West Side Story
A quarantine project turned oral history collection, coming soon to the West Baton Rouge Museum
A month into the “new normal” of isolation this spring, Founder of the River Road African American Museum and current Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum Kathe Hambrick pulled out her record collection. “I was just going crazy,” she said. “And it just happens that Bill Summers, Leo Nocentelli, and Don Vappie were some of the music I was listening to.”
Close friends with all of them, Hambrick met these Louisiana music legends while curating the Rural Roots of Jazz exhibit, which has been on display at the River Road African American Museum for fifteen years. “I called them on the phone just to see how they were doing,” Hambrick said. The cancellation of Jazz Fest had just been announced; devastating news for most Louisiana musicians. She was happy to learn that her friends were healthy and doing as well as could be expected, and eventually the conversation drifted to their family ties in the Donaldsonville area. “I told them, ‘Hold on, wait a minute. Let’s see if I can get a videographer. We’ve gotta figure out how to social distance, so I can capture this interview on video.’”
“We’re not talking about Cajun music in Lafayette, we’re not talking about the blues of Mississippi, we’re not talking about the jazz of New Orleans,” Hambrick explained. “We’re talking about those musicians living today in the rural parishes on the west bank of the river, who have roots tied to the river parishes.”
In no time, Hambrick had secured a videographer from the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, who agreed to collaborate with her on the project.
In the oral history interviews, collectively titled “The Rural Roots of Jazz,” and available for free on YouTube, Bill Summers, Don Vappie, Marshall Cooper, Leo Nocentelli, and other musical icons from the west side of the Mississippi tell stories of their childhoods, families, early music careers, and more. Despite the social distance, the conversations are intimate and touch on everything from preparation of family meals to facing racial tensions to childhood hijinks. Off to an auspicious start, the “Rural Roots of Jazz” online interviews will now expand to encompass the “Rural Roots of Music,” in collaboration with the West Baton Rouge Museum: including artists from country, Cajun, blues, and bluegrass genres, in addition to jazz. “We’re not talking about Cajun music in Lafayette, we’re not talking about the blues of Mississippi, we’re not talking about the jazz of New Orleans,” Hambrick explained. “We’re talking about those musicians living today in the rural parishes on the west bank of the river, who have roots tied to the river parishes.”
[Read this: Composer Courtney Bryan adds New Orleans flair to musical accolades.]
Hambrick sought a way for the two museums on the west side of the river to collaborate. The bridge, it turns out, is music: “There’s all this music between us,” Hambrick explained. According to Director of the West Baton Rouge Museum Angélique Bergeron, the “Rural Roots of Music” interview series will be released ahead of Sugar Fest, which will take place virtually this year on October 3 and 4, featuring more long-form interviews and music sets. The comprehensive “Rural Roots of Music” oral history collection will undoubtedly continue to serve as a valuable contribution to Louisiana’s music history archives for generations to come. “It was really a result of me being quarantined and pulling out old record albums and just calling a few friends,” Hambrick said. “That’s how it all started.”
Search “Rural Roots of Jazz” on YouTube to watch the interviews, and keep up with the museums’ websites for more information on the “Rural Roots of Music” interviews as they unfold: