Advertisement
As jazzlovers we cannot visit the USA without seeing New Orleans, the cradle of jazz. The town is fully aware of its historic value. It is a short walk to the Louis Armstrong Park. Here it all started once, specially on the Congo Square, where the slaves gathered to dance and to sing, inspired by old voodoo-rhythms from Africa. A little bit further on we see a statue of legendary cornetplayer Charles 'Buddy' Bolden, the first bandleader in jazz. He played harder, higher and faster than anyone else and was allready institutionalised when he was only in his thirties. There are only some pictures left, but no recordings. While Buddy Bolden bit his time in a psychiatric clinic other jazzmusicians took over. One of them was a poor boy, who worked on a wagon which transported reddish stones from the quarries. He used to bring pulverized reddish stone to the hookers in Storyville, who thought according to their old Voodoo belief they could attract clients with it. The poor boy would become the cornerstone in jazzhistory. His name was Louis Armstrong. A little bit further on in the park we see the statue of great Satchmo.
In the French Quarter
we hear between the spicy scents of Jambalaya, Oysters in all varieties, Po boys, Gumbo, Crayfish and all those specialities of the Cajun kitchen the sounds of cajun/zydeco, but foremost of jazz. Quality seems not to be important. And when we visit the Snug Harbor jazzclub, the club of Ellis Marsalis, father of jazzicons Wynton and Branford Marsalis we are deeply disappointed. Here should be the best jazz in town, but instead we see a meagre quartet and a guitarplayer whose jokes hold with the quality of his music. But everyone seems to like it. People do not come for jazz to New Orleans. They come to make joy and to drink. Bourbonstreet was once the street where it all happened. There were dancers with special acts. Some ladies were able to throw a naked oyster from their feet up to their forehead and let the slimy animal slowly go down all the way over their even so naked body till it came to rest in between their legs. But things have changed. It is Palmsunday today and everyone seem to be happy and drunk. When I enter a bar I see a big man who is so happy that
it is Palmsunday, that he has thrown off all his clothes but his slip and is dancing on the bar. Not so sophisticated as the oysterladies of course.
To escape the crowds we make a tour to the bayous in the neighbourhood. We like to see some nature. And indeed we see alligators in the swamps. The guide tries to attract them by throwing mashmallows to them. But unlike me (I am addicted to mashmellows) the alligators do not show any reaction. The result is that some alligators sit on a nest of tens of mashmallows, which all guides threw to them last weeks. The biggest animals are some university guys who have lots beer and chips with them and are roaring and yelling in their boat. Finally our boat can get rid of them by going deeper into the swamps, so that we finally can see some nature. But then we hear another noise. Around the corner another boat is coming nearer. My jaw drops when I see some men and women in their sixties, seventies enthusiastic clapping, dancing and singing on the boat. 'We do the alligator clap' I hear.
Back to New Orleans. Where is
the jazz? Finally we bump into a great jazzconcert at the Jazz museum. It is even free. The only drawback is that the musicians wear the uniforms of parkrangers. When we come back at our hostel we meet John. He is the oldest backpacker we have met during our trip. He is 89! He was one of the allies who came down with his parachute at the bridge near Arnhem, he tells. Maybe of everything we observed in New Orleans this was the most impressive.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.642s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 10; qc: 62; dbt: 0.3449s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.2mb
Jaap van Elst
non-member comment
fijn wat te horen EN ook wel (weer) jaloers
ik begon me al wat ongerust te maken: zolang niets gehoord. DUS fijn om te lezen wat jullie nu weer voor mooie dingen gedaan hebben (maar wat gedateerd? :-) : verslag van 10 april? plaatsing op 19 mei???). EN natuurlijk jaloers: - als jazz fanaat: ook al is het heel erg commercieel, toch in New Orleans zijn...... - als reptielen liefhebber, ja hoor ook..... Maar toch: MEER, MEER groeten, ook namens Manon, Jaap