TOM SANCTON PERFORMANCES APRIL-MAY 2018

April 25: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans. With Lars Edegran band featuring Topsy Chapman,  8 p.m. - 11p.m.

April 26: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans. With Clive Wilson Serenaders featuring Butch Thompson. 8 p.m. - 11p.m.

April 27: Jazzfest, Economy Hall Tent, with Clive Wilson's Serenaders featuring Butch Thompson. Time TBA.

April 29: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, with the Wendell Brunious Jazz Band. 7-10 p.m.

May 4: Brennan’s on Royal Street, with the Seva Venet trio.
4-7pm.

May 6: Jazzfest, Economy Hall Tent, with New Orleans Legacy Band. 1:40-2:40 p.m.

May 8: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1296 Decatur St., with Lars Edegran All Stars, 7-10 p.m.

May 12: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1296 Decatur St., with Lars Edegran All Stars, 7-10 p.m.

May 13: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, with the Wendell Brunious Jazz Band. 7-10 p.m.

TOM SANCTON'S PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FEB-MAY 2018

February 24: Le Gramophone, 9 Grande Rue, 78160 Marly-le-Roi, France With pianist David Paquette. 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.

March 8: Octavia Bookstore, 513 Octavia St., New Orleans 70115. Presentation and readings from THE BETTENCOURT AFFAIR. 6 p.m.

March 25: Presbytere, 751 Charters Street, New Orleans, 70116, 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Presentation and readings from THE BETTENCOURT AFFAIR, under the auspices of the Faulkner Society.

April 7: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans. With Lars Edegran band. 8 p.m. - 11p.m.

April 14: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., New Orleans. With Lars Edegran band, 1 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

April 14: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans. With Lars Edegran band. 8 p.m. - 11p.m.

April 15: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., New Orleans. With Seva Venet String Band, 12 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.

April 15: French Quarter Festival, 600 Bourbon, with Clive Wilson's Serenaders, 3 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

April 15: French Quarter Festival, 600 Bourbon, with New Orleans Legacy Band, 4:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.

April 25: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans. With Lars Edegran band. 8 p.m. - 11p.m.

April 26: Palm Court Jazz Cafe, 1206 Decatur Street, New Orleans. With Clive Wilson Serenaders featuring Butch Thompson. 8 p.m. - 11p.m.

April 27: Jazzfest, Economy Hall Tent, with Clive Wilson's Serenaders featuring Butch Thompson. Time TBA.

May 6: Jazzfest, Economy Hall Tent, with New Orleans Legacy Band featuring Jason Marsalis. Time TBA.

TOMMY SANCTON PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE - NOVEMBER 2014

Okay, folks, I'm back from my summer sojourn in Europe at last, so here's where to find me:

Wednesday, November 5: Palm Court, with Lars Edegran's Palm Court All Stars, featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman. 8 - 11 pm.

Saturday, November 8:  Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., with Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders. 8 - 11 pm.

Sunday, November 9: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St.with the Wendell Brunious band. 8 - 11 pm.

Wednesday, November 12: Palm Court, with Lars Edegran's Palm Court All Stars, featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman. 8 - 11 pm.

Thursday, November 13: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., with Lars Edegran's Preservation Hall All Stars.  8 - 11 pm.

Wednesday, November 19: Palm Court, with Lars Edegran's Palm Court All Stars, featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman. 8 - 11 pm.

Saturday, November 29: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St.with Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band. 8 - 11 pm.

Sunday, November 30: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., with Lars Edegran's Preservation Hall All Stars.  8 - 11 pm.

TOM SANCTON PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE, APRIL 2014

Tuesday, April 1: Columns Hotel, Classic Jazz Trio featuring John Rankin and Charlie Halloran. 8- 11 pm.

Wednesday, April 9: Preservation Hall with Seva Venet String Band, 4 - 6 pm. Palm Court with Lars Edegran Band and vocalist Topsy Chapman, 1206 Decatur St, 8 - 11 pm.

Saturday, April 12: FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL

     500 Bourbon Stage, with Clive Wilson's New Orleans Serenaders, 1:45 - 3:45 pm

     600 Bourbon Stage, with Lars Edegran All Stars, 3:45 - 5:45 pm

Sunday, April 13: FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL

     Old U.S. Mint, with Society Brass Band, 11:15 - 12:30 pm. 

     600 Bourbon Stage, with New Orleans Legacy Band featuring Shannon Powell, 1:30 - 3:30 pm/

Wednesday, April 16 Palm Court, 1206 Decatur St., with Lars Edegran's Palm Court All Stars, featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman. 8 - 11 pm.

Saturday, April 19: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur St, with Lionel Ferbos Band, 8 - 11 pm.

Sunday, April 20: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., with the New Orleans Legacy Band, 8 - 11 pm.

Wednesday, April 23: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur St., with Lars Edegran's Palm Court All Stars, featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman. 8 - 11 pm.

Sunday, April 27: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter St., with Wendell Brunious Band featuring Tom Hook. 8 - 11 pm.

Wednesday, April 30: National Jazz Park (3rd floor auditorium in Old U.S. Mint, with Clive Wilson's New Orlens Serenaders, 2 - 3:30 pm.

ADIEU, GEORGE BUCK

Photo by Tom Jacobsen

We held a jazz funeral parade for George H. Buck, Jr., on Saturday, December 20. The procession went from the Charbonnet Funeral Home on Claiborne and St. Philip, through the Treme neighborhood to St. Mary's Church on Chartres Street, then on to the Palm Court for a reception hosted by George's widow, Nina Buck and his son George S. "Bo" Buck.

It was a moving and stately event, reminding me of George Lewis's funeral in 1969, at which I played the Eb clarinet with the Olympia Brass Band. This band, put together by Lars Edegran, was composed mainly of musicians who play at the Palm Court and/or recorded for George's G.H.B. label. Here is a list of the personnel, as best  I can remember: Clive Wilson, Leroy Jones, Herlin Riley, Tobias Dolle, trumpets; Craig Klein, Lucien Barbarin, Robert Harris, Katja Toivola, trombones; Tom Fischer, James Evans, saxophones; Tim Laughlin, Evan Christopher and myself, clarinets; Kerry Brown, Walter Harris, Herman Lebeaux, Shannon Powell, drums; Lars Edegran, Seva Venet, banjos; Jeffrey Hill, sousaphone.

As the antique horse-drawn hearse advanced, the band played a medley of traditional hymns and dirges. Among them:  Closer Walk, The Old Rugged Cross, Bye and Bye, Lead Me Savior, In the Sweet Bye and Bye, Abide With Me, followed by the more up tempo Second Line. At the church service, which attracted a full house of attendees, the Rev. William Maestri gave the eulogy and Topsy Chapman sang "Amazing Grace" and "His Eye is on the Sparrow."
It was a fitting tribute for a man who shared his passion for traditional jazz with so many people and did so much to record, preserve, and diffuse New Orleans music around the world. R.I.P., George Buck, and thank you.

For more information about George H. Buck and the George H. Buck, Jr. Jazz Foundation:
jazzology.com

STEVE BLAILOCK, 1944 - 2013

Steve Blailock had moved to Texas by the time I arrived in New Orleans in 2007, but he was the kind of guy that people talked about even when he wasn't there. I met him at the Palm Court during one of his periodic visits and he more than lived up to his reputation as a passionate and inventive jazz guitarist. His whole body would get into the music—feet stomping, head nodding, torso rocking forward and back as played. He could play any kind of music, but was especially impressive on blues numbers like "Trouble in Mind" or "Careless Love" where his Mississippi Delta roots came through loud and clear. I played with him from time to time when he was in town, and though I did not know him as well as some of the guys he had played with regularly during his New Orleans years, I felt a special bond with him. Maybe it was his Mississippi accent, which reminded me of my Mother's family in Jackson; maybe it was the good-old-boy warmth of his manner and the unaffected enthusiasm he exuded whenever he was on the bandstand. We always greeted each other with a big bear hug and enjoyed playing together. I knew he had had trouble with drugs and alcohol in the past, and some musicians recalled that he had a terrible temper in those days. But as far as I could see he had kicked all that. Who knows what led him to shoot his Chinese wife and blow his own brains out on July 19? Perhaps all the passion that went into his music also had a dark side. Perhaps something just snapped in his brain. But I can't help thinking that if he'd had a guitar in his hands at that fatal moment instead of a gun, we'd still be looking forward to his next visit to the Palm Court. Rest easy, old friend. Your music still echoes in our hearts.
http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2013/07/longtime_new_orleans_jazz_guit.html

UNCLE LIONEL BATISTE 1931-2012

Uncle Lionel Batiste, a popular bass drummer, singer and colorful character on the New Orleans music scene since the 1940s, died on July 8 at the age of 81. He was a longtime member of the Treme Brass Band and was frequently featured on the HBO series "Treme," which used his iconic image in its publicity and posters. Gaunt-faced and skinny as a drumstick, always dressed to the nines, he was a familiar figure in the Frenchmen Street music clubs and the Palm Court Jazz Cafe. He would regularly show up, unannounced, whirl a pretty girl around the dance floor, then grab the microphone and sing a blues or ballad to the delight of the audience and musicians alike. His warm, humorous singing style was captured on several CD's including two produced by pianist Lars Edegran. I had the honor of accompanying him on several tracks, as well as in this video of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" shot in the Palm Court last March: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d76EJDdlYJU

Colorful and flashy till the end, Uncle Lionel had a wake that was probably unique in the history of the undertaking profession: instead of being laid out in a casket, he was displayed standing up, leaning against a faux lamp post, dressed in his sporting clothes with his hands covered with the rings and jewelry that were part of his trademark. Check out Keith Spera's account and accompanying photographs: http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2012/07/uncle_lionel_batiste_gets_send.html

TOMMY SANCTON SCHEDULE THROUGH MARCH 2012

Wednesday, February 15: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street 7:30 - 10:30 pm. With Lars Edegran All Stars Featuring Topsy Champan, vocals.

Wednesday, February 21— MARDI GRAS: Norwegian Seamen's Church, Prytania Street, noon to 2 pm with Lars Edegran and Seva Venet.

Sunday, February 26: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's All Stars.

Wednesday, February 29: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street 7:30 - 10:30 pm. With Lars Edegran All Stars Featuring Topsy Champan, vocals.

Sunday, March 4: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.

Sunday, March 11: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran All Stars.

Wednesday, March 14: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street 7:30 - 10:30 pm. With Lars Edegran All Stars Featuring Topsy Champan, vocals.

Thursday, March 16: In concert with Classic Jazz Trio. Details to be announced.

Sunday, March 18: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.

Wednesday, March 21: "Song For My Fathers" stage show with Preservation Hall Jazz Band, at the Old U.S. Mint, 400 Esplanade, 8 p.m. Kickoff event of Tennessee Williams Literary Festival.

Sunday, March 25: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran All Stars

Wednesday, March 28: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street 7:30 - 10:30 pm. With Lars Edegran All Stars Featuring Topsy Champan, vocals.

TOMMY SANCTON GIGLIST THROUGH NOVEMBER, 2011

Wednesday, October 5: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.

Sunday, October 9: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran band.

Wednesday, October 12: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.

Sunday, October 16: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band

Wednesday, October 19: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.

Sunday, October 23: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's New Orleans All Stars.

Wednesday, October 26: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.

Sunday, October 30: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.

Saturday, November 5: Norwegian Seamen's Church, Prytania Street, 2 - 6 pm. With Lars Edegran trio.

Sunday, November 6: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's New Orleans All Stars.

Saturday, November 12: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street 7 - 10 pm With Lars Edegran All Stars.

Sunday, November 13: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.

Wednesday, November 16: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman.

Sunday, November 20: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Lars Edegran's New Orleans All Stars.

Sunday, November 27: Preservation Hall, 726 St. Peter Street, 8 - 11 pm. With Tommy Sancton's New Orleans Legacy Band.

Wednesday, November 30: Palm Court, 1206 Decatur Street. With Lars Edegran All Stars featuring vocalist Topsy Chapman

BLACK EAGLE REUNION BAND ON FQF

The Black Eagles are back in town! Well, some of them, anyway. The band's original front line (cornetist Tony Pringle, trombonist Jim Klippert and myself on clarinet) will be reunited with Black Eagle banjoist Peter Bullis at the Palm Court Jazz Café on Wednesday, April 7, 8 - 11 pm. We will be joined by Lars Edegran on piano, Kerry Lewis on bass and Frank Oxley on drums. (Cf. article in this week's Gambit:http://www.bestofneworleans.com/gambit/tom-sanctons-black-eagle-reunion-band/Content?oid=1658579

This will mark the first time the original Boston-based Black Eagles have played together in New Orleans since our appearance at Jazzfest in 1971, the year we recorded our first album with the legendary Chester Zardis on bass. The Jazzfest gig will live forever in our memories because Kid Ory was sitting on the front row and shook our hands after our set. (Woody Allen was also on hand, waiting in the wings with the Galvanized Washboard Band.)

After I graduated from college and left Boston in 1971, the band was reorganized as the New Black Eagle Jazz Band and went on to fame (if not fortune) with U.S. and European tours and numerous recordings. And they're still at it 40 years later! (Check their website: blackeagles.com)

In addition to the Palm Court gig (1206 Decatur Street), the Black Eagle Reunion Band will play on the French Quarter Festival on Sunday, April 10, 1:15 - 3:15, 600 block of Bourbon Street. Copies of our now historic 1971 CD will be on sale at both venues (also available through the blackeagle website).

Y'all come!