St. Anna

Pfister Sisters light up Chickie Wah Wah

New Orleans' Pfister Sisters, Holley Bendtsen, Debbie Davis and Yvette Voelker, recreate jazz harmonies in the tradition of The Boswell Sisters who sang close harmony jazz in the 1920s and '30s. Ella Fitzgerald got her start imitating the style of The Boswell Sisters - think of that!

To hear music like this, you've got to hit the small clubs, like Chickie Wah Wah, a BBQ joint on Canal with specials like Red Beans & Rice, Marigny Brasserie or the reborn Spotted Cat both on Frenchmen.

"The Boswells - Martha, Vet and Connie (also known as Connee) - grew up on Camp Street in New Orleans 90 years ago during the last days of Storyville. After extensive classical training, they switched to jazz and recorded their first sides as teens in 1925, a mere two years after Jelly Roll Morton and other jazz greats waxed their first cuts. Their earliest influences were Mamie Smith, Bessie Smith, Enrico Caruso and the colossus of early jazz singing, Louis Armstrong. From Satchmo, they learned how to phrase, attack certain notes, use dynamics and the like. They also borrowed his habit of throwing out the melody altogether and fashioning a simpler, more swinging line.

The sisters hit their stride around 1930, and soon became nationally known through radio and movie shorts. In 1936, they disbanded when Martha and Vet each married. Connee continued for many years as a solo act.

It's possible to think of the Boswells as a conduit between Armstrong's innovations and white pop Americana like the Andrews Sisters. In fact, they also influenced the black musicians of their day, such as the Mills Brothers and a young Ella Fitzgerald, who was unstinting in her praise of Connee Boswell as her main inspiration. The sisters were pioneers in vocal harmony, using arrangements with as many as four or five tempo changes - which somehow always worked. They recorded rumba rhythms 15 years before Professor Longhair, and might have been the first New orleans musicians to record with a clave beat. And they certainly had the Crescent City penchant for pleasure at all costs: their music is out-and-out loony at times, as though delighting themselves was as important as entertaining their listeners."

Tom McDermott, Gambit Weekly, April 2000

It's Thanksgiving, but feels like Easter

Who knew ducklings could hatch in the fall? Seems like New Orleans' weather is temperate enough for the little ones to find food, learn from mom and stay warm at night. And this isn't the only group of ducklings in Audubon Park lagoon on Thanksgiving Day.



This flock was richly fed by a gaggle of kids armed with bagsful of corn kernals. The ducklings came right up the edge of the water, completely without fear. The mother duck didn't seem worried at all about her 10 youngsters' safety. There are no predators in Audubon Park nor hunters with guns or bows and arrows.

I spoke to a dad who told me the mother duck had been somebody's pet. She couldn't keep four ducks AND dogs in her house, so she had to release her.

All seem quite content and doing well!

Sunset on the levee

I parked the car on the levee the other night, just to look at the sunset, which was gorgeous.



As I sat there, a young man pulled out a rope, tying it from one tree to another. He walked back and forth across the tightrope. Now, that's a skill I've never even thought to master.

Barataria Swamp

jzak's Full Review 04/01/00: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

I traveled down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year, and one of the most fascinating parts of our vacation was a swamp tour that my fiance and her family went on.

On a sunny day last month, we ventured down to the Barataria unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. We were taken on a tour by Captain Cyrus, one of the unique inhabitants of the swamp and a lifelong resident of Barataria.

Everyone who comes to Louisiana can't miss this amazing opportunity to view the nature and history of the Barataria swamp.

We boarded the riverboat at noon. The Captain began to tell us about the history, people, nature and wildlife of the swamp. Toward the right, we could see a washed up riverboat, its rusty hull protruding from the water. As we proceeded down the open area of the swamp, numerous birds, heron and others, were settling on the lake in the noontime sun. He showed us the shrimp traps that the residents use to make their livelihoods with. We began to make a turn into one of the bayous, and hundreds of cypress trees lined the shores, their long moss hanging down so low that you can almost touch them. About this time, we head into another remote area, and we see Captain Cyrus' "friends", two huge alligators, rising up out of the water!

In order to entice them toward the boat, the Captain whistles to them, then throws marshmallows into the water! We saw several alligators during our swamp tour, and all of the people on the boat were very excited to see these amazing animals.

From the standpoint of a lifelong resident of the swamp, the Captain told us about the history of the area as well, about Jean Lafitte and the swamp pirates who dwelled here during the War of 1812. Someone asked him about Jean Lafitte and buried treasure, and his tone became cynical.

The captain thought that the buried treasure story was a way of attracting unwanted interest in the swamp, and believed that all it did was disturb the history of the area. He told us that most films made in Louisiana, such as the "Interview with a Vampire" and "Forrest Gump," are made in the Barataria. For example, the scene in "Forest Gump" were Forest crashes his shrimp boat into the dock was filmed here. He said that the filmmakers destroyed the old dock, but that it wasn't so bad because the residents "got a new dock out of the deal."

Finally, we wound toward the end of our journey, and toward our right, a large above-ground cemetary lay on top of the hilly shoreline. He told us that all of Barataria's residents are buried here, often with some relatives buried above ground on top of others in their families. The ornate gravestones and cemetary were a unique fixture in the swamp, and are a testament to the peoples, cultures and history of the Barataria.

At the very end of our journey, the Captain gently guided the boat back into the dock, and it was over. Everyone clapped for the Captain. More importantly, Captain Cyrus showed us that the Barataria Swamp is a beautiful, largely untouched area. He showed us why he loved the Barataria so much, and how he wanted others to enjoy it as we were.

If you are ever down in Louisiana, make a point to go on a swamp tour with Captain Cyrus. He'll show you around the swamp, and maybe...just maybe...you'll even get to see an alligator or two!

The Redhead Car

I see this car everywhere I go, but never the redhead. Being a redhead, myself, I am naturally intrigued. What do redheads have in common, anyway?

Whenever I find myself standing on a street corner alongside another redhead, I get that uncomfortable feeling, like something needs to be said, acknowledged. We are a DNA sisterhood, after all - the most minor minority. Should we form a club? I never heard of one.

But, here, in New Orleans, there is a Redhead Car, painted with declarations of Redhead accomplishments - the inventor of sprinkles was redhead! Redheads invented Lucha Libre. Who knew?

FDA to crack down on fresh oysters

It's not everywhere that the newspaper runs a headline like this one.

But as the Federal Department threatens to sterilize oysters, the region's seafood and restaurant industries have become alarmed.

This, from the Times-Picayune's editorial page:





THE FDA SHOULD GET OUT OF OUR GUMBO

By Editorial page staff, The Times-Picayune
October 28, 2009, 11:11PM

A Food and Drug Administration decision to impose draconian new rules on oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico could wreck Louisiana's $300 million-a-year industry and restrict the diets of raw oyster lovers here and elsewhere for most of the year -- all in a misguided effort to prevent a serious but rare health threat.

The FDA announced guidelines, to go into effect in 2011, that would require all Gulf oysters harvested from April through October to undergo a sterilization process before they can be sold. That could double or even triple the cost of Louisiana oysters for consumers and alter their taste, texture and color, something that could hurt this state's famous cuisine.

The agency is taking the step because of vibrio vulnificus, a bacteria that thrives in warm water and can sicken people with immune system disorders who eat raw oysters. People who suffer from AIDS, cancer, kidney disease and diabetes and those who abuse alcohol are at risk. About 30 people per year become ill from vibrio vulnificus, and half those cases are fatal.

But requiring every single Gulf oyster to be sterilized for seven months of the year -- even those destined for the pot or pan and not the half shell -- isn't reasonable. Labeling and other steps to educate those at risk so that they can avoid raw oysters makes far more sense, and the FDA agreed to that very approach in the late 1990s.

Now, suddenly and without warning, the FDA is ushering in a sweeping change without conducting a study or seeking public comment. The agency doesn't seem to have even considered the devastating impact on Louisiana's oyster industry, which employs 3,500 people and produces a third of all oysters consumed in this country. Currently, post-harvest processing can only handle about 10 percent of total production during the seven targeted months. Small mom-and-pop operations will have a difficult time coming up with the money to buy sterilization equipment by 2011.

Louisiana can set its own rules for oysters consumed within the state and doing so will at least ensure that Louisianians can continue to enjoy unprocessed raw oysters. But that won't help the industry significantly since most of Louisiana's oysters are sold out of state. State officials should push the FDA to reconsider this drastic and unfair step.