Dave Jordan has lived and breathed the life & blood of New Orleans music. From the funk days with Juice and many different collaborations all over the Big Easy including the legendary Maple Leaf Bar and Tipitina’s to his current project that embodies what he calls “NOLA roots rock”, Jordan delivers REAL music with a genuine feel of where he is from and what he has been through.
I met Dave back in 1998 prior to the 1st Annual HarvestFest, which really was a glorified Hootenanny in the end 😉 Live and learn I guess! Anyhoo, we share mutual close friends who introduced us, and I featured Juice as part of a 2-part New Orleans happy hour (x2!). The other part was All That. Led by Jordan and the husky voice of big man and harmonica monster, Jamie Galloway (he recently departed this world waaaaaaaaay too soon, miss him greatly), Juice rocked it that day and at the 2nd Annual HarvestFest. Relentless road warriors, they took their brand of NOLA funk around the country, developing a nationwide following. I, along with a few friends of mine, was fortunate to coordinate, produce, and shoot a live a performance of Juice in the confines of the legendary Tree Sound Studios at their pinnacle when we were trying to create a live music show for TV. Juice did a few more TDawg shows over the years but this will be the first time in a long time that I have seen Dave in person, and for him it’s a family reunion as well. The HarvestFest spirit is alive and well in the realm of TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny, and Dave embodies that energy. Below is great jam from the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco that brings out the NOLA funk of Juice on one of their originals, “Work to Do”!
Dave’s recent path hasn’t been quite as funky, but it has been equally satisfying and gratifying for him. To me, Dave is one of those persons in life that defines where his roots are as much as his roots define who he is. You’ll definitely feel that energy in his newest solo effort, “Bring Back Red Raspberry”, named after his favorite flavor at Hubig’s Pies, a New Orleans institution that burned down in July, 2012. Below is a clip of Dave Jordan & The Neighborhood Improvement Association performing at Louisiana Music Factory during JazzFest 2013.
Dave’s set will begin shortly after 5pm, the perfect cocktail hour music! Bringing together that NOLA vibe for happy hour sounds just right to me! Expect some pedal steel to ring through the air…HOOT HOOT!!!
