Here’s a delightful example of the multiculturalism that jazz embodies.
What could be more expansive than a band of French musicians (with an American pianist sitting in) playing music created by a mixture of races and ethnicities in New Orleans?
They’re playing a Hawaiian pop song (or at least its subject is Hawaii) recorded by an African-American trumpet player and singer — and my friend Melissa Collard, too.
And they’re playing it in Hungary.
Call that narrow or insular at your own peril!
The facts:
The Night Owls, from Paris, play a leisurely ON A COCONUT ISLAND, at the 20th International Bohém Ragtime and Jazz Festival in Kecskemét, Hungary, March 26, 2011. The Owls are Jerome Etcheberry, trumpet; Christophe Deret, trombone; Enzo Mucci, banjo; Sebastien Girardot, string bass; Guillaume Nouaux, drums. And the meditative-looking fellow at the piano is none other than Butch Thompson!
The 2011 Bohém Festival DVD compilation can be obtained from order@bohemragtime.com. See more at: www.bohemragtime.com.
