Today's New Orleans Music Show Murf Reeves

Published on: November 25th, 2019
Personal highlights of todays NOMS

What did I like about my show:

 

I liked seeing Dan Meyer and Holly back in the studio.  Dan had some medical issues and the road of healing has been long. But, I am sure music speeds up the healing process(if we let it.)  I am always pleased and excited by what Dan spins because his knowledge is a huge forest of giant traditional jazz redwoods. I always learn something and more than once have thought, “ I am playing this on my show one day.”  We have to do the transition with a little more delicacy and slower tempo. This is also preparation for me which makes everything easier if I can think a little about what I am going to do before I do it. Putting a little emotionalized faith into my thoughts so I can encourage radness. I do set myself because I usually start with the same song, these days it is “Treme Mardi Gras,” by Kermit Ruffins. This tune is like a sonic Cappucino or energy drink for me but heals and awakens the urge to dance. 

Today the real treat was the “R” Project from Riverdale High School for this month's School Groove segment.  Eleven teenagers (I think) along with the bandleader and player caus he kept jumping in and playing along, Desmond Venable.  I was stoked because earlier in the show I had played a version of “Stand By Me,” performed by the Pinstripe Brass Band at Jazzfest and wouldn't you know who was playing the trumpet: Desmond.  One of the reasons I enjoy radio is capturing these moments and sharing with the listeners,  whether through story or song. Desmond had never heard the recording and I was able to link the “R” project  performance to something previous in the show, creating a cool loop to follow if one so chooses.  

Connecting or interconnecting the dots is such a  fun way to see the universe, finding hidden links and revealing how close we are to everything. It’s a challenge for me on my show every week, linking songs together so somehow the order in which they are played makes the songs following one another sound better.  I digress, the kids in the “R” project really brought the full energy. The musicians seemed excited to be playing music, hopefully being on WWOZ, but even more, important they all seemed excited to be playing together. The band started with Lil Liza Jane and right away I could hear and see the joy coming from the group.  Smiling and dancing, the band seemed interested in grooving and, maybe had even forgotten why they were there in the first place, the real place was the songs. The saxophone player was a killer soloist( think he soloed on all three songs) and he already was developing his sound. In his solos I would hear passages that sounded as if I was in the desert, walking in the afternoon.  I also heard some John Coltrane in there.

Here was the future of New Orleans music.  These teenagers, musicians, bandmates are the social gumbo that is filled with rhythm, groove, and fun and they are just beginning their explorations into life with music as a guide, listening to old records and finding new ways of thinking.  I remembered when I first started listening to music and then discovering someone or style that I had no idea existed and feeling the world just get bigger and I had more to learn and absorb. The universe had been shattered and put back together in a more beautiful way.  

Thank you “R” project for sharing your groove with all of the folks at WWOZ, and thanks for making the Monday New Orleans Music show that much radder.

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