Aretha Franklin Fiend Givers Robert Earl Keen
Derrick Freeman, James Martin and the Soul Brass Band take jazz to a new level.
NEW ORLEANS MUSIC, FOOD, CULTURE—SEPTEMBER 2018 Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 3.50
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Leveling Up
THE PAST “The Treme Brass Band“
Derrick Freeman and James Martin are shaping the soul of future brass band music. Page 20 LETTERS
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UNAPOLOGETICALLY REAL
MOJO MOUTH
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Manchu Food Store serves fried chicken wings with a side order of reality.
FRESH
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IN THE SPIRIT
Five Questions with Carlo Ditta; My Music with Gregg Martinez; Send Me A Friend partners with Positive Vibrations Foundation; Professor Longhair exhibit at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint; The Fillmore at Harrah’s New Orleans; Crazy Waffle Bar and more.
OBITUARY
OFFBEAT EATS
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Givers remains a working-class band.
BOUDIN IN THE CITY The Cajun country super food makes inroads in New Orleans.
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By Jonathan Tabak January 1996
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“As soon as I heard it, I said, ‘That’s the sound I’m looking for,’” says [Chris] Strachwitz [of Arhoolie Records]. It turned out to be the Treme Brass Band, playing live at the Louisiana Music Factory.
Chef R.J. Tsarov dishes on the Thai Moules et Frites at the Delachaise and Elsa Hahne reviews Mikimoto.
Fiend’s musical massage.
NO PARLOR TRICKS
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Denzel Brown mixes up Glass Two Apples for Naughty Professor at Longway Tavern.
Aretha Franklin
CONGO SQUARE IN RAP FORM
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REVIEWS
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Jon Cleary, Sarah Quintana, Helen Gillet, Cyril Neville, Brother Dege, Sean Ardoin and more.
LISTINGS
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BACKTALK with Robert Earl Keen
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES! 24
• Ivory “Wildman” Holmes was highly regarded in the Black Indian Nation as well as in the music community. • Singer-songwriter Yvette Landry grew up in a swamp pop–loving family in Breaux Bridge. • 300 Songs for 300 Years: New Orleans music without Allen Toussaint remains unthinkable. SEPTEMBER 2018
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By Amanda Mester Photography by Noe Cugny
Derrick Freeman and James Martin are shaping the soul of future brass band music.
“T
he Levels” is the newest song in Soul Brass Band’s repertoire. Written by the band’s founder, Derrick “Smoker” Freeman, it’s a harbinger of his plans for a new album. “It’ll be the best brass band record anybody’s ever heard,” he says. Together with saxophonist James Martin, Freeman released Soul in June of 2018. The project serves as a bridge between the music of the Martin-Freeman-Genius Trio (more on that later) and the forthcoming album from Soul Brass Band; Soul features a lot of the same musicians who are members of Soul. But, as the two have made very clear, Soul “is a family record. It features all of our cousins—including Soul Brass Band. But it’s NOT a brass band record.” It’s a little complicated, so let’s rewind. It was a series of flukes that brought Freeman and Martin together. They first played together in 2002, but it was more than a decade later when their careers dovetailed. While on a summer tour with Glen David Andrews in 2015, the two musicians were forced to whittle down the four-person backing band into a trio after the pianist missed a flight. The formula proved fortuitous. Together with tuba player Julius McKee, Freeman and Martin formed the MFG Trio and began recording an album. Then, another fluke presented itself. Shortly after MFG’s genesis, Freeman was tasked with providing Grammy-winning vocalist CeeLo Green a traditional-looking New Orleans brass band for “Music To My Soul,” a music video filmed in town. He rounded up some musicians and Soul Brass Band was born... only it wasn’t an actual band. When he was again approached to fashion a band, this time for a Nike commercial, Freeman rallied the
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same make-believe troops. This time, it got real. As footage of the makeshift brass band—complete with decorative headwear, patches emblazoned with the word “SOUL” and sashes— found its way (along with social media posts tagged #SoulBrassBand) on the internet, it was clear “nothing” was shaping into a “something.” People were interested in seeing Soul for themselves. Freeman got to work on making Soul Brass Band a living, breathing, performing band. “The characters I wanted to use for that music video weren’t necessarily the right people for an actual band, per se. It took us a few months to figure out who was really going to be in it,” he says. The MFG Trio was now on hold and Martin joined the Soul ranks. Now three years removed from the band’s debut gig as an opener for Red Baraat at Tipitina’s, it’s still hard for Freeman to nail down the group’s fundamental members. When asked who comprises the core of Soul, Freeman says “James and I, obviously. Leon ‘Kid Chocolate’ Brown I would consider a core member. Also Michael Watson, Aron Lambert, Danny Abel. But there’s also Terrance Taplin, Kevin Louis, Khris Royal…” “It’s a revolving nucleus,” Martin quips. Freeman moved to New Orleans from Houston in 1992 and enrolled in the fledgling jazz program at the University of New Orleans. Prior to that, his entry point into music was one of necessity. “My mom was obsessed with me not going to jail, so I was overly involved in activities as a child,” he recalls. “I got straight As but was disruptive in elementary school and got Fs in conduct.” His second-grade teacher, a Creole woman named Miss Spencer who drove an Eldorado, took a liking to young Derrick and helped save him from school www.OFFBEAT.com
administrators eager to send him to a school for wayward kids. He ended up at Parker Elementary, a school for gifted students. “The one good thing about Texas in the eighties, even though a lot of them were racist, for some reason they were all about alternative education. At the school interview, they asked me what I wanted to do. And I was, like, ‘I’m eight. I don’t know.’” After turning down math, science and computers, he found his way into the music department. “On the first day, they gave me a music-aptitude test and I scored 100 on it. It was just math to me, things like quarter notes, half notes. I picked it up immediately. I decided I wanted to play the trumpet, but I’d had multiple dental surgeries because my adult teeth never came
“Life is all about levels I’ll keep climbing high and high. Never will I settle or let this life pass me by.” down in the front so... the trumpet was not happening. Eventually I quit my piano class because the piano teacher’s daughter was in the class and I beat her in a spelling bee. So the piano teacher started hating on me. I told the school ‘I’m going to join the band.’ I sat in the www.OFFBEAT.com
trumpet section and they were, like, ‘Where the hell are your front teeth? You can’t play trumpet.’ My options were to go to the drum section or go back to piano class.” Classical percussion it was. By the time he got to Johnston Middle School, Freeman was under the tutelage of Craig Green, a band director whose notable students include Chris “Daddy” Dave, Eric Harland and Mark Simmons. With Green’s help, Freeman entered the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (“which is like the N.O.C.C.A. of Houston”). It wasn’t until his senior year that he got thrown into the jazz combo because “someone failed out or something.” Another fluke. “All the kids in my neighborhood were actively being recruited by the Navy, hard. And this was during Desert Storm. They were selling me wolf tickets, telling me I’d be able to play in the Navy band. They didn’t tell me I was going to be on a boat in the Persian Gulf getting my head shot off,” he says. “Even though I was in an arts school, I was unaware that you could get a scholarship playing music. I was heavily considering going [into the Navy].” Once he learned of scholarships, he set his eyes on Juilliard but was rejected. Embraced by Oberlin, University of Miami and University of Michigan, Freeman opted for Texas Southern University. “They gave me a free apartment and it was across the street from the church I played at.” Freeman was now a high-school graduate with a clear path ahead. For James Martin, a New Orleans native whose father played the clarinet and saxophone (and served as the drum major at De La Salle SEPTEMBER 2018
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Chris's Specialty Foods The Cajun country super food that once required a trip westward along the I-10 is making inroads in New Orleans. By Elsa Hahne Map by Danika Andrade
W
hen the elderly Nook and Mother Bonin closed up shop in New Iberia many years ago, it was a sad day. Their meat market made what I then considered to be the best boudin in Louisiana—a rice, pork and liver miracle with an inexplicably funky, don’t-ask-don’t-tell taste. I knew Bonin’s was the best because I’d scientifically proven it. In the summer of 2002, I drove around Cajun country and sampled as much boudin as was humanly possible. (There’s a picture of the map I created back then on the third page; unfortunately, many of those places have since closed.) Being soft and unctuous by nature, much of the boudin I tasted sort of blended together after the first 20 or so links, so I was happy that I’d taken detailed notes from the first bite. Bonin’s didn’t require notes, however. That weird and wonderful taste is still fresh in my mind; today I’d probably call it umami. The only other boudin that’s come remotely as close to porcine perfection (which requires generous amounts of spice and grease) is the hot boudin at Trahan’s grocery store in Rayne. It was a little old lady at the annual Frog Festival out there who recommended it. If I could remember her name (no idea if she’s even still alive), I’d track her down and kiss her. Why kiss a frog to maybe get a prince when you can kiss a little old lady and be guaranteed the best boudin?
6251 West End Boulevard, Lakeview, (504) 309-0010 Pork, warm/frozen, $4.99/pound; crawfish, frozen, $7.99/pound (since 2015)
Boudin is Chris’s top seller for a reason. With enough rice, meat, liver and green onions, it’s a contender for best boudin in the city. But where’s the spice? Pass the cayenne, cher.
Creole Country 512 David Street, Mid-City, (504) 488-1263 Pork (regular and smoked), chilled, $7/pound (since 1979)
Pasty and chewy—someone might have left the mixer on a bit too long for this particular batch, but for a company that’s been around for almost 40 years, they must be getting it right most of the time. The smoky flavor is reminiscent of coffee.
Bourrée
Bourrée 1510 South Carrollton Avenue, Uptown, (504) 510-4040 Pork (regular and spicy), warm/chilled, $3/link; chicken, warm/chilled, $3/link; shrimp, warm/chilled, $4/link (since 2015)
This is excellent boudin, especially when served hot off the grill. Even if you don't like chicken wings or daiquiris, the boudin alone is a good reason to come here.
Boudin is served by the link at Toups South along with mustard and pickles. The reddish color and stand-out flavor comes from smoked paprika. Photo by Elsa Hahne
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Chrisʼs Specialty
“I use chicken liver instead of pork liver beacuse you can add more of it and that will give you a better texture at the same time as it won't taste as strong. I don't put a ton of rice in my boudin.”
Toups S
1504 Oretha Castle Central City, (5 Pork link, warm, $9; bo $11 (sinc
Toups’ boudin is se at the restaurant one at a time. Chicken paprika come throug can’t buy Toups’ bou
—Chef Isaac Toups
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Foods
Shank Charcuterie
Piece of Meat
2352 St. Claude Avenue, Marigny, (504) 218-5281 Pork, chilled, $6/pound or two links heated to order, $10 (since 2015)
3301 Bienville Street, Mid-City, (504) 372-2289 Pork, chilled, $6/pound (since 2018)
Not at all the boudin I was expecting (neither greasy, livery, nor spicy), but Piece of Meat’s rice and pork mix is excellent on its own terms, fresh tasting and fluffy in texture. Tastes like hog’s head cheese mixed with rice—baby food for all ages.
Our tasting panel was weirded out by this one. Slightly sour and darker in color—was crab boil added to the mix?
Creole Country Piece Of Meat
Cochon Butcher 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, Warehouse District, (504) 588-7675 Pork, chilled, $7.50/pound (since 2009)
Meaty and mushy, Cochon makes good boudin, but again, cher... Where’s the cayenne?
Shank Charcuterie
Congregation Coffee Cochon Butcher Central City BBQ
Congregation Coffee 240 Pelican Avenue, Algiers, (504) 265-0194 Pork, warm, $6/link (since 2017)
Served off of hot dog rollers, this boudin is probably our favorite in town, with the perfect amounts of pork, liver, spice and grease. The proprietors make it fresh every Thursday and start selling Friday and over the weekend. They usually sell out come Sunday.
Toups South
South
e Haley Boulevard, 504) 304-2147 oudin burrito, warm, ce 2016)
erved as an appetizer e link and one plate liver and smoked gh in the flavor. (You udin by the pound.)
Gourmet Butcher Block 2144 Belle Chasse Highway, Gretna, (504) 392-5700 Pork, warm/chilled/frozen, $4.09/pound; crawfish, frozen, $7/pound (since 1994)
Central City BBQ 1201 South Rampart Street, Central City, (504) 558-4276 Smoked pork, warm, $17/pound (since 2016)
With a nice and crispy skin right off the grill, Central City BBQ’s smoked boudin is excellent, but it’s hard not to choke on the price—$17 per pound, for boudin?!
This boudin probably comes closest to the kind of boudin you find out in Cajun country—and you can’t beat the price. This is the one we’ll be stocking up on to keep in the freezer at home.
Gourmet Butcher Block