I was very excited to see Dr. John perform his Louis Armstrong tribute at City Park’s Foundations SummerStage last year and sat through a terrific Hurray For The Riff raff set before settling down and settling down and settling down and then… news that Dr. John had been taken to the hospital as a precaution. Five months later and Dr. John is at the very same venue, the Town hall, where Louis Armstrong and Hiss All-stars killed in in 1947.
I love Dr. John and I worship the ground Armstrong walked on, so what’s not to like, right? How about starting with this: I wasn’t crazy about Ske –Dat- De -Dat The Spirit Of Satch when it was released. “He came to me in this dream and said, ‘Do my stuff — your way,'” said the 73-year-old pianist. I am sure Armstrong did arrive in a dream but I feel about the jazz way the same way I feel about Shakespeare, I don’t like it so much when you mess with it.
The connection is New Orleans and I appreciate how soulful and original Dr. John’s interpretations are, plus, as a pianist covering a trumpet master, what were the options?
Perhaps I need to see it live and I, as well as you, will get our chance …
The Spirit of Satch:
- JOHN plays LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Special Guests TBA
Friday, February 27 at 8:00pm
The Town Hall – 123 West 43 Street and 6th Avenue
Doors at 7:30pm; Show at 8pm
Tickets Start at $50
Six-time Grammy award-winner DR. JOHN brings the songbook of his hometown hero Louis Armstrong to life in his popular Armstrong tribute show, just as he did in the critically acclaimed album Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch. Dr. John and special guests will be performing hits from the album, which spans Armstrong’s five-decade career, under the musical direction of album co-producer and arranger SARAH MORROW, accompanied by THE NITE TRIPPERS and THE SKE DAT DE DAT HORNS. The Los Angeles Times said of Dr. John’s concert tribute to Louis Armstrong, “Pops would have loved it.” USA Today calls the album “Wildly creative … essential listening.”
This could just be the jazz show of the season…
