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Bank On It
by Anitra D. Brown

The Odyssey Of A Neighborhood To Save Itself
by Lovell Beaulieu

Harold Battiste, Jr
by Dr. Sara Hollis

John Boutté: Living for “The Eternal Now”
By Robert Gagnier

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Harold Battiste, Jr—Cultural Icon And Master Teacher

“As I am reading my own autobiography, I ask myself, did I really do all this? And I know I did. Karen Celestan and The Historic New Orleans Collection did a wonderful job with the book, the layout, and all the photographs they organized and presented. I feel inspired about my life reading it.”

--Harold Battiste, Jr.

How do we get from there to here. And where is “here?” Isn’t that the question? And how much of our journey is right on the point of our dream for our life and art, and how much is toward survival and providing for family and self to keep going to be able to produce the highest form of art we are capable of? In the life of Harold Battiste Jr., whose autobiography "UNFINISHED BLUES…Memories of a New Orleans Music Man" has just been released, it meant years in Hollywood, producing and arranging music for many famous musicians, as well as film, television, albums, and gold records. He considers that what he did to support his family. Yet, all the time the inner voice told Harold Battiste, Jr. that jazz was his real calling in life. Finally twenty years ago he returned to New Orleans to again pursue that dream that he had earlier fulfilled by founding a recording company called “All For Us” or AFO, here. He and his fellow talented jazz musicians, including: Peter “Chuck” Badie, Alvin Batiste, Warren Bell, Sr., James Black, Edward “Boogie” Blackwell, John Boudreaux, Melvin Lastie, Tami Lynn, and Ellis Marsalis, Jr., through AFO, would have control of their output and the profits of their own music. Now he can hold in his hands the story of his life, told in his own words with the help of co-author Karen Celestan, and editor Sara Dougherty, in UNFINISHED BLUES.

In spite of all of the gold records and plaques and framed accolades on his walls, Harold Battiste, Jr. is a very down-to-earth man who speaks passionately about the young musicians he and Ellis Marsalis taught in the Jazz Studies Program at UNO. He sees them as the hope of the future for his beloved music. The teaching tool he used to assure them a career in jazz was a CD he made them produce. “When they go and try to get a gig at Snug Harbor or anyplace else, having pieces of paper in their hands won’t get them the job. They need to have a CD to show what they can do. And I would not let them graduate without that.” He credits the orderliness of his current office and studio to the fact that the archives at the Amistad Research Center and the Historic New Orleans Collection have collected his papers.

His just released autobiography was published by the Historic New Orleans Collection as the first in a planned series of books about local musicians whose papers are in their archives. Ten years in the making, its production involved a number of people. The idea for the book began in the writing workshop of Kalamu ya Salaam. He encouraged Battiste to draw upon his decades of meticulously written journals documenting his activities. Sample pages of those are reproduced in the book. He also assigned two of his younger students, Cassandra Lane and Karen Celestan to help Battiste with the project. This 188-page book, chronicling the life of Harold Battiste is a visual feast, as it archives a beloved carrier of New Orleans musical culture. Battiste praises the many details throughout his career in the book, as well as all the photographs that document his life.

At the recent reception launching the book held at the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center,, Harold Battiste, Jr. was interviewed by Dr. Ben Sandmill on the raised stage at the end of the gallery before a capacity audience who paid $150.00 each for the privilege of being there to honor Battiste and to contribute to the further development of the series planned to document the lives of other outstanding New Orleans musicians.

The interview was designed around taped excerpts of Battiste’s productions He was asked to tell the story behind each example. As the interview proceeded you could tell that the audience was more and more familiar with the music by their oohs and aahs and applause. By the time they came to “I Got You, Babe”, the audience broke into long and loud applause.

Although Battiste values his jazz legacy more, he is probably best known for his years as music director for Sonny and Cher and their television show.

Many local fans and friends as well as some who came from around the country attended the reception. His youngest son flew in from California just for the event. Lifelong friend and colleague Ellis Marsalis, Jr. , and his trio, including his son Jason Marsalis on drums, performed. An after party was held at the nearby club, One Eyed Jacks. Everyone who attended received an autographed copy of UNFINISHED BLUES. No one rushed out after the event. Battiste was generous to pose for pictures with friends and well-wishers, and chat with colleagues. Asked when he last saw Cher, he said that a year ago she flew him out to Las Vegas to see her current show. He described it as “a circus, with flying figures and many dancers, and a huge production.” With a chuckle he explained that the musicians were not playing his arrangements. He described it as a huge, loud production. He said that two local filmmakers came along to tape an interview between himself and Cher and that she graciously consented.

He puts the importance of archives, books, and CD’s in perspective when he speaks of the many great musicians he has known and worked with who have passed on. He says that he believes it is so important to preserve their legacy and the contributions of musicians who are working now, before it is too late. Even though the book is finished and he can now read it and hold it in his hands, he is still working to preserve other materials that he has, such as many taped interviews he has done with musicians over the years. The fire of creativity, the passion for education, and the seriousness of this carrier of culture is apparent in even the most casual conversation. Harold Battiste, Jr. is a true cultural icon and brilliant historian.

UNFINISHED BLUES…Memories of a New Orleans Music Man, is available at the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center at 410 Street in the French Quarter. This book will be an inspiration to young and old alike. It should inspire young people to get in the habit of keeping journals so they can look back on their own lives in the future and say “look what I have done with my time and talents.” And for older folks, the book walks us through our lives lived to the beat of the music produced by this brilliant musician who is again living right here in our midst.

Dr. Sara Hollis is the Director of the M.A. Museum Studies Program at Southern University at New Orleans. She joined the faculty there in 1973. shollis@suno.edu /(504) 284 5511 / www.suno.edu

Photos: Jim Belfon / Gulf South Photography Project / 504 579 4346.