"America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland." -- Tennessee Williams
Bridging the gap between San Fran, NOLA and NY, The Boom Boom Room Presents out of San Francisco is celebrating its 15th year facilitating amazing shows in New Orleans. This historic club is west coast Harlem meets Southern style blues with a rich history to boot. Jazz music saw a resurgence in San Francisco during the Beatnik era and even prior to that The Boom Boom Room club owner, Zander Andreas tells me that all the cats were coming to play jazz in San Francisco.
Previously called Jacks Bar, The Boom Boom Room was established in 1932 and is the oldest jazz club West of the Mississippi. The club got its name from blues guitarist John Lee Hooker ("Boom Boom," 1962) who became a regular at the bar in 1989 when he fell in love with the Jackie Ivory Quartet who played every weekend. Andreas not only owns the club, but he also helps form super groups like Dragon Smoke (Eric Lindell, Robert Mercurio - Galactic, Stanton Moore - Galactic, Ivan Neville -- Dumpstaphunk).
"Audiences of a Boom Boom Room show are going to hear great sound. Great performances by unique configurations and collaborations and musicians, bands that are actually now official, that tour, that sell out venues across the country," says Andreas. "They have followings and fan bases. In San Francisco for example Dragon Smoke will sell out in a heartbeat."
Among The Boom Boom Room Presents shows will be the Phish after party April 26th at the Blue Nile featuring the horn driven, reggaeton, chillin vibes of the Polyrythmics + Topaz & The Golden Dawn Arkestra (named one of the top bands to see at SXSW). Plus, on deck for late night is Ronkat's (P funk Allstars), Katdelic which includes DJ Kevvy Kev (Wu Tang), Eric Bolivar (NOLA/Brooklyn's Pimps of Joytime), and none other than the Grammy nominated Ronkat Spearman himself. Dragon Smoke will play April 29th at One Eyed Jacks and The Whip (Brian J - Pimps of Joytime, Ronkat Spearman, Robert Walter - Greyboy Allstars, Robert Mecurio, Corey Henry - Galactic, and Stanton Moore) will play late night at the Blue Nile on the 29th.
"Creating new styles, new genres, new collaborations, that create new music that can change people's perspective on music in general and perhaps even the way they feel about creativity or life itself," is part of his mission, says Andreas of the super groups he has formed and hosted at The Boom Boom Room. He simply wants to help people experience music in a new way; "It's that kind of feeling can come from music that can change the way you view possibilities," Andreas elaborates.
The 15th anniversary extravaganza will culminate with the Grand Slam Funkin' Dat Hip Hop on May 1st at the Howlin' Wolf. Robert Walter's Brand New Slang (DJ Logic - Project Logic, Robert Walter - Greyboy Allstars, Brian J - Pimps of Joytime, Simon Lott - Charlie Hunter Trio, Victor Little - Booker T, Joe Cohen - Jazz Mafia, Mike Olmos - West Coast Sounds) will take the stage to open things up by covering songs from the most famous funk and soul ever sampled by hip-hop artists. From here, the appearing hip-hop masters will play 45 minute sets beginning with the live band version of their most famous track, and then rolling into a set with their own DJ. This is a flow, so from one artist's music to the next there is a continuous jam sesh including collaborations between each celebrated old school hip-hop and R&B legend. There are no set breaks, stops, or pauses, the entire show hinges on the MC's interplay. "I knew that together these musicians could make magic—and that's the idea," says Zander. Camp Lo will collaborate with The Brand New Slang before trading off with Chali2Na (Jurassic 5). Next up is Kool Kieth, Kut Master Kurt, and later NOLA's own Mannie Fresh with special guests.
The night will wrap up as all the master MCs share the stage with the band for a performance exuding brass, hip-hop, funk, soul, and blues. Plus, with Mannie Fresh in the mix, there are bound to be some surprises. From coast to coast, this is going to be a show for the record books. Once again, Jazz Fest bridges music lovers coast to coast, and The Boom Boom Room helps hit it out of the park. For more information visit Boomboomtickets.com.
