Gary Negbaur continues tour with weekend gigs
By ALAN SMASON
Like so many talented performers, Gary Negbaur has been drawn to New Orleans on many occasions. A composer, pianist and vocalist who can croon, get funky or lay down a jazz groove, Negbaur returned to the Crescent City on Tuesday to perform the first of four programs at three different venues. The first program was held at the Uptown Jewish Community Center, 5342 St. Charles Avenue, featuring songs either written about New Orleans or inspired by people who have been influenced by its charms.
Gary Negbaur performs the first of three gigs in New Orleans today at the JCC (Photo by William Bachman)
Negbaur’s show featured a crowd of about 50, mostly older, individuals, who availed themselves of a light lunch consisting of red beans and rice. The solo show ran about an hour with a cost is $3.00 for JCC members and $5.00 for the public.
The last time he played at the JCC, his repertoire was part of an all-Jewish song festival, but this time he focused more on New Orleans music and musicians than on his own religious heritage.
Negbaur speaks reverently about New Orleans music and considers the city as one of the most important influences over the past century.”Certainly, ‘The Birthplace of Jazz,’ – it has that moniker,” he notes. “But (moreso) because of that, and that so much more imbedded in that. There’s a certain kind of groove, a certain tinge, a certain feel in the rhythm and a certain kind of swing.” He admits that covers “everything written in popular music in the last 100 years, so it is pretty broad.”
Negbaur also alludes to a mystery in the music of the city veiled in the humid Southern melting pot flavored with voodoo and other Caribbean and African rhythms.
The program he planned included songs by well-known natives Louis Armstrong and Professor Longhair (Roy Byrd) as well as those who have been heavily influenced by the city such as Randy Newman and Tom Waits. Among the selections he performed was a version of “Indian Red,” a Mardi Gras Indians song held in high reverence by the many local tribes.
“One of the things I point out is that the classic songs written about New Orleans were not written by New Orleanians,” he muses. The song “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans,” for example, was written for a Hollywood film featuring Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, he explains. Yet, after its release, “It became New Orleans.”
Negbaur performs on Tuesday at the JCC (Photo by Alan Smason).
Negbaur follows up his appearance at the JCC with three additional dates later in the week as part of the Gary Negbaur Trio. His sultry vocals and piano skills will be amplified by the addition of drummer Sam Wiseman and Trey Boudreaux both nights. Two of his remaining gigs will be at the Columns Hotel, 3811 St. Charles Ave, on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. and on Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. The other trio performance will take place in the Faubourg Marigny at the Three Muses, 536 Frenchment Street, on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. and will run until 8:45 p.m., after which he and the other band members will head back to the Columns Hotel.
All of these remaining performances will give audience members a chance to hear more of Negbaur’s jazz and Great American Songbook selections.
Standards like “All of Me” and “Cabaret” from John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical of the same name are some of what Negbaur expects to share with fans at his weekend shows. The musician and songwriter is also a big fan of the Beatles and will probably include several McCartney-Lennon classics on his set lists too.
Negbaur also will add more jazz standards to his repertoire this weekend such as his own version of Duke Ellington’s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” “It’s a great tune and my take on it was I do it as a little more full of blues. Having been inspired by a recording he heard the late Ella Fitzgerald perform with Ellington, Negbaur has chosen to play the song “a little more pulled back, a little blusier and a little more slow,” he says.
The reason, he explains, is that the song is not a happy one from the narrator’s viewpoint. Negbaur says it relates to the concept of procity in the music. This is where the subtext of the words should match the subtext of the music, he avers. “It’s different and it really gets my juices flowing.”
Gary Negbaur at the piano (Photo by William Bachman)
Negbaur graduated from Harvard University with a summa cum laude music degree. He also concentrated much of his studies in Boston at the Berklee Conservatory of Music.
One of his recent projects was the creation of “Wine Lovers – the Musical,” created in partnership with director and producer Holly-Anne Ruggiero and starring Baton Rouge native and veteran stage, TV and film star Jamie Wax. Following its debut at Le Petit Theatre here three years ago, the musical comedy traveled off-Broadway and toured several cities.
“It’s kicking along. We’re on the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Norwegian Pearl,” he says. “They’re talking about expanding it to more ships.” Negbaur says he and Ruggiero are starting to work with a new agency that may help develop the show even more.
The show involves a couple meeting and falling in love at a wine tasting as they are taught about different kinds of wines by an expert played by Marx. He instructs them in the proper way to taste wine through six full glasses starting with a light Chardonnay and moving into more hearty red wines before sampling a sparkling dessert wine. For more information, Negbaur suggests clicking on the show’s website here.
Negbaur says the musical has been streamlined in recent years, but the basic premise is still the same. He is full of compliments for “Wine Lovers” star and comedian Wax. “He’s a great guy and a great boon to the show,” he brags. “It’s a great match for him because he’s able to use all of his improvisation skills. It really kind of plays to all of his talents.”
In addition to his work as a musician and composer touring the United States, Europe and Australia, Negbaur has recorded several works that emphasize the multi-talented aspects of his artistry. His solo release “Let me explain” contains all original pieces, while “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat” is full of standards culled from the Great American Songbook. “Max’s Family Band” is an album intended for children.
In addition to “Wine Lovers,” he has also written a musical titled “Librarians in Love” with Tony nominee John Cariani and has written pieces for film as well as for other performers. For more information about Negbaur, check out his website here.
