Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Glen David Andrews Roars Back with "Redemption", Jazz Fest, East and West Coast Touring. Available for Interviews This Week in New Orleans

Glen David Andrews Roars Back with Redemption
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, East and West Coast Touring
Available for Interviews this week in New Orleans


Glen David Andrews paints his testimony in a range of emotional colors — from the broken humility of a supplicant to the hard-bitten pride of a survivor — on his tough-sounding new release, “Redemption.” NEW YORK TIMES

“Onstage and off, electrifying club audiences and street scenes, speaking his mind at civic rallies, Glen David Andrews perhaps best embodies what David Simon, creator of the HBO series Treme meant when he said, 'Culture is what brought New Orleans back.'”   Wall Street Journal

In a city whose spirit world is as old as Mother Africa’s children, Glen David Andrews, a native son of New Orleans, has made a compelling case for his own deliverance. Redemption is a powerful statement that correlates his own reclaimed life to his reclaimed city. The music is about ghosts and their residual energy, about acceptance and forgiveness, about rebirth and renewal. “Every song tells a story that I hope people will relate to,” the singer, songwriter and trombonist says proudly. “Redemption is about my journey back from the living dead.” Andrews will perform all week leading up to his appearance on the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this coming Sunday, and will be available for interviews there all week. He embarks on West and East coast touring following his profile appearance. 

Song Premiere for "NY to to Nola"  - New Orleans Times Picayune

In a city whose spirit world is as old as Mother Africa’s children, Glen David Andrews, a native son of New Orleans, has made a compelling case for his own deliverance. Redemption is a powerful statement that correlates his own reclaimed life to his reclaimed city. The music is about ghosts and their residual energy, about acceptance and forgiveness, about rebirth and renewal. “Every song tells a story that I hope people will relate to,” the singer, songwriter and trombonist says proudly. “Redemption is about my journey back from the living dead.”

Louisiana Red Hot Records will release Redemption April 29th. It features Andrews's core band and a few chosen friends who've played a part in his spiritual recovery. Ivan Neville lays down gritty grooves on a humming Hammond organ and a badass clavinet, the history of modern funk percolating in his fingertips. Jamison Ross, winner of the prestigious 2012 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz competition, brings his own brand of bonhomie, singing, arranging and playing various instruments. Guitar god Anders Osborne contributes two searing solos. The album also features a surprise – a sample of the radiant voice of the Queen Mother of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson -- on a rousing version of her joyous hymn, “Didn't It Rain.”

A warrior for cultural preservation in New Orleans at a time when indigenous traditions are being threatened, Andrews is standing up for his own salvation. The centerpiece of the new album is “Surrender,” a deeply personal song about acceptance which Andrews wrote in rehab. “I woke up from a nightmare, in a cold sweat,” he recalls. “I realized that I had been given an opportunity to change my whole outlook on living.”

Andrews was born in the historic Tremé neighborhood, which many consider to be the oldest black community in the United States. Transfixed by the magic and mystery of the city's second-line parades, Andrews and his older brother, Derrick Tabb of the Rebirth Brass Band, along with their younger cousin Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, soaked up life's musical lessons by learning the history of the brass band tradition from iconic figures like Tuba Fats.  Andrews says. “Jesus was born in a manger,” Andrews says. “I was born in a second line.”

Andrew's showmanship has long endeared him to audiences on New Orleans' fabled Frenchman Street. He's also made a profound impression at the world's biggest block party – the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. “Glen is one of the giant talents of New Orleans music,” says fest producer Quint Davis.

“Life is hard,” Andrews says. “After Katrina, my Tremé will never be the same. But New Orleans culture is a permanent part of me. The gift of my sobriety is in my music now. I want to share my Tremé – my New Orleans – with the world.” 


SHOWS
Wed    Apr 30            New Orleans                The Little Gem Saloon        
Fri       May 2            New Orleans                Three Muses                    
Sun     May 4             New Orleans              Jazz Festival - Congo Square Stage
Mon    May 5             New Orleans              Louisiana Music Factory
Sat       May 10           New Orleans              Crawfish Mambo      
Sun     May 11           New Orleans              Royal Sonesta Hotel 
Tue     May 27           Berkeley, CA               Cloud 9          
Thu     May 29           Petaluma, CA             Zodiacs
Fri       May 30           San Francisco, CA      Boom Boom Room
Sat       May 31           Redway, CA                Summer Arts & Music Fest
Sun     June 1             Santa Cruz, CA           Moe's Alley    
Fri       June 6             Amangansett, NY       The Hamptons at Stephen's Talkhouse
Sun     June 8             Lancaster, NY             Marion Court Room
Wed    June 11          New York, NY             Rockwood Music Hall
Thu     June 12          Fall River, MA             Narrows Center for the Arts
Sun     June 15          Albany, NY                 Susies
Wed    June 18          New York, NY             Rockwood Music Hall
Fri       June 20          Somerville, MA           Johnny D's    
Sat       June 21          Ashfield, MA               The Inn at Norton Hill
Sun     June 22          Worcester, MA           Canal District
Wed    June 25          New York, NY             Rockwood Music Hall
Sun     Sept 13           Biloxi, MI                    Seafood Festival


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