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New Paris-Based Show About Josephine Baker Gets Raves By Chris Tyle
Barcelona, February 1 The buzz in Barcelona these days is about Spanish-language version of the hit Parisian show La Recherche de Josephine—La Revista Negre playing until February 25 at the Teatre Tivoli. The musical, which opened in Paris on November 25, ran for two months at the Opera Comique playing to sold-out audiences. The show’s musical director is pianist David Boeddinghaus, who for more than twenty years has been musical director, arranger and accompanist to New Orleans-based vocalist/bandleader Banu Gibson. Both David and Banu have appeared on the Riverwalk Jazz public radio series. While working on Bourbon Street in 2005, French showman, producer, writer and director Jerome Savary happened into the club where Gibson and Boeddinghaus were performing. Dressed eclectically in his two-tone spectator shoes, double-breasted pin-stripe suit, fedora snap-brim and ever-present scarf, his attire was the antithesis of most New Orleans tourists. Savary liked the pianist’s style and had a proposition for him. Would he be interested in coming to Paris, to help with the music for his new production? Needless to say, both Boeddinghaus and Gibson were skeptical, until Banu mentioned the meeting to her husband, Tulane University dramatics professor Buzzy Podewell. In the 1970s Podewell had been impressed by a New Orleans performance of Savary’s The Magic Circus. Banu realized it was a golden opportunity for Boeddinghaus, and urged him to accept the job.
A few months passed and I received a phone call from David, asking me if I was interested in going to Paris, to play cornet in the band for the show. As a great lover of food, wine and also a bit of a Francophile, I told him I wouldn’t mind. David explained the details: the show would be about Josephine Baker, the American black entertainer who took Paris by storm in the 1920s. There would also be a focus on New Orleans and the effects of Hurricane Katrina, and a soupcon of jazz history. I would need to fly to New Orleans in June for a rehearsal/audition. “Where do I sign?” I asked. A few weeks later I was on a plane to my adopted home, having moved back to Oregon in 2002. Once in the Crescent City, I raced from the airport to meet with David, Savary and his entourage. Amid the usual festivities, I was given the details of the following weeks' schedule. We would meet the next day at the union hall to begin rehearsals. David had assembled most of the musicians. From New Orleans, multi-bass instrumentalist Tom Saunders was on board, along with now-Los Angeles-based drummer James Alsanders. At my recommendation, David hired talented guitarist/banjoist (and bassist, although not for the show) Katie Cavera, also from LA. To round off the band for the rehearsals, David called upon the services of reed player Otis Bazoon (who, at the first rehearsal, was hired on the spot). Once in Paris, a French trombonist would join us. Long-time Banu Gibson trombonist David Sager performed with the band for the Paris run of the show. At the rehearsal we met Nicolle Rochelle, a very talented young woman who would play the part of Josephine. Playing through her songs, we all were struck by her marvelous voice and professional attitude. By mid-afternoon the musicians were sounding less like a pick-up group and more like a seasoned band, most of us having played together in various combinations over the years. Later that week we were given our schedule for rehearsals in Paris, and the summer tour of France and Spain.
Savary’s story begins in post-Katrina New Orleans, with three flood survivors picking up “Cindy” (as played by Rochelle), as scenes of the devastation from the flood are projected on a backdrop. One of the survivors, “Old Joe,” is hoping to find his sunken piano, and it’s his character that does the narration for the first part of the show. The four survivors are visited by French producer “Slap” Goldman (as played by long-time Savary associate Michel Dussarrat). What follows is a musical and danced journey through the history of jazz (albeit with Savary’s twist), wending its way from the music’s African roots into the blues, the minuet, salsa, then a contest to pick which of the singers/dancers will play the Josephine part in Goldman's show. Following this, the musical moves through a “talking drums” segment into a light-hearted Cajun dance scene. The first act closes with a New Orleans second-line leading out into the audience. Following intermission there’s a cabaret scene focusing on swing, with some brilliant tap dancing and lindy-hopping, followed by a brief boogie woogie segment (featuring Boeddinghaus) and another blues feature spotlighting actor/vocalist Jimmy Justice. A stark change features the spiritual “I’ll Overcome.” At this point the action switches to Paris, where “Cindy” assumes the Baker persona, singing several of her French hits including "J’ai Deux Amours,” “Then I’ll Be Happy,” “Who” and “C’est Lui.” Another Baker hit, “Ma Tonkinoise,” becomes an extravaganza, with a magic act (below) and a paper mache dragon overhead. The show, however, concludes on a melancholy note in New Orleans with the funeral for “Old Joe.”
Reviews of Savary’s production have been glowing, including a New York Times review. The show will return to Paris at the Opera Comique from April 27 to June 10. Vocalist/plecktrist Banu Gibson, who attended initial rehearsals in Paris during the summer, was able to join the show subbing for Katie Cavera during the ten days of performances in Barcelona. She will again sub for Cavera during the show’s last week at the Teatre Tivoli. A front page article from the January 6, 2007 New Orleans Times-Picayune “Living” section detailed Gibson’s impressions of the events leading up to the show’s Paris run. About the author: When Chris Tyle is not performing at classic jazz festivals and concerts on the cornet, clarinet and drums, he contributes historical articles for http://www.jazzstandards.com/. Unless otherwise noted, photos courtesy of the author. |
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