March 2nd was Ash Wednesday which, for some, signals the start of Lent. For others it marks the end of Mardi Gras. But the party can live on when jazz trombonist and composer Delfeayo Marsalis comes to town with The Uptown Jazz Orchestra as he is this weekend with concerts at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica on Friday; Soka Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo on Saturday and Yoshi’s in Oakland on Sunday.

If you don’t already know, Marsalis is part of that family of musicians that includes saxophonist Branford, drummer Jason and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The entire family is steeped in the tradition of jazz music, but Delfeayo is arguably the most passionate ambassador of the music from New Orleans.

As he told me recently during a Zoom call he wants everyone to have a good time. But that doesn’t mean he won’t throw in some thought-provoking compositions into the party. What follows are excerpts from our conversation with Delfeayo Marsalis that have been edited for length and clarity.

Mardi Gras will be over by the time you’re appearing on the West Coast. What excites you most about bringing this music out of New Orleans and to audiences around the world and seeing their reaction to it?

Everybody likes to party. Everybody wants to have a good time. Our message at this point is made. You can have a great time with a jazz band, with a jazz orchestra. We start off saying, “All right, everybody get up!” It’s a great thing to be able to interact with people. A lot of times in a popular [music] it can tend to sound similar, have the same kind of a feel for most of the show. I would say we’re like a 10-course meal. We have to work out it; this is how this is going to set up emotionally and this is what we’re doing. So it makes a great thing.

To make a modern comparison, you’re like the DJ at a party.

My show is designed to please the crowds. Somebody said, “Hey, you got a feel good band?” And I said “Why would you have any other kind of band?” Like why would you have a band that’s not designed to make people feel good?

From your perspective what makes this music so infectious?

The early music was composed and played for the people – the traditional New Orleans Louis Armstrong celebration. That’s because they called it happy days. The design of the music was that is was for the audience. And then somewhere along the 40s, in the fifties, I think we got the wrong message which is that the music is actually for the musicians and we have to be serious about our craft. And the audience is secondary. So that’s what it is about the New Orleans sound – just the celebratory nature of the African people. Really it comes back to the African folks. They come in Congo Square and that’s really where it all kind of happened. It’s the idea that now I have agency over what I’m doing for this small period of time. The rest of the week is going to be pretty jive. But right now I’m not worried about the rest of the week. I’m celebrating right now. That’s the message we’re trying to get out of here.

If one goes through the music you’ve recorded and performed it isn’t always about just having a good time.

There are serious matters, but it’s a question of how do we approach it. So from that standpoint ultimately the goal is for the audience to have a good time and to love what’s going on. And then somewhere in the middle of that we’re going to take a little venture off. I’ve written a song for Breonna Taylor. I’ve got The Notorious R.B.G. For Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We got one for Dr. Fauci. And one of my favorites is for a smaller group, Lost in the Crescent, which tells about sharecroppers and that kind of a job situation that occurred after the Civil War. It’s kind of like the set up: we are going to have a good time, but we can also add some other elements in there. I think that jazz music or American music really gives you that opportunity.

In 2013 you made a comparison between jazz and democracy on IRock Jazz Music TV. What role can your music or jazz play in uniting a horribly divided country?

It’s not going to happen, not to me, for a number of reasons. The Confederate officers were among the only individuals in history that managed to wage war against a country’s government and did not pay the ultimate price once they were defeated. And that single decision kind of paved the road for what we’re facing now, so it’s just always going to be here.

I hate to sound pessimistic about what is so ridiculously absurd. For years Black folk were the ones that, we put up with a lot for a lot of years and just was like, “No man, it’s cool.” It wasn’t enough to have to endure it. The ancestors had to assure the oppressive man it’s cool. Somewhere along the way, I think that actually was what was needed and what was necessary. But it’s kind of giving the wrong message for now. Today folks are like, if they’re not having their way there’s going to be hell to pay.

As far as democracy, we can bring anybody into the band. And as long as they have an open mind and they’re willing to to go beyond their normal scope, they can make it happen. So we’re looking forward to that.

People can come together at one of your concerts for two-and-a-half hours, unaware of any particular political leanings, and enjoy themselves in the company of one another. Then once the lights go on and the show is over, that unity disappears. That must frustrate you as an artist.

It frustrates me more as an American than as an artist. As an artist those two-and-a half hours that you describe, that’s what’s important, you know? But as an American, as a person that really believes in the democratic process and in democracy, it’s unfortunate to see folks who say, “Well, you know what? We’re going to define who Americans are and we’re going to say this democracy thing was cool when it benefited us.” But hold on now. It’s not really working.

So we’ve got to change the parameters. We have seen enough of this for so many years. But I look back at the way that the ancestors dealt with it. There’s a reason that Louis Armstrong was one of our greatest Americans because he came from the toughest place and he rode to the best place. Somehow when you listen to his music it manages to put you in a better mood. He never lost a perspective of who he was. And that’s what we’re always trying to do, not lose the perspective of who we are in the face of the madness that surrounds us. And that’s difficult.

George Bernard Shaw said, “Many a sinner has played himself into heaven on the trombone.” What would you most like to be playing on your trombone on your way to heaven?

You know trombone also has a slide, so you could equate the slide with the slippery slope in the other direction. Probably What a Wonderful World. It’s a song that Elvin Jones convinced me to play because he really loved Louis Armstrong. You know Louis Armstrong and Big Mama Thornton, those are his favorites. It’s not a song that I thought very much of, but I played it with him for so long and I understood what he understood. Which is that is a message we need to to get across as much as possible. And I think he felt that I could, hopefully, express that similar to how Mr. Armstrong did. Different, but with that same level of passion and conviction. So it would be What a Wonderful World.

To see the complete interview with Delfeayo Marsalis, please go here to our YouTube channel.

For more details on Delfeayo Marsalis’ three concerts, click on the links in the opening paragraph.

MainPhoto: Delfeayo Marsalis (Photo by Zack Smith/Courtesy DMarsalis.com)

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Avery*Sunshine, whose real name is Denise White, has a show tonight at Yoshi’s in Oakland. On Saturday she’s performing at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel as part of the CAP UCLA season.

In these excerpts from our conversation we discussed music old and new, mixing of genres and how her father’s passing inspired her.

You are still touring behind your 2017 album, Twenty Sixty Four. Two plus years after releasing it, how do you make the material fresh for yourself in performance?

You know what’s interesting, because I’m an independent artist, there are so many people who have no idea who I am and have never heard the music. I’m always introducing it to people. That’s the upside of being an indie artist and playing clubs and not arenas. If I’m playing somewhere and 50,000 people come, I have to do more music. But for the way we tour, it’s not really hard to do. From my first album [2010’s Avery*sunshine Album] I have to sing it like it’s new.  My husband [Dana Johnson] and I write all the music together and I love it. I really love the music.

You seem to release new material about every three years. Is new material on the way?

I’m actually working on new material. The album is almost finished. We’re finishing that album and we’re going to do a live recording in Atlanta on December 28th. There’s a bunch of stuff going on.

Will you be performing that material in these upcoming concerts?

We are going to do three-to-five tunes from the upcoming album.

You can’t easily be defined by any one genre. Why is that important to you?

It is important to me, but I don’t do it because it is important to me, but because it is a part of me. I am a roux of all the music I’ve ever been exposed to and all the experiences I’ve ever had. I find that when I just let it come out in the way it is supposed to come – it might come out in a gospel song or a love song – whatever it is, it comes out however it comes out. My focus hasn’t been on doing it because it is important but because it is honest to me.

I saw a video where you spontaneously sat down at a piano when Fantasia was being interviewed and sang Safe in His Arms in a blend of gospel and jazz styles. I’m not religious, but if every gospel song sounded like that I would sign up.

What’s so funny about that interview with Sirius XM and Cayman Kelly is we were on a tour with another artist and we had to wait [for someone to show up] and Fantasia came in and so he interviewed her and we’re all in the room. And he spontaneously says “Avery, come to the piano.” I was sick. It was her time and I didn’t want to do that. Everywhere I go in the world somebody tells me about that.

Thank you for reminding me that I have to allow the universe to move and to dictate. Sometimes I have to get out of my own way. I didn’t want anybody to see it. It felt like a really vulnerable space for her and me. It was too personal for people to see. But for someone like you who isn’t religious, that’s my hope that whatever I sing, I want people to feel better or be better. It’s not about which religion.

We live in troubled times. What role do you want your music to play in helping get through it all and what role does music play in helping you get through it all?

I just touched on it. i want people to feel better, to feel hopeful. The same way I feel hopeful when I listen to [Marvin Gaye’s] What’s Going On. For lack of a better way of saying it, it’s the songs like [Public Enemy’s] Fight the Power, the kind of songs that don’t exist now. The songs that make you feel like we’re going to be alright as long as we’re together. Aretha Franklin wrote songs like that. I want my music to be that way.

I hope that my music, and in no way am I comparing myself to them, I want people to feel better. I want them to feel hopeful. I know when I’m at a show and people say, “That one thing you said, you said that to me,” it’s real.

Does using a stage name allow you to do things Denise White would never do?

I thought so at first. No, it’s the same thing. God rest my father’s soul, he passed in March. My father and my daughter called me Avery. That burned me up. And they wouldn’t stop. He said, “It’s the same thing. You’re the same thing.” So no, I thought it would be a big deal.

I was in a non-creative space before Dad transitioned. I didn’t want to do anything and then he transitioned and it felt like the sky opened up and things were clear. So I’m grateful. On the upcoming album we have a song called Boomerang, the first song I wrote after Dad died. 

I asked my Dad, he had been gone for three or four days, I said, “Man, you left us. I’m hurting. My heart is broken. I have not created in months. If you want me to do this, you have to help me.” It took fifteen minutes and the song was done. It was one of the best thing I’ve had the honor of being a vessel for. 

By this point in our conversation, their Uber had found the venue and it was time for Avery to get inside, have a shot of espresso and get ready for her performance.

Avery*Sunshine performs November 21st at Yoshi’s in Oakland. Her Los Angeles performance at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel is on November 23rd.

All photos by LANSTU/Courtesy of Averysunshine.com

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If you don’t already know Bridgewater, she is a three-time Grammy Award winner, a Tony Award winner (for her role in The Wiz), an NEA Jazz Master and a UN Goodwill Ambassador. She’s recorded numerous albums including three that celebrate Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.

When we caught up with her, Bridgewater had moved to New Orleans, but was working with students in Detroit. Her spirits were high and she was in the mood to talk!

How has your performing Memphis…Yes I’m Ready evolved since the release of the album in 2017?

Oooh…Ah ha!  Well I’d say we’ve changed up some of the arrangements. We’ve added more backing vocals as the singers are there. They have come up with backing vocals for songs that didn’t have them. We throw in a little theatrics once in a while. Very interestingly, these Memphis musicians, having worked in R&B and soul and blues, are more inclined to be involved in the performance – more so than jazz musicians. It’s been an absolute blast for me. A such needed kind of departure from doing my straight ahead jazz or different projects I’ve done. And it’s been a wonderful healing process.

Has the music become a celebration of your mother and also your participation in the last ten years of her life?

It’s definitely been a celebration of my mother. I would say more in the first year I was doing it. We’re now in our second year of performing the material. There’s still… [there’s a pregnant pause before she continues…] I just went through the second anniversary of my mother’s passing. She died March 1, 2017. And then her birthday was February 6th. But it’s a joy every time I get together with these musicians to perform. It’s music I can dance to and I can lose myself in and kind of create this other persona other than Dee Dee Bridgewater that jazz singer.

As we get older it seems that more and more of our friends, colleagues and influences pass away. What’s the key for you to staying positive and energized as you get older?

Oooooh! How true that is! Music is healing. The older I get the more I feel that I am very fortunate to have chosen music as my profession. It has kept me buoyed through the years and lot of those traumatic situations.

Would it be fair to say that music chose you?

Okay…yeah we could look at it that way as well. I was very blessed to have been born with the voice that I have and have never had to take any kind of music courses to learn how to sing or anything like that. I don’t know anymore and does it matter? It’s close to 50 years that I’ve been singing professionally. I just told a group of high school music students today that professional means being paid to do the thing I love. All of this is making me just look at my life and be extremely grateful that I still have some kind of relevance. [It should be noted that at the end of that sentence she let out the biggest and most glorious laugh.]

I first saw you perform at Jazz Fest in New Orleans in the 90s. Now that you’ve moved there, what has it done for you?

I remember that tent. I remember what I wore. A long red dress trimmed in silver and it had 1996 on it. I absolutely love New Orleans. I love that you see France wherever you go. The connection to France, to Africa. The love of music that’s there. That we have Louis Armstrong Airport and Mahalia Jackson Park and Theatre. The food. Having been born in Memphis, I have always felt a kind of relief when I’m anywhere in the South. My shoulders relax. Having bought a house there, I will be there for a few years. It makes sense for me.

Let’s go way back. Back to the beginning. On Stanley Clarke’s first solo album (1973’s Children of Forever) the very first notes we here are sung by you and Andy Bey. When you think back to that project today what perspective does that give you on the musical journey you’ve had so far?

Oh my goodness. Well that’s out of the blue. My musical journey has been all over the place. But that’s kind of indicative of my personality which can be all over the place. It’s interesting that you would say that because I was thinking about Stanley. That was a wonderful beginning. That throws me back to that period when I was in New York City and how vibrant the music scene was then and just how blessed I was at the beginning of my career to have been in touch with so many different kinds of musicians. Maybe the was the set-up for what I was going to do. It kind of lead me down the path I’ve gone down.

You’ve long stated that Betty Carter was a big inspiration for you on many levels. She told the Washington Post in 1997 that “No matter what you do – whether you’re a singer, a writer or a painter, you’re supposed to keep getting better and better and it’s going to take time to fulfill your potential.” Do you feel like you’ve reached your potential yet?

No. I’m still going for it. [She lets out another uproarious laugh.] I think as an artist we should always be pushing ourselves to do something even better than the last thing or something more challenging than that last thing. I’m dipping my toes into all these different areas I’ve been in in the past. And creating something new. I think it’s a precursor to me making a decision about what I want to do next. What can I say…I’m a Gemini. 

And with another huge laugh it was clear that after a long decade, Dee Dee Bridgewater is more than ready and enjoying every minute of it.

For tickets at the Wallis, please go here.

Photo by Mark Higashino/Courtesy of The Wallis

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Now a seasoned veteran on the cusp of turning 15, Alexander is back with his fourth recording, Eclipse, which is due for release by Motéma Music on May 4^th. Alexander will be performing on Friday at the Musco Center for the Arts in Orange. He’ll be at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego on Saturday. He jumps up to UC Santa Barbara for a gig on Sunday. For those in the Bay Area, he’ll be at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland on May 12 and 13^th.

I spoke with the impressively talented self-taught pianist, composer and bandleader by phone from his home in New York. We discussed the music he choses to cover, the music he choses to write and the impact of last summer’s solar eclipse on his recording session.

You were born in Denpasar, Bali and developed your interest in music by listening to your father’s jazz records there. The first track and original composition on Eclipse is entitled “Bali.” What would you like listeners to understand about your home and your relationship to the island from this track?

For me, Bali is a place to relax, you know. The special thing about Bali is the ocean, the nature, the mountains and also the culture. The arts I grew up in, and all those things, they stay close to me. Sometimes I feel it wherever I go. I wrote that song and have that feeling.

You were at Dreamland Studios in Woodstock during last summer’s eclipse. Were you planning this session around the eclipse? Did you think it would inspire a track on the album? (Which was improvised after the eclipse by Alexander and his musicians.)

I don’t think we planned for that. At the same time, it happened to be the same day as the eclipse. I believe it is God’s will and when I played it I felt God’s power. The beauty of all which is really important to me.  It’s really special that I could have the confidence to do it. It was very spontaneous, we just played and we didn’t plan anything. We just went with it and trusted each other.

Can you listen to the track now and recall exactly what you were felling as you went into the studio and just improvised this piece after watching the eclipse?

Not exactly. It was definitely my first time seeing [an eclipse.] I didn’t really see the total eclipse, but I could see it as pretty dark when I saw it up there. I was inspired by that and I just decided to make this piece in the moment. It was really inspiring to witness that.

I know how important religion is in your life. Dreamland is housed in the former St. John’s Church from 1896. Did you feel a special connection in that room given its history?

I felt different and I felt that special connection being in a church and when I play at the studio I still feel like sometimes I’m playing at a church. I love being in the studio, it makes me a better player.

In addition to your original compositions, you have covers of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and the standard “The Very Thought of You” written by Ray Noble. How do you selects songs to cover and why these two?

I love those songs and I always wanted to record “Blackbird,” which is really also this beautiful story written by Paul McCartney during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It’s a powerful message and that’s the reason I wanted to play it. “The Very Thought of You,” which has Joshua Redman on it, I really love the melody in that ballad. It’s very good. My Dad and I listen to a lot of music and we listen to standards. I guess I happened to have listened to that song.

As passionate as you are about your music, do you still carve out time to be a teenager?

Oh yes, absolutely. I still go to movie theatres and I love to play with action figures. I have a collection of games on my iPad. Sometimes I do that more than I practice, to be honest. I spend about three hours practicing. Not every day, but I try.

Do you have a basic set list or do you change things up from venue to venue?

The repertoire today would be mostly from the new album, mostly my new compositions. With different audiences I play the same songs, but sometimes it can be different. I always play with the same musicians so it’s nice to try different versions of the same song. That’s what jazz is…always something new.

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