I love the Jazz festival! It is inspiring, entertaining and just plain wonderful.
The photos are of the opening day parade, New Orleans style. Complete with a New Orleans street band including dancers.
That evening was the first concert with Betty Bryant, the Grand Dam of the LA's jazz scene.
They had to help her onto the stage...she is 82 after all...she shuffles, hunched over, with thinning, short nappy hair, a purse on her shoulder...it takes a couple of minutes to get her seated.
She appears to be so feeble and fragile.
Until she puts her hands on the piano. Right before our eyes, she sheds 40 years. Any notion of senility is shattered.
A Jazz master is now on stage.
Just to see the transformation was worth the price of admission.
She has a self deprecating affect, a wry sense of humor, always laughing at herself, somehow including us, the audience, in on her joke.
She plays as if she could play in her sleep, and maybe she does.
Hands flashing across the keyboard, a solid voice full of character.
She sang a typical blues song about stealing another woman's man. She didn't do it in a normal rendition with either sassy sexy or wounded woman or mucho attitude. She did it with a lopsided grin, tongue in cheek, twinkle in her eye...like 40 years ago I could have done it with your man but now it's a little ridiculous...or maybe not.
What a class act! We loved her! She was taken back by the affection and love from the audience, a trademark of the people here.
I have rarely had the privilege of witnessing an artist this seasoned and intimate with the audience.
We get to see her again tomorrow when the full outdoor mega concert starts.
I am volunteering as a stage hand so I get to see and hear it all up close and personal.
Whoohoo! What a trip!
P. S. In the second picture, the girl on the left dancing, is from David, a neighboring town. She now lives in New Orleans and performs with the New Orleans street band.
2 comments:
the performance sounds Great! haven't seen a Heart shaker like that in a while. last one was an old man in a diaper (Depends) who blew us all away playing blues on a banjo... Glad that Panama has You, and Vice Versa. I told Laura that Yella was in a parade, and she said, "Yella IS a Parade! Love You, Darshan
I watched her play again today at noon to open the big festival...just as charming in a bigger venue. I was on the stage crew to change the equipment between acts. What a hoot! and what an exhausting job...12 hours straight. So worth it thought.
Say HI to Laura for me
Love Tom
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