JazzAscona, the 10 day festival that takes place on the shore of Lake Maggiore, just wrapped up its 32nd edition in the town of Ascona, Switzerland. Over the years, it has developed a bond with New Orleans and its music, especially traditional jazz.
Follow me through Day 3 and 4 of JazzAscona’s “New Orleans Experience With Original Music And Food From Louisiana” and you’ll see what I mean.
This year’s trip to Ascona started with my traditional stop for Jazz Lunch at Ristorante Bistro Otello with David Paquette, as soon as I stepped off of the bus from Locarno. David, originally from Connecticut, and now a resident of New Zealand, lived in New Orleans and played on Bourbon Street when he was a teenager. As usual, David was tickling the ivories, and sitting in with him were my good friends Uli Wunner on sax and Thomas L’Etienne on clarinet (The Creole Clarinets from Germany). Ole Fessor Lindgreen from Denmark was playing trombone.
Walking down the street, more familiar sounds came my way: Glen David Andrews, followed by Aurora Nealand with Tom McDermott on Stage New Orleans, the Jazz Vipers at Papa Joe’s, Anais St. John with drummer Simon Lott at Ristorante Piazzetta. They were all playing at stages along the lake. When I got all the way down to Stage Seven, where the World Cup soccer game aired on the big screen to a sea of Swiss fans dressed in red (unfortunately, Switzerland lost), I ran into Benny Jones and the Treme Brass Band second lining up the cobblestone street with Grand Marshall Aldo Jones (Benny’s brother & Corey Henry’s dad), and Trixie Minx for one of the festival’s daily parades. Later on, I caught the Queen of Ascona, Lillian Boutte, singing with her niece Tanya Boutte, in a band called Musicfriends, featuring Thomas L’Etienne (clarinet & sax), Uli Wunner (clarinet & sax), Giorgos Antoniou (bass), Denny Ilett (guitar), Ole Fessor Lindgreen (trombone), and King of Treme drummer Shannon Powell. John Michael Bradford played trumpet with them the next night.
Next I stopped by Papa Joe’s Restaurant and Bar to hear another one of Lillian’s nieces, Teedy Boutte , with her Bootleg Operation partner in crime Paul Longstreth on piano and special guest Shamarr Allen playing his pocket trumpet. Papa Joe’s was this year’s location for the famous late night jam sessions that run until 3am every night of the festival. I didn’t make it to 3am, but I started the next day at noon with more daytime music leading up to Davell Crawford’s Piano Night concert (more about that below), with a little time left to stage hop between Glen David Andrews set with Shamarr Allen at Stage Papa Joe’s, and the Jazz Vipers on Stage New Orleans. Po-boys, jambalaya and gumbo were available at stands along the street.
PIANO PRINCE OF NEW ORLEANS CROWNED IN ASCONA
Every year, the festival honors an individual for their "artistic quality and profound commitment to preserve and promote the culture and music versatility of the Crescent City” (www.jazzascona.ch)
Previous recipients of the award include Lillian Boutte (2006), Father Jerome LeDoux (2007), Donald Harrison, Jr. (2008), Shannon Powell and Herlin Riley (together in 2010), Uncle Lionel Batiste (2011), Irma Thomas (2012), Gerald French (2013), Stephen Perry (2014), and Irving Mayfield (2015).
Moments before his “Doctors, Professors, Kings and Princes of New Orleans Piano” concert on the Jazz Club Casino Stage, Davell Crawford, the grandson of James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, received the prestigious Ascona Jazz Award for 2016.
According to JazzAscona’s website, this year’s award “recognizes Crawford’s great music personality and his excellent skills as entertainer and music director. A highly individual and recognizable musician, Davell Crawford is certainly one of the best contemporary interpreters of New Orleans’ rich music tradition; he skillfully ranges from gospel to jazz, from R&B to funk, always leaving his unmistakable mark”.
After receiving the award from Artistic Director Nicolas Gilliet and other local Swiss luminaries including the mayor of Ascona, Davell returned to the stage with Herlin Riley on drums and Barry Stephenson on bass to perform a tribute to Dr. John, Professor Longhair, James Booker, Fats Domino and Allen Toussaint.
