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OffBEAT Best of the Beat Awards
OffBEAT Best of the Beat Awards are coming up next week.
It’s always fun. Hope you are there! Our nominees include…
Artist of the Year: Rebirth Brass Band
Album of the Year: Rebirth of New Orleans by Rebirth Brass Band
Song of the Year: “I’m Gonna Hoodoo to Get Your Love” by Dr. Michael White (from Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Part 1)
Best Brass Band: Rebirth Brass Band
Best Brass Band Album: Rebirth of New Orleans by Rebirth Brass Band
Best Traditional Jazz Artist: Dr. Michael White
Best Traditional Jazz Album: Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Pt 1 by Dr. Michael White
Best Contemporary Jazz Artist: Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
Best Contemporary Jazz Album: A Love Letter to New Orleans by Irvin Mayfield
Best Piano/Keyboardist: Jon Cleary
Best Trumpeter: Irvin Mayfield & Kermit Ruffins
Best Clarinetist: Dr.Michael White
Best Tuba/Sousaphonist: Phil Frazier (Rebirth Brass Band)
Best Other Instrument: Jason Marsalis (percussion)
Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll
Excited to find out that Basin Street Records made the Downbeat Magazine Critics’ Poll for Best Record Label (Aug 2011). Also named on the poll, Dr. Michael White for clarinet, and Jason Marsalis for vibes.
Can’t Wait for Treme Season 3
Just finished watching TREME season 2 finale on HBO for the 3rd time. It’s amazing TV. Thank you to HBO, David Simon, Eric Overmyer, Nina Noble, Blake Leyh and all the rest of their amazing writers and crew.
The lagniappe for us are the numerous references to our artists and music. Here are just a few things you may have seen or heard just in the season 2 finale related to our label (there were performances this season by Jon Cleary, Kermit Ruffins, Henry Butler and Rebirth Brass Band, and additional music licensed from Dr.Michael White.)
- Cornell Williams (of Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen) continues to shine as an actor
- Wendell Pierce (who narrated Irvin Mayfield’s Strange Fruit CD and attended Ben Franklin High School with BSR president Mark Samuels) who deserves an Emmy
- References by Trombone Shorty (who has performed on several of our CDs) to the fact that he’s leaving for Japan to take a gig with Henry Butler (who has recorded 3 CDs with us)
- Performances by Rebirth Brass Band (who just released their latest CD with us) at the Maple Leaf Bar
- A poster of Kermit Ruffins’ Swing This! in the WWOZ studio
- A poster of Basin Street Records artists in LaDonna’s bar
- A performance at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (Irvin has released 11 projects with us)
- Jazzfest performance by Donald Harrison (who performed on Irvin Mayfield’s first CD extensively, and a few other BSR projects)
- The Jazzfest performance by Donald Harrison included Mike Clark on drums (Mike is a c0-leader of the Headhunters, who released Evolution Revolution on our label)
- Near the end DJ Davis announces that a song playing was by Kidd Jordan. He serves as the artistic director of Louis Armstrong Jazz Camp that starts for its 17 year on July 5, 2011. Please make a donation TODAY to the camp at http://www.LouisArmstrongJazzCamp.com/donation and help the next generation get the education (musically and otherwise) that they deserve.
Can’t wait for season 3! In the meantime, I’ll probably watch seasons 1 and 2 a few more times.
Basin Street Records’ CDs Make Great Gifts
Basin Street Records’ CDs make wonderful gifts. We offer big bulk discounts. Email bulkdiscounts@basinstreetrecords.com for details. Buy any 2 CDs from www.BasinStreetRecords.com and receive a free sampler of all of our artists, and free domestic shipping.
We have CDs from Kermit Ruffins (including his Have A Crazy Cool Christmas & his brand new Happy Talk), Jeremy Davenport, Dr. Michael White, Henry Butler, Irvin Mayfield, Jon Cleary, Theresa Andersson, the Headhunters, Los Hombres Calientes & Jason Marsalis.
NEA Jazz Masters: The Marsalis Family
Congratulations to the Marsalis Family for just being named NEA Jazz Masters by the National Council on the Arts which oversees the National Endowment for the Arts.
Connections to the family go back to 1979 when I was in the Ben Franklin High School band and became friends with Wynton, and then a year later when I was in the band for a couple years with Delfeayo (who used to let me listen to some of Wynton’s first recordings at their house before they came out and when Jason was about 3 years old). Wynton has recorded on a couple of our tracks with Irvin Mayfield. Delfeayo has produced a few records for us. Jason was signed to BSR and released 2 CDs as a leader plus a couple of CDs as a co-leader of Los Hombres Calientes. Branford has been a friend and has sat in on many gigs with Irvin, Los Hombres and Kermit Ruffins. And their patriarch, Ellis, has recorded several tracks with Irvin Mayfield, plus performed on Kermit Ruffins first CD (on Justice Records), and most recently recorded the CD Love Songs, Ballads and Standards for us with Irvin Mayfield.
Another interesting connection was in about 1989 when I was at lunch with Wynton Marsalis and an aspiring young trumpeter who was in high school visiting Wynton in New York for a few days. That trumpeter was Jeremy Davenport, who decided to move to New Orleans and study with Ellis Marsalis at UNO in the Jazz Studies program. Jeremy went on to several years in Harry Connick Jr. band, then his own band, and in 2009 was our most recent signing, releasing We’ll Dance ‘Til Dawn.
For more info: http://www.nea.gov/news/news10/New-NEA-Lifetime-Honorees.html
UPDATE: Watch the NEA Awards Ceremony and concert from JALC Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 7:30 ET (6:30 CT). More information HERE.