Johnny Yes.

You remember what you were doing just now at the end of that?

- Yep.

- Start it a little sooner in the song.

I think it adds a little something that's feeling.

All right.

Here we go.

Let's try it.

Here we go.

Ready, set.

One.

Two.

You know what to do.

(gentle upbeat music) ♪ If I'm standing in the crowd ♪ Call my name ♪ Call it loud ♪ Don't go to strangers honey ♪ You can call on me (gentle upbeat music) ♪ Wave your arms in the air ♪ Let me know that you're there ♪ ♪ When in doubt honey ♪ You can call on me (gentle upbeat music) I didn't start singing professionally until late '58, '57, '58, '59.

I was singing before I got a record deal.

I had to be at least 16, 'cause my first child was born.

She was a young baby at the time.

So I was earning some money because I was living with my parents.

Washing dishes at night from 11 to seven, and I used to sing to keep myself company.

My white boss didn't like my singing, because he said I was singing nigger music.

So he fired me.

You know, but that's what you had to deal with.

Tommy Ridgley, who was working at the Pimlico Club at the time, took me to an audition.

And I auditioned on a Monday, and I was in a recording studio on a Wednesday and two weeks later I had a record out.

(gentle upbeat music) ♪ You can have my husband ♪ But please don't mess with my man ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ You can have my husband ♪ But please don't mess with my man ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ I'm telling all you women ♪ I want you all to understand The house that's lived in.

- We got this beautiful studio set up out here.

- Where do you want me to stand?

- So actually it's gonna be on the same stool that you were sitting on for the video.

Do you remember a photographer named Rick Olivier?

- Yes, he did most of my covers on most of my CDs.

- I moved here in 2007.

He was the first photographer I worked with.

He's got a studio in Mid-City.

- Yeah, that's where he's at.

- And I went and met with him, loved his work.

You know, I wanted to assist and learn from him.

First thing I was doing, I was getting paid hourly to go through all his negatives that were damaged in Katrina, trying to figure out what we could save.

'Cause I think it was too painful for him to go through a lot of that work himself.

- Yeah, yeah.

- So, yeah.

- Katrina changed everybody.

Yep.

(camera shutter clicking) (both laughing) - That's the one.

(both laughing) Call Elan, it's good.

(both laughing) - Okay, I won't do that to you again.

- No, that was great.

(gentle music) (tram engines revving) (gentle music) What was that chick's name that he introduced as a legend the other night and nobody knew who she was?

'Cause we sure in the hell didn't.

Where was she from?

- She's from here I think.

- Really?

- Yeah, but I think.

- How she got to be a legend and we ain't never heard of her.

I've been in the city almost all my life.

- I didn't know who she was either.

- Now I understand when the young people don't know anything about me because I haven't, this the first recording session I've had in the last nine years almost.

- Really?

- Almost.

- Been that long?

- Uh, huh.

Time ain't waiting on us, bro.

We getting old.

(laughing) - I know, man.

I don't know how I got from 60 to 70 so quick.

- I know.

We kept waking up.

(all laughing) - I should have paid more attention when I hit 60.

'Cause when I hit 68, I freaked out.

I freaked out man.

- I've been with my now husband, 44 years.

- Whoa.

- I had two more before him and I finally found one I could hang on to.

- Thank God, huh.

(crew laughing) - Well I found it was cheaper to keep him.

And I didn't want to train another one.

(laughing) (upbeat music) You see it's difficult for me to actually sing something that I don't understand.

♪ Tell me do you think ♪ Do you really think ♪ You deserve a second chance I mean I'm on my third marriage, so I understand second chances very well.

(Irma laughing) ♪ You really think ♪ You deserve a second chance ♪ Tell me, do you think ♪ You deserve a second chance (upbeat music) ♪ Honey, do you, do you ♪ Do you really think (upbeat music) ♪ That you deserve a second chance ♪ (upbeat music) - I didn't even know who she was.

(Irma laughing) Let alone managing her.

I didn't even know her.

I just spoke to her at a night club, on Claiborne Street.

Well I go there all the time, I mean.

And she came through there walking so I just told her something.

I don't know what I said to her.

- You told me I had a ravel on my dress.

- We're talking '70s.

♪ Sitting home alone So when he told me I had a ravel on my dress, I came back through there and told him you can take it off.

(laughing) And he was happy to take it off.

- No, I wasn't.

(both laughing) ♪ Success comes to some of them ♪ ♪ Failure's always there ♪ Time waits for no one ♪ And I wish (gentle upbeat music) ♪ I wish someone would care ♪ Oh yes I do Back then it wasn't normal or typical for a female artist to do her own collecting of her money at night.

Often times the men would do it and they'd wind up taking more than they gave.

You know, I had a manager who I was trusting and he was stealing me blind.

- Taking everything from her.

He was walking around with two contracts.

One he gave to the guy, and one he showed her, I guess.

I was asking her what she was making.

And when she was telling me what she was making, I said, well you gotta be gone crazy.

You mean the house is that packed and this is what you're making?

Something ain't right.

So, I talked to the owner of the place and he told me himself what he was doing.

- He brought my attention to it.

And we fired him.

I said well since I don't have manager and I'm not really particular about getting another one, I said, you can be my manager, and what you don't know we'll learn together.

And that's the way it's been ever since.

45 years this year.

- 45.

It wasn't hard, no way.

(both laughing) (gentle music) - Say that again, Johnny.

- It seemed to me like there was eight bars between verse two and the bridge.

- Yeah you're right.

That's what it is.

And Kyle, remember what we were working on for this one, it was more of like some sort of chordal melodic thing.

- Yeah you right.

- And where was that again?

- In between verse two and the bridge.

Right in that little space just stick eight bars, you know, for Kyle.

- All right.

- In the studio I make the assumption that every musician that's in that studio was called in their because of their ability to adapt to the music that's being played.

95% of the time they always do, so I don't have anything to tell them from a professional standpoint because they understand what their job is.

- Alfred, you come in at the beginning, okay?

(gentle music) Ya heard me, brah?

Alfred heard me?

- Yeah he heard you.

Johnny you may need to turn up the percussion on your headphones.

- And it usually happens pretty easy and we get the job done.

- All right, where you at?

Alfred, tell me something.

- In fact, we had fun getting the job done.

- I got soul.

I got your soul.

(all laughing) - I'm in my man cave today.

- I know, you ain't next to me, man.

I got a bunch of these plumbers over here.

(all laughing) - I think the more apropos term is pipe layers.

(all laughing) - If you put it that way, brother.

(all laughing) - Hey y'all, let's have some fun.

Here we go, Alfred.

Here we go.

One.

Two.

One, two, three, four.

(gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love, my love is a mountainside ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ So firm, so firm it can calm the tide ♪ ♪ My love for you is a mountainside ♪ ♪ It stands so firm it can calm a tide ♪ ♪ That's why my love ♪ My love is a mountainside (gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love, my love is an ocean's roar ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ So strong, so strong that I can't let you go ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love for you is an ocean's roar ♪ ♪ It's grown so strong that I can't let you go ♪ ♪ That's why my love ♪ My love is an ocean's roar (gentle upbeat music) - Kyle, when you come in on that solo, the last thing she says is, "My love is like an ocean's roar."

So it should be a really bold solo.

And feel free to roar, you know.

All right.

- A little bigger.

- Okay.

- That's kinda hard to do in eight bars.

- Well, it's like a squall that comes up quickly, you know.

(gentle upbeat music) - I don't know why you won't just give him a 16 bar solo so he can really give you what you're looking for.

- Okay.

- Where's my friend?

- I'm over here.

Yeah that sounds good.

- Would that let you work out what you want to work out, Boo?

- That sounds good to me.

- Hey.

Change that solo to a 16 bar solo.

(gentle music) And let him work his stuff.

I know he got it in him, so let him do what he can do.

(upbeat piano music) ♪ My love is stronger than forever ♪ ♪ An endless law of time (upbeat music) ♪ 'Til 99 years and forever ♪ In my heart you will still be mine ♪ ♪ 'Cause my love, my love is a deep blue sea ♪ (upbeat music) I like what you did, Kyle.

- Thank you, thank you.

- See when I let you go and be yourself it makes a big difference.

I don't want you concentrate on me, concentrate on what you want to do.

Be you.

- Take no piano lessons.

(all laughing) - It shows that your parents' money paid off, that's all its doing.

I don't believe in holding musicians back, I really don't.

- That's why you call the people you call, to let 'em be them.

- Let 'em be themselves.

We're supposed to all be having a good time.

You know, don't be concentrating trying to, "Well let me get Miss Irma back in."

No.

Do your do, and Miss Irma gonna figure it out.

(gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love, my love, my love is a deep blue sea ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love, my love is a mountainside ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love, my love, my love, it's an ocean's roar ♪ (gentle upbeat music) ♪ My love ♪ My love is a mountainside (gentle upbeat music) - I lived in Tremé on a street called Liberty.

And on the right side of my house they had a bar room.

It was called Big Mary's.

And during the evening time, the guy that would do the cleaning, the janitor, he would have the doors open and have the jukebox blasting, you know.

And you could hear Irma Thomas songs.

♪ It's raining so hard ♪ Look like it's going to rain all day ♪ You know, stuff like that.

(audience applauding) (gentle music) - My first experiences with Irma I was very young, like 11-years-old maybe.

And there was a place two blocks from here called Germania Hall, and she used to play there a lot back in 1961, 1962, 1963.

♪ You can blame me (gentle music) ♪ Try to shame me ♪ And still I'll care for you (gentle music) - For 25 cents, I got to go in there and hear Irma Thomas play with Tommy Ridgley and The Untouchables or Deacon John and the Ivories and she would be the guest star.

♪ Still I'll be there for you - Of course everyone took a liking to Irma 'cause not only were the tunes good and not only did she sing good, but she was a pretty young lady, and she had a beautiful stage presence.

♪ They can't see you - Very surrendering and just like giving it up.

You knew she was coming from deep within, you know.

Wasn't nothing superficial or shallow, I could tell, at that age, I could tell, this is deep, man.

You know, I didn't know it, I felt it.

♪ They'll understand (gentle music) ♪ I feel so sorry ♪ For the ones who pity me (gentle music) ♪ 'Cause they just don't know ♪ No, they don't know what happiness or true love can be ♪ (gentle music) (camera shutter clicking) - Would it be okay to get a couple where you kinda not full on singing out here but I kinda wanna see something with you like, getting into singing while I'm shooting.

- I think you asked me that when we were in the studio, didn't you?

- I did.

(both laughing) I liked the look.

I mean, it's nice to me.

- What you want me to do?

Just sing, while you taking a picture?

Oh.

Now he tells me.

- That's it, you know, just if were sitting there, even like warming up.

- I don't warm up, I just sing.

- Okay.

Get you're camera ready.

- I'm ready.

- Why don't you sing something that you sang on the record.

- Yeah like I'm supposed to remember that now with no lead sheet, huh?

- Okay, all right.

(all laughing) - The man who told me I sound nice.

(Irma laughing) Remember he said that, when I got through one, he said, "Ooh Irma that sounds nice."

(both laughing) - I'll never make that mistake again.

♪ Our day will come ♪ And we'll have everything ♪ We'll share the joy ♪ Falling in love will bring ♪ No words can tell me that I'm too young to know ♪ ♪ I love you so ♪ Our day will come - That's beautiful.

- If you didn't get it in that you won't get it.

(all laughing) - Just a couple more real relaxed, looking straight into the camera again.

Almost no expression.

Yeah that's great.

(gentle music) ♪ Our day will come ♪ When we'll have everything (gentle music) ♪ We'll share the joy ♪ Falling in love can bring ♪ No one can tell me that I'm too young to know ♪ ♪ I love you so (gentle music) ♪ And you love me (gentle music) I always choose songs that have good storylines.

And on this particular session, they all had great storylines.

May not have been something I would do or say, personally but, you don't look at it always from a personal standpoint.

You're telling a story and you want it to believable.

So you have to picture yourself, what would you do if you were in that position.

And since I've been around, since Mud, I've had a lot of life and living under my belt, so it's not hard for me to put myself in a lot of those positions.

(gentle piano music) ♪ Our dreams have magic because ♪ ♪ We will always stay in love this way ♪ ♪ And our day will come (gentle piano music) ♪ Our day ♪ Will come (gentle piano music) ♪ It's too late, he's gone (gentle music) ♪ It's too late ♪ My baby's gone (gentle music) ♪ Wish I had told him he was my only one ♪ ♪ But it's too late ♪ He's gone (people speaking indistinctly) - So as we celebrate the life of our brother, Alfred Uganda Roberts, we pay tribute from our ancient African ancestors.

And we pay tribute with the Tremé Brass Band.

So we are here today celebrating a life well-lived.

I always pray in my libations that we leave a path worthy of following.

(audience applauding) (gentle upbeat brass band music) (singing indistinctly) (gentle upbeat brass band music) (audience applauding) (birds chirping) - When I grew up, New Orleans was kind of slow.

The wages were real low.

People was working for like 75 cents, a dollar, dollar and a quarter an hour.

It was very hard for people to support their family, like a family with five or six, seven kids was scuffling, trying to make ends meet.

(gentle music) The brass band music would always come through the neighborhood.

Sometimes, once or twice a week we'd be in school.

They might have a jazz funeral pass by our school.

The teacher would let us go to the window and check the jazz funeral out.

That neighborhood where I was born, at that time it was called the Sixth Ward.

Now they changed the neighborhood to the Tremé.

Bunch of musicians lived in that neighborhood.

Not only that my father, my brother, uncles, they was all musicians.

I always wanted to be a part of the brass band music.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) Mr. Harold Dejan, leader of the Olympia Brass Band would always come to Tremé and get some of the guys, the younger guys out the neighborhood and try to teach them the music.

So the ones that knew a little bit about the music he would put them in his band, let them play one of those small jobs with him so that they get that music in their system.

Onward Brass Band, The Eureka Brass Band, Olympia Brass Band, The Tuxedo Brass Band, The Majestic Brass Band, they was the oldest bands providing the traditional music on the street during them times.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) The Olympia Brass Band was one of the first brass bands I started playing with.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) My Uncle, Uncle Lionel of the Batiste fam, they had a band called the Dirty Dozen Kazoo Band.

They would go through the neighborhood playing kazoos, the ukuleles, the banjos and all that there.

I married into the family.

I married Uncle Lionel's niece.

And so many years I played with that band, I said well, they need a brass band.

So I got with Charles Joseph and Kirk Joseph, Cyrille Salvant, Andrew Green and a couple of other guys.

We formed a band called the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

(upbeat brass band music) (people speaking indistinctly) (upbeat brass band music) ♪ Sitting down eating an apple one day ♪ ♪ Under the apple tree (upbeat brass band music) ♪ Apple tasted so good to me ♪ I ate up the apple tree (upbeat brass band music) ♪ See about me ♪ Come see about me ♪ See about me ♪ Come see about me ♪ Come on see about me baby ♪ Come see about me (upbeat brass band music) ♪ I ate up the apple tree (upbeat brass band music) - When I was with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, I was driving for Fiske Electrical Company.

We start playing on a Monday night, we start at 10 o'clock wind up about one, 1:30, 2 o'clock in the morning.

Time I get home it's 2:30.

So I have to come home take a shower, lay down, get me a couple hours of sleep.

'Cause I had to be to work for about 7 o'clock.

Round lunch time or so I go somewhere and find me a tree.

Get a little rest, sleep about half an hour.

Give me a call on my radio they say, "Benny, go here, pick up this, Benny go there."

I say, okay.

I might be on the road about to rest up.

(laughing) All of my kids were young, and so I would always make sure to go to work and have money to bring home to support my family.

So I didn't worry about them long hours.

'Cause you know I was used to that.

I started Tremé Brass Band after I had another band I played with, The Chosen Few Brass Band with Tuba Fats and I.

What happened, Tuba Fats was still part of The Olympia Brass Band.

Well I decided, I said well, it's time for me to start my own band where I can move around like I want.

So I decided to start the Treme Brass Band.

- Play it again.

Play it again.

(gentle brass band music) That's the five chord right there.

Five chord right there.

- Y'all ready?

- The drummer, he always set the tempo of the music.

He's the heartbeat of the band.

He's like the time clock.

Wherever the music starts they gotta keep it right there with the drummer.

(gentle upbeat music) What made me start playing bass drum in this band was Uncle Lionel passed away.

So I decided I'd start back playing bass drum again like I used to with the Dirty Dozen.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) ♪ Oh don't forget our Monday date ♪ ♪ Monday date ♪ That you promised me Tuesday (gentle upbeat brass band music) ♪ Oh don't forget and don't be late ♪ ♪ Don't be late ♪ I'll be there come noon day - I been knowing John Gilbert for many years.

He went to school with my kids.

He was with The Rebirth for many years.

♪ Step back baby ♪ Look you in your eyes - Lately since he got in my band I decided to let him start singing.

♪ Monday date ♪ Monday date - He's doing a great job.

♪ That you promised me ♪ Tuesday (gentle upbeat brass band music) - It was just one freak day, I was just practicing in Lehman Park.

I'll never forget this, Keith Anderson, Wolf, played trombone, came up to me and said, "Man why don't you come go with me."

I said, where we going?

And he said, "I'm going to this gig, man.

"Come on, man.

"If they heard you they going to want you in the band."

I said, okay, come on let's go.

It wasn't The Rebirth then.

It was The Group.

That's the name of the band.

It went from there.

I said, hell with it.

I'm a stick with the music.

(whistle blowing) (crowd cheering) (upbeat brass band music) (crowd cheering) (upbeat brass band music) (crowd cheering) Trust me, over the years, I've been on a rollercoaster ride.

Up and down, up and down.

And I've been to some places looked like paradise.

Where I wanted to take my passport and just throw it away.

And don't come back.

Yeah, I been to some places like that.

I remember the first time though, I had butterflies.

That what you want to call it, butterflies.

I was with The Rebirth.

And it's the first time we ever played in front of that many people.

It was New Year's Eve.

We was bringing in New Year's in Oakland, California.

We was the opening act for The Grateful Dead.

Just imagine.

I go out there on the stage, and I see all these people.

As far as you can see with people.

I caught myself wanting to be a little bit too free.

Ran out there jumped like that.

I just fell in the crowd.

They caught me.

And they passed me all the way.

I was way down there.

I said, oh Lord, bring me back to the stage.

It was amazing.

That was the most, weirdest experience I ever had.

As far as brass bands, musicians come and go.

It's like a bus.

You miss one you catch the next one coming.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) But everyone highly respects Mr. Benny Jones.

He put the band together.

He have seven other different personalities, he has to deal with.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) He's just like a father figure to everybody, you know.

We all knew him, growed up around him.

He was like a magnet.

You're all drawn to him.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) One of the nicest gentlemen I ever known.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) - The neighborhood changed.

After Hurricane Katrina, people who were living there, they were renting property.

The people who had money, they're buying property in the Tremé.

The rent done went up, so it's so sky high, the people who want to come back can't afford the property.

Bunch of musicians is back now, but they live in different areas, they live in different neighborhoods now.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) Years ago all types of musicians lived in that neighborhood.

It's not that no more.

It's all gone, it's gone.

When I moved in the neighborhood, you know, it was built about music and the culture.

The music going to survive, wherever they live or whoever band they play with, the music going to still survive.

Only way the music going to survive in the Tremé is, they start bringing live entertainment back in the neighborhood.

That's why we try to keep as much music as we can in The Candlelight.

Hold that name up.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) When I play in the club, when I see people dancing, see a smile on their face, it makes my work much easier.

When people just sitting down looking at you, stare in your face, don't move.

I kind of figure, I say, maybe they don't like our music.

Our music don't move 'em.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) What makes a good song, the tempo and the sound.

♪ Hey you ♪ Hey you - And make people feel your music.

Whatever song it is, make them feel it.

You can tell if they feel it, if they dance to your music.

Always a party in New Orleans.

♪ I want my money back ♪ Mother sucker ♪ Say you playing games, you're running around ♪ ♪ You ain't going nowhere ♪ 'Cause you rob and steal ♪ Get yourself killed for a $50 bill ♪ (gentle upbeat brass band music) - Playing music is like a rehearsal for me.

Keeps me in shape, you know.

That's my enjoyment.

♪ Money, money, money ♪ Money, money ♪ Money, money, money ♪ Money, money, money, money ♪ I want my ♪ Money, money - I'm a semi-retired truck driver.

So when I quit driving truck I decided I wanted to play music the rest of my life.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) If I have to do five, six nights a week I don't mind, 'cause playing music makes other people happy.

That will keep me going.

That's my enjoyment.

(gentle upbeat brass band music) (audience cheering) Thank you, thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.

We gonna take a short break.

We'll be back with more music.

We have some beans and rice over there.

If you haven't gotten any, get you some.

(audience cheering) (birds chirping) - Other words, it's taken me a long time, you know, for The Good Lord to pull me through it, and for me to really get it all together.

But I always loved the Blues, and the Blues was in me.

And I kept on 'til I was able to express it.

(gentle blues music) You know, like only thing about music, we never finish learning.

(gentle blues music) So every day or every night I learn something different.

(gentle blues music) But if I don't write it down I forget it.

(gentle blues music) And sometimes I can be riding my two-wheel Cadillac and just feel it into my mind and say, that's it.

(gentle blues music) And I have to hurry up and come here and write it down.

If I don't, it's gone.

(gentle blues music) ♪ Turn your radio on early in the morning ♪ (gentle blues music) ♪ All you hear is bad, bad news ♪ (gentle blues music) ♪ Turn your radio on early in the morning ♪ (gentle blues music) ♪ All you hear is bad, bad, bad news ♪ (gentle blues music) ♪ Yeah you know my momma said to me ♪ (gentle blues music) ♪ Son, the same thing is happening to me ♪ (gentle blues music) That Mississippi blues is there.

This little piece of leather with the Blues in it, but I happened to come to New Orleans to cut it here.

(gentle blues music) My dad and them used to talk about how they hobo'd the train.

Him and Uncle Babe Stovall and them.

Didn't have no money and they would hobo the train.

(train engine revving) I said my dad and them did it, Uncle Babe and them did it, why I can't do it?

So I said alright, I'm going to come on down.

Wow, this is a wonderful place here.

The clothing store right here.

The grocery store right here.

I mean everything is so convenient, you know, right in your mouth.

In my home town, McComb, Mississippi I had to walk seven miles to get to a store.

I said this is the place for me.

I just love every bit of everything.

(gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ When you see me coming (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ I got a pocket full of money (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ When you see me coming ♪ I got a pocket full of money (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Well if you let me come inside ♪ (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Little girl, you can get it all ♪ (gentle upbeat blues music) - Where you at Pop?

(laughing) He'll always have that cigarette.

Where you at Daddy-O?

- Pretty good.

How you feeling?

- They wore you out, dude?

- Oh no, I'm still hanging in there.

- I bought you something for Mardi Gras, Freddie.

- Oh boy.

Doctor Bones.

Now that'll get it.

Man, thanks a million.

- It's a pin, yeah.

There you go.

There.

All right, ooh, ooh.

- Thanks a million.

That'll get it from a cooter and he close up on both ends.

- Now look if the guitar strap bothers you.

- No, the strap goes on this side.

- Okay well, okay.

(gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Well I'm going upstairs (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Bring down all my clothes (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Hey, I'm going upstairs (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Bring down all my clothes (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ And my momma dead and gone (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ And my pa don't want me hanging around no more ♪ (gentle upbeat blues music) - When I met Freddie he was rebuilding alternators up at a place across from the Superdome, man.

Playing Jazz Festival once a year and that's about it, man.

Freddie's wife didn't want Freddie to be playing.

Didn't want no company or nothing.

When they asked me to practice with them where he was at the garage, I told him that I worked at bar here in the 9th Ward.

That we could practice at the bar and maybe, you know, they would put a tip jar out and maybe the boss would throw us a couple dollars, there would be some folks dancing.

(gentle upbeat blues music) So we started playing down here.

(gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ Well I done got old (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ And you don't want no man hanging around no more ♪ (gentle upbeat blues music) - And you know Wade really took things under his wing, man.

He's the cat that has single handedly managed this band and got it to where it's gone and you know, taking Freddie to a gazillion doctor's appointments and a gazillion interviews.

And he's the cat that really keeps this thing going.

- When she shot you, you were married to her.

- No, no I got it wrong there.

I got married in 1982.

- But I mean, that was before you got shot.

'Cause the judge said if she takes care of you he won't put her in jail.

- Exactly, won't put her back in the penitentiary.

- But you were married to Amy.

- We was common law.

- Freddie's a good music guy.

He can put chords, he can put different sounds on you.

And all his stories are about personal experiences, that's what's funny.

(gentle blues music) - And see what happened, but I would get too loaded at times.

See I had a big flower vase.

And I would take it and hide my 357 Magnum down in that flower vase.

And my wife Amy she found out where I was hiding it, and that's how I got shot all up.

But I had been the Jazz Fest office and picked my check up and I paid my bills, you know.

When I pay my bills he'd give me a fifth.

So I grabbed that fifth and hit a few licks out of it.

(gentle blues music) ♪ Yeah, you a mean little woman ♪ (gentle blues music) ♪ Meanest thing that I ever seen ♪ (gentle blues music) I thought it was a friend of mine, Joe, he was sitting there with his woman, I guess he thought I was going to tell his wife.

♪ Yeah, you's a mean little woman ♪ So he gets up and he calls his wife down there.

He said, "Tell Amy, better come on out here "and catch her husband.

"He gotta a ass pocket of money.

"Say he buying everybody drinks, all these women out here."

♪ Yes, and you don't change your ways to be a better woman ♪ Wasn't no women there.

(gentle blues music) ♪ Yeah, won't you try for me So, to show you how the devil works things, I hadn't bought nobody nothing and I hadn't talked to no women at all, period.

Frances popped up there, "Mr. Freddie, "would you buy me a beer?"

So I whirl around and goes back to the bar there and get her a beer.

My wife tapped me on the back.

And when I wheeled around, she stabbed me with that great big knife.

(gentle blues music) Blood was skeeting, I was bleeding like a hog, man.

I reached into my pocket and grabbed my big Texas jack and opened it up.

I said now I'm going to put it right back on you.

And when I swung to stab her back she ducked.

(laughing) And the knife went into the wall.

And I'm tugging down to get the knife out the wall.

And she ran home.

I snatched the whole screen door off.

Then I took it and bam, kicked the hard door in.

♪ Yeah, you's a mean little woman ♪ And when I kicked that hard door in all I hear was, boom, boom, boom.

♪ That I ever seen And it blowed me clean out the door on the sidewalk here.

And that's where the paramedics come pick me up.

♪ Yeah, you's a mean little woman ♪ (gentle blues music) Right there.

♪ Meanest thing that I ever seen ♪ - So you married her after that or before that?

- After that.

After all that and everything.

'Cause we had been together about 29 years.

(gentle blues music) ♪ Yes, I'm gonna walk off and leave you all alone ♪ (car engines revving) (upbeat blues music) The younger race, they don't know what the blues is because they didn't live the blues and they didn't go through hard tribulation and hard times.

You work so hard, a whole year and you don't get no money for it.

You don't get paid for it.

Then you go out there, you ain't got decent clothes to wear.

You got a pair a shoes, you wear 'em, go have holes in 'em.

♪ Oh baby don't you know Got holes in your shoes then you got a get a piece of cardboard to put in it and try to keep the rocks from getting in your shoes.

They didn't have hard times for the blues to set in their system.

They enjoy and the love it but they can't reach it because they didn't go through that same process.

♪ Won't you come on home (upbeat blues music) If they'd a went through it, then they'd understand and realize what it's all about.

(upbeat blues music) They know it's real real blues, and it's such a thrill.

They still don't understand it.

If they'd a went through it, it all would be there.

♪ Oh baby can you leave (upbeat blues music) - Freddie had made an album in 1970.

An LP with Harmonica Williams, one of his friends that came from Mississippi.

These two white dudes, that went to Tulane and all, they wanted to record these guys.

And they hung a mic from the ceiling.

And they put plywood to absorb some of the sound.

And they came near three o'clock in the morning.

They were all loaded.

They started playing.

And they did an album.

We played Utrecht, in the Netherlands.

One of the biggest Blues festivals for artists that weren't famous, like all these underbelly guys, that supported like Howlin' Wolf and all, you know.

And we walked on the stage it was packed.

They had been waiting for this guy, and I couldn't believe it.

(gentle upbeat blues music) This underground European blues scene knew Freddie King.

(gentle upbeat blues music) And they had the album from 1970.

And I didn't even know he made the album.

(gentle upbeat blues music) I said, how you got that album?

He said, "Oh man, $240 dollars."

$240 for the one album.

They considered it raw blues, the rawest you can get, of these guys just letting out their feelings, you know, without any technical instrumentation anything, they just winging it.

(gentle upbeat blues music) (laughing) It's the rawest thing on earth, man.

But Europe loved it.

(gentle upbeat blues music) And so that one concert there at Utrecht in the Netherlands, other promoters came and all the sudden we were working all over Europe, you know, Portugal, Spain, London.

We went to Switzerland about four times.

We went to Budapest, Hungary for a big jazz festival.

(gentle upbeat blues music) (audience cheering) - Little Freddie King, ladies and gentlemen.

- But that was 15, 20 years ago.

See now we up in age and we don't really feel like fooling with that no more.

(laughing) (gentle upbeat blues music) (people speaking indistinctly) (gentle upbeat blues music) - We were coming back from France one time, had some horrendous storms, anyway they bumped us up to first class so.

I'm sitting there with Freddie and man, in first class you could listen to people like Little Walter and Howlin' Wolf.

You know, and I'm sitting there with Freddie.

And I'm saying, hey Freddie, did you imagine 50 years ago that the rich folks would be sitting here listening to Wolf.

And people like this in first class paying like $5,000 for one of these tickets to fly from Paris to New York.

And here we is.

You've got your Coca Cola no ice.

I've got my Bordeaux wine.

Man, this is fat living, you know.

And good old Brother Wade, by the time we got off that flight he had all them flight attendants wearing Little Freddie King band T-Shirts over their uniforms, you know.

Freddie was giving them all pictures and signing things.

It was pretty badass, man.

(gentle upbeat blues music) Yeah, it's gotta be a trip.

(gentle upbeat music) - Yeah oh.

You know I hope that some of the younger people do latch into it you know and play the real old roots, the real old blues.

It's better than any dose of medicine that any doctor can write you a prescription for.

It just thrill you and have goose pimples on you.

And it's nothing feel like that when the spirit hits you.

(upbeat blues music) ♪ Well I'm going home ♪ To live with Jesus ♪ Since I lay my burden down low ♪ ♪ Burden down low (gentle upbeat blues music) ♪ I'm gonna tell him ♪ How you treated me ♪ Since I lay my burden down, Lord ♪ ♪ Burden down, Lord (gentle upbeat blues music) (birds chirping) (gentle music) (police sirens blaring) (gentle music) (birds chirping) (gentle music) (bike tires whirring) (upbeat brass band music) (people speaking indistinctly) (gentle upbeat brass band music) - Jason started playing with me when he was about 13.

So I was able to sort of coach him.

And Jason was able to progress because of being on that bandstand.

How much he thought about that as being taught, I don't know.

We never discussed that.

(gentle upbeat music) (audience cheering) - In recent years my father and I had done a few things with vibes and piano but it wasn't a lot.

We would informally get together say, like there was a Christmas show we would do at our neighborhood church.

I might sit in on one gig, if I happened to be on the same bill.

But it hadn't happened a lot.

And so when my father told me he was contacted about making a record, I told my father, man, we outta do vibes and piano.

And he said, "Yeah that's great."

- So what are we doing?

- So, Marley and I will play a rhythm and I'll be talking to you like, okay you can just play chords right now.

- When you say chords, what?

- Well in the beginning, you know, just like some chords you know.

Things like.

(gentle music) Yeah, just that.

Wherever it goes.

(gentle upbeat music) Yeah, something like that.

- Okay.

(gentle upbeat music) I kind of deferred a lot to Jason for this recording.

'Cause Jason spent a lot of time going through a lot of old music sheets of mine, some I hadn't played in 40 years.

(gentle upbeat music) - When I was a kid I was going through my father's records and found this box set with this pink cover on it, like dark pink cover on it.

And I see these photos and I was like, wow, there's Dad.

But I was shocked because Dad was really young.

(gentle upbeat music) I put the music on and from the first notes, I was just blown away like, man what is this?

(gentle upbeat music) All of a sudden I'm hearing these odd metered structures.

Things that was very ahead of its time.

- John Coltrane came to New Orleans and he came out to the club that my quartet was playing and he heard us.

This was sometime in the '50s, and we were doing some mixed meter stuff that James Black wrote.

Some in five, four and three and what have you.

So that was really impressive to him.

So I told him, man we do that kind of stuff all the time.

(gentle upbeat music) - So what do you want to do next?

- You know what I'd like to try?

I'd like to try Magnolia Triangle.

- Oh, okay.

- Yeah, if we can do it.

But I just gotta make sure I'm playing the turnaround right.

(gentle upbeat music) See.

Yeah.

(gentle upbeat music) Oh, oh.

(gentle upbeat music) Yeah.

(gentle upbeat music) (Ellis singing) (gentle upbeat music) Oh.

- That.

(gentle upbeat music) That is it.

- Yeah.

- That's the tempo you want?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

(gentle upbeat music) - The musical dynamic with my father and I is really interesting because I've played drums with him for so long, there's a connection that's there.

With the vibes some of those things still come through, 'cause I know his playing very well.

- From very very young years there were very few things that Jason heard that he didn't have an appreciation for.

(gentle upbeat music) - Oh there was an interesting moment at FSU.

You know these different combos that we were working with.

One of the tunes that was put down was Knozz Moe King.

- Oh yeah, okay.

- Well we were kind of suspicious, we were kinda suspicious, but we said you know what, we going to show them the real deal, how this tune really is.

Basically the new version is when Wynton sets up.

♪ Bee doop be doo dee no And they go into this chord progression.

And there's chords.

And then Wynton.

♪ Ba dey ba dey ba da, da ba boo dey bo dey ♪ And they stop, and then sometimes he'll play it fast.

(both humming) At that point he would just play the riff and they would just go.

But the original is a composition.

You know it's a whole composition.

So we're showing them the way it starts, and the fermatas you gotta use, and all the different parts.

So, man when we got through you could see dudes where getting exhausted.

They were getting flustered and freaking out like, "What the hell?"

Like, look man, this tune is a concept.

This is a conception.

This isn't like a head chart.

This isn't like playing, "Just Friends" or something.

- Yeah but the thing about it is, you can't really show somebody something that's conceptualized, that's going to override what they've been conditioned to already play.

I remember when I was in the military they had this brother, he would come over to the band room with me and Smitty.

And he'd say, "Man, look, all I want you to do "is to teach me how to play them runs "that Charlie Parker played."

(laughing) (gentle upbeat music) And I'm saying, no Ricky, you can't do it like that.

- Right.

(gentle upbeat music) (birds chirping) - Now we do.

♪ Da, da, da, pam, pa And again.

♪ Ba, ba - Yeah, two times.

And then.

(both humming) - Okay.

- Yeah.

(gentle upbeat music) - All right.

- All right.

- Can we do a portrait, 'cause we got our photographer here, with the two of you guys?

- Yeah.

- Before he goes.

(Jason whistling) (gentle upbeat music) - I was playing with Chico O'Farrill.

Because I had done a couple of them little montuno-like things.

He introduced me as Ellis Morales.

- Oh.

(both laughing) Wow.

- Yeah, that was funny, man.

- Just get a few of these guys.

All right cool, thank you.

- All right.

- My next life that's what I'm gonna do, be a photographer.

- Hello Paw Paw.

- Hello Marley.

- We never had a family band.

(gentle piano music) The most that we played together was a tour in the '90s or something.

But that was the closest we ever came to having a family band.

I never wanted a family band.

I remember once I had a trio in Japan and Wynton had his group, they were in Japan at the same time.

So the Japanese they're really big on like, family.

Wynton and I were asked to do an interview since it was father and son.

His first question was, "Well why is it your father's not in the same band "that you have?"

I said, I'll answer that.

First of all, for me to be in Wynton's band is to date it, because what I learned was much earlier and Wynton is still in a state of evolution.

At the same time I was still teaching.

I just happened to pick up this gig, but it wasn't like a career.

- So what are we doing?

- All right so this is a improvised thing just based of off F7.

- The Disciplines are these tunes that I've done on a few of my albums over the years.

I would play a track, and play another, another, another.

And then layer all these things together.

- Either C or F. You know, let's just do F. So I might just say start with that.

(gentle piano music) Yeah, basically.

- For this session I had this idea to do something with my father.

- Can you hear me, Dad?

- Yeah.

- Okay, cool.

Did you hear Dad?

- Yeah.

- My eldest daughter, Marley.

- I'll start it off and then you come in.

One, two, three.

- She's been playing piano.

You know it's good to get her involved.

And I thought about it and I said you know, there's this Discipline thing.

It'd be good to have Marley a part of that.

(upbeat music) - It was all the same to me, to be honest.

There was no such thing as teaching over there and playing over here.

It was all experimental.

(upbeat music) It was interesting.

Somebody asked two of my sons, Delfeayo and Jason, about me.

Which of the two, teacher or player?

Delfeayo said he thought of me more so as a player.

Jason did more so as a teacher.

'Cause Jason was younger than Delfeayo.

And when he came along the teaching aspect was probably more pronounced in his vision.

(upbeat music) - All right, I mean, you still need to hear it.

- Yeah.

- You can adjust it however you want.

(upbeat music) Go on to the next track.

(upbeat music) All right I'll let Mommy know what we're doing.

- Okay.

And I'm going to put some things on vibes.

- Okay.

(audience cheering) - So, we're gonna bring up the gentleman that held down the fort, on this night, for many years, and a lot of different musicians came through.

We're gonna do some duets for you now.

Please welcome, Mr. Ellis Marsalis.

(audience cheering) (gentle music) - What I didn't know at the time was that, that was gonna be his last session.

And one of the last times that we would play together.

I'm just grateful that, that was one combination that was recorded.

'Cause he's recorded with all of his sons, and with me on drums.

But that was the first time that we did a full record with piano and vibes.

(gentle music) I'm just blessed that we were able to do that before he passed on.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues)