Brice Miller Interview Part 3

     After a very long pause I am posting the conclusion to the interview segment of my conversation with Trumpeter/ Bandleader/ Educator, Brice Miller from the Summer of 2013.
     Brice is finishing up a degree, dissertation is complete- so partially I'd like to use this as a congratulatory gesture for his landmark accomplishment.

     (In fact, I also just completed a degree myself so I can get back to these interviews.)

    There are two other, highly recommendable, earlier segments to this interview, of course. 

In Part 3 of this interview Brice touches on the following...

Brass bands in other parts of the United States; the "mythical" Congo Square; the role of formal musical education in the development early jazz artists- Buddy Bolden; brass bands around the world; jazz funerals, 2nd lines, benevolent societies and their roles in solidifying the place of people of color in the city- the taking of it; why brass bands in New Orleans have outlived the traditions in other cities; political needs for brass bands; more on cultural mentorship, cultural capital, social capital; the relation of brass band music to other musics in the city;  Wynton and Branford Marsalis, Nicholas Payton- their start associated with the brass band tradition; being able to speak collectively; Trombone Shorty; the difficulties of talking to music press and their false ideas of what audiences will find interesting; the maligning or ignoring of intellectual sides to musicians in the press; coming out of depression after Katrina; the way that Brice's identity was used and became a caricature after the storm;  going to the University of Alabama; telling the story of real New Orleans music, and the 200 year history of brass bands, honestly; the indignity of the reduction of all narratives of people of color to slavery; the influence of personal understanding of history on personal identity development; final comments- retelling your own stories.

Believe it or not, there is a whole other more conversational and, perhaps more evocative section to this that I will post soon.

Part 2 of interview with Brice Miller is out!

The interview is on the interviews page... 

For more on the fascinating Brice miller, bandleader, scholar, trumpet player see the entry further down on this blog about part 1. 

Part 1 of Interview with Brice Miller, trumpeter, bandleader, scholar...

...amongst many other things.   This interview will be of great interest for anyone with an eye and ear toward New Orleans musical traditions and culture. That doesn't cover all that is opened up here, however.  Much is also explored on the relation of the music to the history of the city, and the many unfortunate changes of late.  It speaks a lot to musical meaning in general- something important to everyone- so worth every bit of attention.

      Brice's picture of these things is heightened by the authority of his experiences as brass band leader, and by the fact that his Father came from the same tradition.  He grew up in the stories and transmissions of a previous generation of New Orleans musician and has an intimate experience of that life. He is old enough to chronicle some change himself.  He has traveled the world as a representative of this tradition with its cornucopia of beautiful, rhythmic music.

      His interests and inquiry do not stop there... 

      Brice is also currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alabama for an interdisciplinary degree with an emphasis on New Orleans brass bands after Hurricane Katrina. There is much discussion of his academic focus in the interview, and this ends up speaking of the horrors of intentional community displacement, and the results of that in New Orleans's ongoing identity and survival struggles.

       And then there is talk of the fascinating tales of Ecirb Müller:  revelations and perspective coming to light at a club near you.

      It has been quite some time since the last audio interview was posted.  This is a long and complete one on important musical subjects thanks to Brice's generosity.  It will be posted in digest-able segments over the next short while.  There was a final hour that became more conversational. Perhaps that segment will also be posted, as much was uncovered there as well.

The Interview is now up on the interviews page

Conclusion of interview with saxophonist Dan Oestreicher

Catch the heated debate about New Orleans musical life in the conclusion to this interview with Dan Oestreicher.  Dan is Bari sax man for Trombone Shorty.  He also is the main chap in town for the all too rare, Bass saxophone.

get the interview here...

Part 1 of new audio interview with saxophonist Dan Oestreicher

The interviews are back!

This interview was recorded during jazzfest (5/2/12) and Dan, riding high on the Trombone Shorty wave, ponders, philosophizes, and argues about music and what he is doing with it.  

This has much of interest about New Orleans music and the burdens and freedoms of its positive and negative associations.  There is also a good deal of general chatter about the art form in general and some intriguing particulars.

If you are interested in the music around New Orleans, you'll want to take a listen.

The interview is here...

New Recording by Carl LeBlanc

My old guitar teacher, friend, and brilliant New Orleans musician, Carl Leblanc has just released his brand new recording- Those Who Have Ears.  It's available at CD Baby amongst other services and... help out an artist and pick up a copy.

I wrote a string quartet arrangement for one of the pieces on the record and am honored to find out that he wanted to use it on its own for the finale of the record.  It's called Hesed if you pick up a copy.

Carl is a great guitarist and all around musician who always comes out with a landscape of musical statements on record that really shows all he can breathe life into for a listener.  He has played on some key New Orleans recordings and has played in many of the greatest groups associated with the city including the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Allen Toussaint- (actually the list is so extensive- I'll let you music fans seek out the rest of the bio information).  He was also guitarist for the Sun Ra Arkestra for about 9 years and luckily my generous guitar teacher for a long time. 

This one is worth checking out and many great musicians were involved...