b
rru~UARTER NOTES""
Several hundred Mardi Gras visitors and natives alike were treated to a two-fold de-light this year. First, a fabulously bright sunny dayer-which the Jazz Club did NOT pro-vide--and second, an authentic Jazz band from out of the past, playing the best and loudest New-Or leans rnus is heard in the city:
George Lewis and his Ragtime Jazz band held sway at Ciro's, in the Vieux Carre (French.luarter), under the sponsorship of the New Orleans Jazz Club, from.fwelve noon Hl eight at night. This nightclub is definitely different from the others in the ijiuarter: it is
an historical site, the former home of Judah P. Benjamin, a local philanthropist of decades past; the present owner displays his good taste and common sense by as ing decor of dignity, beauty, and graciousness, pointing up thhe high ceilings, enormous antique gold mirrors, wide archways, and ancient slave quarters (now a bar), locking out on the lovely green-filled Patio. So, with this unusual background, Bour-bon Streef rocked to the strains of Panama, Sensat ion Raga, A Closer iJa l k With Thee, Bugle Boy, and literally countless other famous old tunes from the days when jazz was new,.
The band played in the.Patio amid a veritable crush of avid spectators and dancers, most of whom were masked and costumed. The
usual quantity of vicious looking pirates and gay P ierrots were in evidence, together ,with numerous clowns, ravishing gypsy maid
ens, make believe, as well as Uncle Sam's own, sailors, and fanfastic get-ups impossible to label. i few were satisfled to retain their own identity but these were in a minority.
Guests were loud in their praise of the affair. One visitor from Ohio went so far as to say he had "been all over town", a statement open to d~:bate, and he said. we "had the best #?XX' o show in town:"' Still debatable but very pleasant to heart
Of course, a certain amount of work had to be done 1n that it was necessary to ar-range for publicity, sell tickets, ride herd on the cash box, )explain the many points of interest on the premises to visitors, and talk to interested persons 'about the Jazz Club. These tasks were amiably performed by members of the Club. For example: at various times tickets were sold by a traffic manager of a local concern, a famous clarinetist, a bank executive, a credit manager, a travelling salesman, a- secretary, and an attorneys
wall during the day we continued to achieve one of our major objectives: we caused many more pe op I c to 1 is ten to r e a I New Orleans mils is as i t shou Id be pl ayed, 1n a setting which was purely New Orleans, on Mardi Gras, the most excit Ing day in the year, 1n the most exciting cIty in the country.
If any proof is needed to show that our Club provided the right type of music in the right setting, and that we were the ONLY group to do so in response to the insistent de-mands of thousands of tourists and natives, it;is 'surely sufficient to say that the story was carried on both- the Hssoclated Press and the United Fress wires across the nation!
F LE SH1
We have just learned that Oscar 'Papa' Celestin and his band have cut four new sides! They will carry the "Roger Wolfe
Bandwagon" label. This is good news: Alphonse Picou, famous clarinetist, is with Celes-tin's band. iviore details next month