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REVIEWS
& PRAISE
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REVIEWS
& PRAISE
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"Above
all, the LRJE reminds you that New Orleans music was intended for dancing - the
kind you need a partner for. The affable sousaphone, rat-a-tat drums and smartly
crackling banjo evoke the swirl of crinolines and cuffed pants over hardwood
floors. Yet the band's vigor and sass prevent the formation of any nostalgic
mildew."
- People Weekly
"You
could practically hear the paddlewheel slapping the Mississippi Thursday, during
the Louisiana Jazz Repertory Ensemble's Town Hall concert of mostly neglected
traditional New Orleans jazz."
- New York Post
"With
hell-raising hamminess, they exploded with classics such as
"The
Canal Street Blues," "The
Livery Stable Blues," "Tiger
Rag," "Bouncing
Around," and "It's
Jam Up." ...Throughout the evening, the musicians were models of period
showmanship - calling out whoops, wearing animated expressions, and smiling at
the audience and among themselves. But outstanding musicianship - never
heavy-handed or cocky - ruled the airwaves."
- Bangor Daily News
"The
sound of the Ensemble is uncompromisingly traditional but its musicians are no
mere imitators. The boldness of their improvisation and the
"tightness"
of their ensemble playing has drawn enthusiastic comments from the most exacting
critics all over the world."
- Hongkong Hilton
"Despite
that, the entire night sparkled with the authentic taste of New Orleans. It was
all I could do to stay seated; the beat made my feet want to dance. By placing
the pieces they performed in historical context, the Ensemble managed to bring a
heightened visual image to the entertainment they were providing. Thursday night
was the closest I had ever gotten to the old South, and I savored every taste.
Throughout the concert, the LRJE proved that they could not only jam, but they
could soulfully slow it down for a few old southern hymns, including a banjo
solo in `The Old Rugged Cross´."
- Calvin College Chimes
"It
was a joyous, one-of-a-kind moment and one I'll always remember. . . . Somehow,
it didn't feel like some elite Arts Experience. Instead, the music was genuine,
it was challenging, and above all, it was joyous entertainment"
- Edge Magazine
"The
nine musicians are true masters of their instruments, and they fling themselves
into their music with an enthusiasm that's contagious"
- The Greenville News
"The
LRJE takes you to a place where black jazz, Italian, Mexican and Caribbean music
mingle with marches, the music of France and the classical music of America from
Louis Moreau Gottschalk to create the lively and extensively thought-out musical
forms that kept the New Orleans public dancing from the turn of the century into
the Depression. Sure, it's simple. Everything is neatly divided into eight-bar
chunks, the rhythm never is ethereal, always syncopated, and the melodies are
embellished rather than improvised upon. But when it's done with care and
accomplished on authentic instruments, the sound rises above its apparent limit.
Astonishing musicianship, genuine tonal colors (growls, rips, shakes, smears,
idiosyncratic vibrato, arcane tuba oompah), informed cohesive group playing and
the will to dig up and learn music are just a few of the qualities that set the
LRJE apart."
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
"But
Dixieland and Preservation Hall are just a small part of the New Orleans
heritage. The purpose of the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble is, as stated in
the notes on its first album, 'to recover the heroic era of classic jazz and to
restore it to its original luster.' . . . Even with these changes, the
members of the band have a loose, easy relationship. The tempos are relaxed, and
there is none of the anxious rushing that takes over most groups that attempt
this kind of period jazz. By getting the tempos right and feeling at home in
them, the ensemble provides reminders of some of the charms of New Orleans jazz
that have been buried under repeated heavy-handed playing."
- The New York Times
"POLAND
- I will never forget the evening I spent in New Orleans in the company of new
friends. Instead of going to Bourbon Street, which is besieged by tourists, we
opted for the uptown cafe in the Lafayette Hotel, where - according to
connoisseurs - you can hear the most authentic vintage jazz. The moment for such
a nostalgic trip seemed appropriate, because a few hours later I had become an
"Honorary International Citizen of New Orleans" with a diploma signed
by the mayor and presented to me by USIA director Ed Karnacki. The music played
by the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble carried us straight back to the
"heroic" era of jazz from the beginning of the century. Joyous,
irresistible swing exhilarated the listeners and instantaneously filled the
floor with happy, dancing couples."
- jazz forum
"What
distinguishes the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble from the hundreds of groups
around the globe playing what is variously labeled Trad, New Orleans or
Dixieland jazz is its absolute authenticity. And it has come as a revelation to
all who thought they knew what the genuine article was. One thing it is not, for
instance, is the all-pervasive, brash and brassy music which emanates from the
bars and strip clubs of Bourbon Street. Despite a burgeoning international
reputation, with appearances as far a field as Moscow and Hong Kong, and radio,
TV and record performances, New Orleans is still the wellspring of the band's
inspiration - both musically and environmentally. "We regard ourselves both
as resuscitators of this musical tradition and a living part of it,"
explained Starr. The interaction between the musicians and the people they play
for - many of whom actually danced to the bands whose repertoires the LRJE is
reviving - is as important in creating the group's genuineness as the long hours
spent delving into the archives for buried tunes."
- Quavers
"You
might think that a band bearing such a stodgy name and pursuing such a serious
documentary purpose would make music that comes out stiff or at best tame by
present day "liberated" standards. Nothing could be further from the
truth. As the layers of historical corruption, dilution and mass-market
popularization were stripped away in the research process, the creators of the
LRJE found a more vital, more energetic, more infectious kind of music than what
today is known as "Dixieland." At a performance of the LRJE one hears
none of the hackneyed standards which the purveyors of
Dixieland-as-tourist-business never seem to tire of grinding out. . . . In
addition to their triumphant and growing success with contemporary audiences,
the Ensemble has received glowing tributes from people who remember the music as
it was originally played. "Listen to them carries me back to my early
playing days in New Orleans. They really have the sound," says 73-year-old
Danny Barker, the New Orleans-born banjo player who is an alumnus of the Louis
Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington bands. Jazz historian Al Rose
agrees: "(They are) the most authentic band on the scene today. They play
like the bands I grew up listening to in New Orleans. I haven't heard that sound
in 40 years." "
- Preserving the Tradition
"It's
not Dixieland - especially the streamlined variety which found favor with a new
generation of jazz fans after WWII. Nor is it New Orleans trad jazz Preservation
Hall style. Instead it's the sort of music - sweetly melodic and eminently
danceable - which evokes haunting echoes of an earlier era, specifically, the
Crescent City circa 1880-1929. By using authentic period instruments like the
mandolin, sousaphone, and Albert-system clarinet, and rigorously researching
their material to capture the proper rhythms and phrasings, the Louisiana
Repertory Jazz Ensemble has resurrected one of jazz's earliest ancestors. Thanks
to the LRJE's dedication and discipline, they are able to recreate a style of
music laced with charm and elegance, and inject it with a jolt of enthusiasm and
vitality - dusting off the museum cobwebs and bringing a new sparkle and sheen
to the scintillating sounds, in the process."
- Chicago Jazz Festival
"The
Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble of New Orleans were spiffed out in tuxedos and
wing collars, the Smithsonian's Baird Auditorium adorned with potted palms. A
full house had come for ' the sound and spirit of the heroic era of classic jazz
1890-1930.' These guys have got the chops . . . and the love. Theirs is no dry
rundown of incunabular texts. Rather, they recall the swagger and passion which
animated the early groups. Hear them live, especially for dancing, or check out
their four LP's."
- JazzTimes
"The
Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble is not an old New Orleans jazz band, but a
disciplined, balanced mix of age and youth that faithfully re-creates the
spirit, elements, and characteristic colors of classic New Orleans jazz. The
group has done a good deal of research. Yet there is nothing stuffy or stiff
about it; the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble swings and swaggers with
free-wheeling, driving authenticity."
- High Fidelity Magazine
"What
the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble does is about as faithful to classic jazz
as anyone can get."
- The Times-Picayune
"Mais
si vous cherchez un peu, vous irez au Mapple Leaf Bar, Oak Street, où chaque
mardi et mercredi les jeunes musiciens du Louisiana repertory Jazz Ensemble
donnent à entendre a plus parfaite restitution du jazz de Storyville. C'est là
que les Orléanais viennent danser sur «leur» musique.
If you search a little (in New Orleans) you will find your way to the Maple Leaf
Bar on Odak Street, where each Tuesday and Wednesday the young musicians of the
Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble make it possible for one to hear the most
perfectly restored jazz of Storyville. It is there that the New Orleanians
themselves go to dance to their music."
- Air France Atlas
"the
two places you can come closest to hearing what this music actually sounded like
60 years ago are Preservation Hall on St. Peter Street and the Maple Leaf Bar on
the other side of town on Oak Street, and there only on Wednesday nights, when
the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble plays. The Louisiana Repertory Jazz
Ensemble, the most authentic, traditional jazz group in town and the only one
regularly offering Jelly Roll Morton arrangements, play for dancing."
- The City / New Orleans For Visitors
"Perhaps
more to the point is the fact that this band tries something that few native New
Orleanians feel comfortable doing - it sifts through local jazz in search of the
elemental ingredients, a process rather like subjecting grandma's roux to
scientific analysis. . . . Nonetheless, TNORJE has certainly mastered the method
of the original artists better than anyone else in this area, and that alone is
reason enough to bring folks from all over uptown to The Maple Leaf, that last
dim but cozy haven for the less than opulent."
- WaveLength
"It
was the kind of presentation that opened up a murky area of American music to
reveal its charms and joyful pleasures."
- New York Times
"Most
gratifying of all was the huge success of their Moscow and Leningrad concerts at
the end of 1982. Despite a total absence of advertising, word of their tour
spread like wildfire and massive crowds greeted the American musicians
everywhere they appeared."
- South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)