podcasts that deliver byte-sized chunks of New Orleans culture straight to your computer: our weekly Takin' It to the Streets coverage of second line parades and Mardi Gras Indian events, and This Is My New Orleans, a series of biographical vignettes of New Orleans music makers, sponsored by Coventry.
» Subscribe-Download-Listen
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Give WWOZ Gear for the Holidays
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George Ingmire inspects one of this year's best.
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The holiday season is upon us, and just in time, WWOZ's show hosts have begun compiling their lists of the best CDs of 2012. When it's time to shop for your favorite music lovers (or yourself!), let those-in-the-know point you to the latest great New Orleans, Cajun, Jazz or Blues tunes.
See 'OZ show hosts' 2012 picks
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Loyal WWOZ listeners from California and Oregon.
Photo by Suzy Moran
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We want to wish y'all a Happy Thanksgiving! It's no secret what we have to be thankful for this year: you, the greatest audience in the universe! Listener-supported WWOZ is extremely grateful to all of our new and renewing members over the past year. Your contributions go toward vital projects like our soon-to-be installed transmitter, which will enable our signal to reach a wide swath of South Louisiana. Thanks for helping to keep the greatest station in the nation serving up a musical feast for the ears!
Find out more about WWOZ membership
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WWOZ is sponsored by Old New Orleans Rum and Chiba.
 
Find out how you can sponsor WWOZ.
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Hertiage School of Music alum Trombone Shorty
Photo by Leon Morris
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At 'OZ, we think music education is vitally important to our community, so a shout out to the Heritage School of Music, which provides free, weekly after-school instruction to teen-agers from throughout the New Orleans region. Students who have passed through the Heritage School of Music include Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Sammie “Big Sam” Williams and Shamarr Allen.
The Heritage School of Music
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Totally worth the wait.
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Its existence has long been rumored, and now we're happy to say, "The rumors are true!" Our cookbook, That Sounds Good!, a collection of recipes drawn from WWOZ's Louisiana music community, is here! Far more that just a cookbook, That Sounds Good! also contains a history of the station's 30+ years and dozens of rare images from ‘OZ's past.
Order That Sounds Good! at the Swamp Shop
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Chubby Carrier's Creole Chicken served with rice
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After last month's epic creole gumbo recipe, we wanted to chose something a little simpler, and this recipe, which comes from That Sounds Good! (see above), fits the bill. It's an easy version of a Louisiana classic from "The World's Premier Zydeco Showman", Chubby Carrier: creole chicken in tomato sauce.
» Chubby Carrier's Creole Chicken Recipe
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