The AFO Foundation

Tuesdays With Jesse
by Chris Waddington

Nov. 20, 2007 • You can measure the health of a jazz scene by ticket sales, press clips or record deals, but here in New Orleans there is another way to do it: by counting the number of young, aspiring players on local stages. Thanks to pianist Jesse McBride, that number jumps every Tuesday as he brings his "Next Generation" quintet to Snug Harbor.

The ongoing gig at the flagship jazz club started in October 2006, after McBride returned from his post-Hurricane Katrina exile in Manhattan. While in New York, McBride had organized bookings for New Orleans musicians, including regular Sunday night gigs at a Greenwich Village club.

"I could easily have stayed in New York after the hurricane, but I moved back to be part of the positive changes here," McBride said. "I wanted younger players to have the kind of opportunities that I did when I came to New Orleans from Houston in 1998."
Before the storm, New Orleans was a hothouse for young jazz talent, said Steve Masakowski, the guitarist who directs the jazz studies program at the University of New Orleans.

"New Orleans was one of the greatest environments for aspiring student musicians," Masakowski said. "Unlike most cities, there were many opportunities for kids to play gigs and learn their craft on the job. That scene has bounced back after the storm, and Jesse has been helping that process with his weekly gig at Snug Harbor. In a sense, he’s taken the reins from Harold Battiste, who did so much to promote young talent in New Orleans. "

McBride, 28, views Battiste as a mentor.

"I walked into his UNO office in the spring of 1999, and everything changed for me," McBride said. "I’d go there all the time, listen to his records or listen to him pull out his horn to teach me a tune. Around 2001, I started to play in his band."

Battiste’s goal was to make sure that newcomers were exposed to the distinctive compositions and playing style of his generation of New Orleans modernists: Ellis Marsalis, Alvin "Red" Tyler, James Black and himself. He called his band "The Next Generation" — a concept and a name that McBride has inherited.

On a recent Tuesday, McBride’s quintet played works by Black and Battiste, an Ellington ballad and a couple of deft originals by the band’s saxophonist Rex Gregory. Their sound was vintage: hard-bop chord changes and folkie modal melodies, with the rhythm spread between bassist David Pulphus, drummer Geoff Clapp, James Westfall on vibes and McBride on Snug Harbor’s baby grand piano. Full of echoes from the history of jazz since 1950, this was music for those who like the burnished technique and archival focus of Wynton Marsalis and his disciples.

It was also swinging good fun for a crowd of locals and visitors.

"The New Orleans compositions give us a unique sound," McBride said. "There’s something in their rhythms that feels natural, like breathing. They lead us into a special New Orleans groove where it doesn’t matter if you’re playing in a brass band or a modern quintet. These tunes remind you that New Orleans drummers have changed the shape of music — not just jazz, but rock, funk and even Broadway."

The group also benefits from a tight, well-rehearsed sound. They play at full-throttle from the start of a set, with none of the long warm-ups required when musicians are meeting for more casual performances.

"Jazz musicians in New Orleans are used to jamming in pick-up bands," McBride said. "There’s a freedom to that kind of situation, but, for me, it’s even more spontaneous with a working band. We know each other’s ins and outs, so we can go to another level, by changing keys, changing the groove. We know these tunes, and we know each other."
At ease with each other, the ensemble welcomes younger musicians to join them on the bandstand. On a recent Tuesday, saxophonist Oliver Bonie, a senior at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, sat in on a long blues number, while Miles Labat, a sophomore at Warren Easton Senior High School, took the drum chair.

"If it sounds good, it’s because we work hard to choose material that shows off the skills of our guests," McBride said. "It’s not supposed to be a cutting contest. It’s about learning in a professional setting."

McBride’s commitment to education goes beyond the bandstand. He also teaches improvisation and jazz piano at both Tulane and Dillard universities.

"I looked at the problems in New Orleans today, the politics of the Hurricane Katrina debacle, the racism, the youth left out to dry, and I knew I had to do something. With this band, I’m part of something larger — a generation that doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes, that wants to steer kids toward positive change. As musicians, we don’t have power, but we have voices, we have instruments, so we have hope."

Jesse McBride And The Next Generation: Unfinished Blues