The pilot episode introduces us to the ensemble of characters whose lives the series follows. The musicians in that ensemble include the eternally short of money trombonist Antoine Batiste, played by Wendell Pierce; deejay, gadfly and occasional musician Davis McAlary, played by Steve Zahn; deadly serious 'Big Chief' Albert Lambreaux, a Mardi Gras Indian, played by Clarke Peters; the chief's expatriate son, trumpeter Delmond Lambreaux, played by Rob Brown; cynical street musician Sonny, played by Michiel Huisman; and his considerably more talented girlfriend, the classically trained violinist Annie, played by real-life violinist Lucia Micarelli. These characters mix it up with real New Orleans musicians playing themselves, who in this episode include the Treme Brass Band, the Rebirth Brass Band, trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and his band, and rock musician and Brit Elvis Costello, whose album The River In Reverse is about the hurricane and the levee break and was recorded in New Orleans (the album was co-written and produced by another famous denizen, Allen Toussaint, who appears in later episodes).
The episode's title is taken from that oft-recorded tune, Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans? – a sentimental favorite that now has an urgent poignancy since Katrina and the levee failure wiped out so much of New Orleans. It is an unconscious, wistful refrain in the hearts and souls of so many present and former New Orleansians and, as such, is a perfect musical motif for an episode about the return to a lost home and a very nearly lost city and culture. A version of the song by Fats Domino, a favorite son of New Orleans, is heard about halfway through the pilot episode. An influential figure in the history of rock 'n' roll, Domino (sometimes known as simply the Fat Man, after his first hit single) sold more records than any other black rock 'n' roll star of the 1950s. As of this writing, Fats is still around; his house got washed out during Katrina and the flood, but he's back in New Orleans now, to the relief and joy of many.
What we hear first in the episode, though, is New Orleans Hip-Hop/rap, which probably surprised viewers who expected an all-jazz playlist. The rap, Nolia Clap, shouts at us from a passing car. In fact, this episode features two rap artists: Juvenile and Mystikal.
But place of pride, however, goes to the second line, that ubiquitous street dance that is a New Orleans trademark. There are not one but two second lines in the premiere episode, and the story shows us both aspects, but in reverse – first the cheerful one, the part that pulls people out of their houses and shops into the street and makes them join in, then at the close of the pilot, the sober aspect, with musicians leading a funeral parade to the cemetery. Folklorist Nick Spitzer, an anthropology professor at Tulane University (formerly at the University of New Orleans) and host of PRI's weekly radio show American Roots, discusses the meaning and importance of the second line here in part 7 of his interview series Rebuilding the "Land of Dreams": Expressive Culture and New Orleans' Authentic Future.
John Boutte's "Treme Song," used as the series' theme song, is every bit as bouncy and infectious as a proper second line. But the best track by a hair, if you ask me, was left for the closing credits: Li'l Queenie's "My Dawlin' New Orleans." Frankly, I don't know which tune I listened to more after I watched this episode; all I know is that I played both of them to death and couldn't get enough of them for several weeks. (Be forewarned: the original version begins with a very lengthy rap section, until finally it bursts into the song proper; an edited version minus the rap was played over the closing credits of the episode. That's the one I keep on my laptop.)
Better known today by her given name, Leigh Harris no longer lives in New Orleans; as one of the many chased out by the hurricane, the flooding and the aftermath, she now resides in North Carolina. However, for a few years, she and her raw, edgy voice led the group Li'l Queenie and The Percolators, a group that definitely left its stamp on the local music scene. Two of the Percolators later went on to help form another local group, The Subdudes (we hear from them in a later episode). These days, Harris concedes that she doesn't miss the crime, the corruption, and the humidity of her former home, but she desperately misses the people and the culture. She's not alone in that.
Here's the episode's playlist, with the tracks in their order of appearance:
- An until-very-recently-unavailable version of Nolia Clap by Juvenile from the album The Beginning Of The End
- Feel Like Funkin’ It Up – Rebirth Brass Band from the album Feel Like Funkin’ It Up
- Tremé Song – John Boutté from the album Jambalaya
- It's All Over Now – Rebirth Brass Band from the album The Main Event: Live at the Maple Leaf
- Mama Roux – Dr. John from the album Voodoo Hex; also on three other albums: Next Hex – The Nashville Sessions, Gris Gris, and The Anthology
- Unrecorded version of I’ll Fly Away played by the Rebirth Brass Band
[suggestion: version by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on the album Funeral For A Friend]
- Hook And Sling – Eddie Bo and The Soul Finders from the album The Hook And Sling
- Unrecorded version of Big Chief played by Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn)
[suggestion: version by Dr. John on the album Martin Scorsese Presents Piano Blues]
- Bouncin’ Back – Mystikal from the album Tarantula
- Shake Ya Ass – Mystikal from the album Prince Of The South ... The Hits
- Solace – as practiced by Sofia Bernette during the episode
[suggestion: version by Scott Joplin via his piano rolls on the album The Entertainer]
- For Brenda – Tom McDermott from the reissued album All The Keys And Then Some
- Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans – Fats Domino from the CD boxed set They Call Me the Fat Man: The Legendary Imperial Recordings (disc 4), or the 8-CD boxed set Out Of New Orleans
- Christopher Jr. – Donald Harrison from the album Nouveau Swing
- Gatur Bait – The Gaturs from the album Wasted
- Buona Sera – Louis Prima (2002 remaster) from the album The Wildest!; also on Jump, Jive an' Wail: The Essential Louis Prima
- Somewhere Listening For My Name – Zion Harmonizers from the album Best of New Orleans Gospel
- Gardez Donc – Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers from the album Pick Up On This!
- West End Blues – Louis Armstrong, from the album The Best of The Hot 5 & Hot 7 Recordings or the album Ambassador Satch (with the All Stars); also on The Complete Hot Five And Hot Seven Recordings, Volume 3
- Whirlaway – Allen Toussaint from the album Alligator Alley
- Skokiaan – Kermit Ruffins from the album Live At Vaughan's
- Swing This – Kermit Ruffins from the album Swing This
- Tetherball – Henry Butler from the album Blues After Sunset
- Flame On – The Iguanas from the album Plastic Silver 9-Volt Heart
- Just A Closer Walk With Thee – Treme Brass Band from the album Gimme My Money Back
- My Dawlin’ New Orleans – Leigh ‘Li’l Queenie’ Harris from the EP single My Dawlin’ New Orleans
As always, your comments on any of these are most welcome.
Next: Meet De Boys On The Battlefront, Season 1 - Episode 2
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