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This is American Routes Live, I’m Nick Spitzer. We’ve got jazz trumpeter from Preservation Hall, Wendell Brunious with his New Orleans All Stars.Wendell Brunious is from a famed New Orleans Creole jazz family. He is the son of Nazimova Santiago and John Brunious, Sr., a trumpeter who played with Onward Brass and Young Tuxedo Brass Bands, and Paul Barbarin. Wendell Brunious’ brother was the late John Brunious, Jr., also a trumpeter who lead the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Over the years, Wendell Brunious sang with Chief John and the Mahogany Hall Stompers in the 1960s. He studied at Southern University, worked with Danny Barker in the ‘70s, and later played on Bourbon Street and with Kid Thomas Valentine, Eureka Brass, Lionel Hampton, Linda Hopkins, Sammy Rimington and Louis Nelson. Right now it’s Wendell Brunious and band on American Routes Live. -
The Historic New Orleans CollectionThe Historic New Orleans Collection spotlights Margaret Orr, who retired as WDSU-TV chief meteorologist on March 29.
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We hear New York Times investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, in conversation with former New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu. Nikole Hannah-Jones is most recognized for her work on the 1619 Project, which has won numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020. The 1619 Project became the target of public critique from Republican governor, Ron Santis, in his crusade against "CRT" and "wokeness" in academia. Nikole Hannah-Jones recounts how she became involved in journalism, talks about the origins of the1619 Project and the importance of national "creation myths," and responds to her most vocal critics.
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In Lafayette today, our guests are Cedric Watson and Chris Stafford, part of a younger generation that is preserving Cajun and Creole culture by playing the music. Cedric Watson, a fiddler and accordionist who grew up in San Felipe, TX, taught himself the Creole language spoken by some of his elders. Cedric eventually moved to Lafayette where he became involved with several great bands, from the Pine Leaf Boys to his own group, Bijou Creole. Also in Bijou Creole is Chris Stafford, a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and researcher, known for co-founding the band Feufollet when he was eleven years old. We’ll soon hear a bit of Chris and Cedric’s duo set live, but first, I asked the two of them about how playing traditional French music as a duo is different than a full band. Cedric Watson: -
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This week on American Routes, it’s a rare Leap Year show with Guilty Pleasures and Forgotten Treasures. As the 29th of February rolls around we take stock of our circles round the sun, just for cosmic fun, not so much to analyze but to imagine our years in space and time. We’ll have music from fellow travelers: The Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, King Pleasure, and Sun Ra. -
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The Carolina Chocolate Drops began as a seminal African American group that revived the old-time string band tradition of the Piedmont where Black performers were formative from the 19th century onward. The Chocolate Drops started out as the Sankofa Strings after meeting at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC in 2005. They evolved over the next decade. Rhiannon Giddens, trained formally in opera, played banjo and fiddle and sang with her bandmates to growing audiences. -
The Historic New Orleans Collection spotlights the late Harry Connick Sr. -
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Our guest this hour is the late Bob French, a traditional jazz drummer, local radio host, and trenchant commentator on the New Orleans scene, famous for his love of local music. He and I sat down to talk things over a little while back on a comfy couch before his show at the DBA Club downriver in Faubourg Marigny. His father Albert French was a banjo player, but the band tradition goes back to the Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra early in the 20th century.
