George Porter Jr. announced Wednesday evening about half way through his set at Lafayette Square that “this is the last day of Jazz Fest” and told the crowd that he was unplugging his bass as well as all of his electronic devices for the next four days. Which begged the question, who will be playing tonight for the weekly Trio gig at the Maple Leaf Bar?
The answer may come as a surprise since Johnny Vidacovich, the other anchor of the long-running series, is not on the gig either.
The Papa Mali Trio, featuring the sousaphonist Kirk Joseph and the drummer Eric Bolivar, will be throwing down.
Papa Mali (pictured) has been a fixture on the New Orleans music scene since his days with the reggae band, the Killer Bees. Eric Bolivar has played or currently plays with a huge range of local acts including Bonerama and Anders Osborne. Joseph needs no introduction.
Papa Mali’s profile has risen considerably in the past year of so since he has been fronting the super group 7 Walkers with Porter Jr. and Bill Kreutzmann, the legendary drummer from the Grateful Dead. He has been writing songs for the group with Robert Hunter and the longtime Dead lyricist and former writing partner of Jerry Garcia.
7 Walkers has released one album that is getting rave reviews and another is in the works. The live shows have also been over the top. I found this great audio for any readers interested in checking out the 7 Walkers in anticipation of tonight’s show.
