Glen David Andrews - Portrait Of The Tremé Prince (2019)

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A spiritual son of Satchmo

Let's say all you know about Glen David Andrews is that he is a trombone player from New Orleans, and as you're not a big jazz fan, you imagine this must be a boring jazz album full of boring trombone. Well, you got it 100% wrong on both points !

Boring is certainly not the word to use about this “Portrait Of The Tremé Prince”, a compilation of some of his most representative works released in 2019 on Louisiana Red Hot Records. Already, the name of the label itself, which evokes a famous hot pepper sauce plantation and factory in Ile Petite Anse (Avery Island) in the middle of the Vermilion Bay bayous, sounds like a thrilling promise !

Louis Armstrong aka "Satchmo"

Red hot, this album is, from beginning to end. The man sings as he plays his trombone, with a soulful raspy rage and a texture that makes of him a vocal heir of Louis Armstrong aka Satchmo.

Except the final track, probably re-recorded with new arrangements for this compilation, the thirteen remaining titles were all previously released on his past albums : some on “French Quarter Jazz in Jackson Square” (1997), “Live at Three Muses” (2012) or “Live At The 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival” (2019), some on “Dumaine Street Blues” (2004) or “Redemption” (2014).

The whole album sounds as if Andrews is under a spell, cooking an orgiastic gumbo mixing all that make New Orleans music so rich, so exhilarating, so unique : echoes of early jazz, blues and Zydeco from the bayous, R'n'B and funk from the French Quarter, traditional spirituals, brass band sound, Second line beats, swampy voodoo groove… and tons of energy !

Of all the contemporary brass band musicians of New Orleans, Andrews is probably one of the most concerned by the cultural preservation of the city's deep musical heritage, at a time when indigenous traditions are being threatened. He regularly plays at the famous Preservation Hall, and fights for keeping alive the work of his illustrious elders like Satchmo or Jelly Roll Morton.

His special liking for traditional religious jazz tunes ― spirituals, hymns and more generally gospel ― also appears in each of his albums and concerts. In 2009, he even released an entire gospel opus recorded live at the Zion Hill Baptist Church in Tremé, “Walking Through Heaven's Gate”.

But all that doesn't prevent him from incorporating modern sounds like funk or even pop/rock in his work when needed. As already mentioned, Andrews is also a vocal phenom, reminding Louis Armstrong on many occasions and using his voice like a horn instrument itself.

Immediate illustration of these last two points as soon as the opening “Melt Your Heart Like Butter” : African percussion, pounding bass drum, brass chorus, funky R'n'B rhythm with keyboards and wah-wah guitar, and scorching shouted vocals !

In the same vein, the horn-filled “Kool Beeze” with exciting funky rhythm guitar and slapping drum, and above all the swinging jazzy “Reefer Song” : enthralling horn and guitar solos over a catchy beat.

The icing on the funky cake comprises two live tracks, the torrid brass-fueled Zydeco “Flat Like That (Get That Gator)” and the more jazzy “Whatever Happened To Peanut”. Both feature electrifying brass, stirring guitar solos, and breathtaking raspy vocals ! I defy anybody to keep still on these two !

The pop rock influence is more perceptible on the brassy R'n'B “You Don't Know” featuring a nice guitar solo, and the somehow wild live “Rock Star (Like Mike)”.

Four tracks are devoted to gospel, so favored by Andrews : the typical New Orleans spiritual “Over In Glory Land” in a rejoicing Armstrong-inspired traditional second line jazz style; “Surrender”, a more soul number with powerful passionate vocals; or the final “Walk Through Heaven's Gate” sung with an incredibly soulful and powerful voice, starting with the churchy atmosphere set by the organ and suddenly turning into a hot second line hymn ! In the genre, could be added the appealing “Something To Believe In” magnificently sung by Andrews with his intense raspy voice.

The blues isn't forgotten. The iconic standard “St. James Infirmary” is superbly covered as a quite emotional funeral dirge with again Satchmo-like powerful vocals, a Sydney Bechet touch from the horns, and flashes of Cab Calloway by the end. The banjo creates the throw-back atmosphere of “Dumaine St. Blues” and “I Am A Cowboy”, with again passionate Armstrong-inspired vocals.

A thrilling album, no doubt about it. And a perfect introduction to the work of the Prince of Tremé, Glen David Andrews, a wonderful musician...  ■

(1) The Andrews Clan : the Rebirth Brass Band is or has been the common thread linking several members of the renowned Andrews family from the Tremé. Ex-Rebirth Glen David Andrews (not to be confused with his cousin, trumpeter Glen Andrews) is the brother of Rebirth snare drummer for a long time, Derrick Tabb. Trumpeters Glen and James Andrews, known as "Satchmo of the Ghetto", and trombonists Revert "Peanut" Andrews and Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews are his cousins.

Derrick Tabb (the tall one in the center)

The prince of Tremé : short bio
Glen David Andrews was born in 1979 and raised in a very musical family in New Orleans historic neighborhood of Tremé, known to be the oldest African-American community.

Troy (left) hugging his cousin Glen David

Andrews and his older brother, Derrick Tabb of the Rebirth Brass Band, along with their younger cousin Troy Andrews aka “Trombone Shorty” (1) were immersed in the magic and mystery of the second-line parades and Mardi Gras Indian culture from their very childhood, living in the middle of bar rooms ringing with music and, as Andrews recalls, funeral houses from where the “jazz funeral” marches with their brass bands were leaving.

Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen

After beating the bass drum as a child, Andrews picked up the trumpet at age 12, but switched to trombone two years later. “I was like 14 years old, and my cousin Trombone Shorty needed a front man for his band and asked me. And that's when I first started playing the trombone : Trombone Shorty gave me his horn, let me play it, showed me how to get by on it”, Andrews recalls.

He then honed his skills in different energetic brass bands (New Birth, Li’l Rascals, Tremé...), and finally joined his brother Derrick in the Rebirth Brass Band.

Meanwhile he learned the brass band and jazz tradition from iconic figures like Frogman Joseph, Harry Nance, Harold Dejan, and above all Anthony Lacen aka Tuba Fats (1950-2004) with whom he used to play for tips in the French Quarter's Jackson Square.

Later he set up his own band(s) and recorded albums under his name from the early 2000s, earning his crown of “Prince of Tremé”. ■

Quotes

“You have the African rhythms, which were a part of, naturally, all the slaves that came to the States. You have the Indian chants and the different instrumentation that they had, along with the European instrumentation. But the jazz and the gospel, all this formed in the black community called Tremé.”
“The reason you have Mardi Gras Indians is that the Indians would help the escaped slaves, and the Blacks would live with them on the reservations.”
→ These two quotes come from an interview available in text or audio podcast at : https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129452074

Audio albums on YT
Be cautious with the full album playlists featured on YT : on some of them, their bot is mistakenly mixing up the titles and the albums. A real mess ! Only the following four seem correct as far as I have checked :
► “Live at Three Muses” (2012) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_npqkOwhX6vZMp1euXQEK2ltwQw1HRlrHs
► “Redemption” (2014) : https://youtu.be/HxEKITLvQSA?list=OLAK5uy_kDIIqlaIDEH7MbAAKjmKtWrq2PDlSKlsY
► “Portrait Of The Tremé Prince” (2019) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k5BKcZZ1TbGiQzR9l9WUZrV5vIQDrNwOc
► “Live From My Living Room” (2020) : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kICyvqYxnh_oaaDfCbZNW9opzD5EA8A-c

Videos

► “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”, Zion Hill Baptist Church, Tremé, New Orleans, 2008 : https://youtu.be/AM5EYfTU8RQ
► Louisiana Music Factory, New Orleans :
→ 2009 :
- #1 : https://youtu.be/TNrF6K5czfg
- #2 : https://youtu.be/Zwfzh4AAsM8
- #3 : https://youtu.be/tSlwqmknL7E
→ 2012 : https://youtu.be/tSlwqmknL7E
→ 2014 : https://youtu.be/yHaxs9lnaqw

► Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival, New Orleans, 2010 : https://youtu.be/aDKvCGncz4s
► Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, NYC, 2010 : https://youtu.be/uNOreOxBSSE
► Oxford, MS, 2011 : #1 : https://youtu.be/OdWC9fME3yY - #2 : https://youtu.be/5hMQn38xjCM - #3 : https://youtu.be/Ah1GbiiGBbQ - #4 : https://youtu.be/9kpmqrr6_R4 - #5 : https://youtu.be/Lj3pP1kjNUk
► “You Don't Know”, Right Turn Live, Watertown, MA, 2012 : https://youtu.be/Yow7K8qIVW8
► Needham, MA, 2012 :
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/vCNKZWygPtk
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/C1dOdCGGKfc
► D.B.A. club with Amanda Shaw on violin, New Orleans, 2012 : https://youtu.be/-GSwSS46uxI

► French Quarter Festival, New Orleans, 2013 : https://youtu.be/zTBMcxrJXQQ
► Voodoo Fest, New Orleans, 2013 :
→ https://youtu.be/FsQfPXzYtd8
→ “Bad By Myself” : https://youtu.be/tUQnRS4G_zs
→ “Movin' Up” : https://youtu.be/CCKSrAHBl70
→ “NY to Nola” : https://youtu.be/6ooQzy88h1c
► Fairfield, CT, 2013 : https://youtu.be/SKHXF5L3CZk
► With Trombone Shorty, Right Turn Live, Watertown, MA, 2013 : https://youtu.be/NAIXFwZ6SjY
► After JazzFest Party at the D.B.A. club, New Orleans, 2013 : https://youtu.be
/C2l4ILJ_0qw
► Heritage Music Blues Fest, Wheeling, WV, 2013 : https://youtu.be/87NxrMJFfT0
► Tuba Fats Tuesday Second Line, Tremé, New Orleans, 2013 :
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/QMFQhY5p39U
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/RUjmEyJVVX0
► Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA :
→ 2014 : https://youtu.be/QktLj2lgJ5k
→ 2015 : https://youtu.be/yQGirUAiyQ0
→ 2016 : https://youtu.be/gRtZyIiuSHk & https://youtu.be/fBhQ7JH8rFk?t=390
► New Orleans JazzFest 2014 : https://youtu.be/V2_V_2U4VAE
► Satchmo Festival, New Orleans, 2014 : https://youtu.be/1cqrjVSr3sU
► NYC, 2014 :
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/5es8n4UK6lc
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/4vQalqmIvGc
► Taking a Second Line from the Drom club in the East Village to Tompkins Square Park, NYC, 2015 : https://youtu.be/LwfTbrvz0cU
► Jazz Ascona Festival, Switzerland, 2016 : https://youtu.be/BZDogN8Ypf8
► Chicago, 2016 : https://youtu.be/DQ5uZjKsWRA
► Gütersloh (Germany), backed by the Sazerac Swingers, 2016 : https://youtu.be/oEX87H_F0sg
► My Side Of The Mountain Music Festival, Arkville, NY, 2018 :
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/_ySeY80BbeQ
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/R1QqPzgv6iI

► Streaming from New Orleans, 2020 :
→ https://youtu.be/XSHobLjAPTw
→ https://youtu.be/Wp_vEF5_wfw
► Live broadcast from the Academy of Music Theatre, Northampton, MA, 2020 : https://youtu.be/C6hf3HR9AP8?t=396
► 2020 : https://youtu.be/jE4kG2FKYow
► Royal Frenchmen Hotel, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/HIX053vL3po
► The Funky Uncle, New Orleans, 2021 : https://youtu.be/fkI8ynY5tfA?t=98
► Esplanade Studios, Take Me to the River Music Masterclass, New Orleans, 2021 :
→ #1 : https://youtu.be/wYT7p-V3C_I
→ #2 : https://youtu.be/e8XXbKRpXyE
► Live At Caffè Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY, 2022 : https://youtu.be/U3EziI9qSII?t=209
► Mardi Gras Second line around the block, Player’s Club, NYC, 2023 : https://youtu.be/uGJ9xeB1KXE