OPENING OF THE GEORGE AND JOYCE WEIN HERITAGE CENTER

Old friends: with George Wein at the gala. photo by Deborah Ross

Last Thursday, Sylvaine and I attended the grand opening gala for the George & Joyce Wein Heritage Center on N. Rampart, the new headquarters of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation. The new multimillion dollar center, including a state-of-the-art concert hall, was officially inaugurated that afternoon by George and Mayor Mitch Landrieu. In addition to great food and drink, and some funky music by John Cleary, George Wein himself played the piano and sang an improvised blues narrative about the history of Jazzfest, which he founded in 1970. He brought down the house. For me it was a particularly moving occasion, as George, now 89, has been a friend of mine and my family's since this first visit here in 1962. It was great to meet up with him on Thursday night and an  honor to show him a photo by my wife Sylvaine, which was acquired by the Foundation as part of their permanent collection.

[See Keith Spera's article about the new center in the Times-Picayune: http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2014/12/multi-million-dollar_george_an.html]

WHEN KID ORY SHOOK OUR HANDS, 1971

Kid Ory, surrounded by (l to r) Bonnie Bagley, Jim Klippert, Tommy Sancton

Jazzfest 1971 was an unforgettable occasion for me. My Boston-based Black Eagle Jazz Band was invited to play at the second Jazzfest. We had just recorded for Sire Records (the album eventually came out on the NBEJB label) and were thrilled by George Wein's invitation to play in New Orleans. Three of us almost missed the plane from Boston, arriving at the Jung Hotel at the last minute. We rushed onstage and played our hearts out for an hour and a half. The audience was enthusiastic, and I remember festival producer Wein jumping up and playing with us on the last few numbers. We played "Ice Cream" as en encore and got a standing ovation. As we left the stage, we received an unexpected honor: the legendary Edward "Kid" Ory, who'd been listening from the front row, came up and congratulated us on our performance. As I shook his hand, I marvelled at the thought that he had shaken hands and played with Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, King Oliver, virtually the whole Pantheon of early jazz legends. The moment has lingered in my memory ever since, part myth, part dream, part…did that really happen? Last month during French Quarter festival, I met a man named Dick Hill who not only remembered the moment, but had photographed it. I just received his prints from this memorable occasion. God! The memories, the memories...