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HEART SONG: A Portrait of Aaron Neville
By James Michalopoulos
Beyond his still sought-out early work, Aaron lent his transcendent voice to recordings by The Wild Tchoupitoulas (led by uncle George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry), The Neville Brothers (Jazz Fest 1997 by Pavy), Linda Ronstadt and Trisha Yearwood, among others. His collaborations have garnered four Grammys, two with Linda Ronstadt (with a double-platinum album), one with Trisha Yearwood and one with The Neville Brothers. His mastery ranges gracefully across jazz, R&B, pop, rock, blues, funk, soul, country, gospel and urban styles. The simple purity of his voice led to his being named “Best Male Singer” two years running in Rolling Stone’s critics’ poll.
Aaron Neville’s modulating vibrato tenor falsetto is the greatest instrument born in New Orleans. And he keeps it finely polished, as evidenced by the just-released “My True Story,” his Blue Note album debut produced by Keith Richards and Don Was. NPR’s All Things Considered named it one of the most anticipated releases of 2013. All the angels sing when Aaron opens his heart.
James Michalopoulos’ deeply felt portrait distills Aaron’s twin inspirations: New Orleans and spirituality. The city is fully captured by the artist’s distinguished minimalist architectural elements, a wrought iron fence and gas lampposts. Ethereal doves embody spirits set aflutter by an angelic voice. Trees bow in nature’s embrace, and of course, a yellow moon tops the harmoniously lighted dusk scene. Michalopoulos has created five definitive contributions to this, the world’s most collected poster series (1998, 2001, 2003, 2006 & 2009) including three of its most valuable. Michalopoulos is a celebrated representational New Orleans artist best known for his spiritually imbued architectural renderings. His vivid pigmentation is fully realized in this silkscreen printing, which applies each color individually to museum standard papers. Michalopoulos exhibits extensively in the art capitals of Europe and the United States. He maintains studios and galleries in Burgundy France and New Orleans.
BUCKWHEAT’S ZYDECO: A Congo Square Tribute to the Spirit of Southwest Louisiana
By R. Gregory Christie
In the 1950’s the great Clifton Chenier took those infectious roots, added a hot R&B rhythm section, and delivered its frenetic beat to a broader audience. Lafayette native Stanley Dural, Jr., known since the age of four as “Buckwheat” because his braided hair was reminiscent of the Our Gang movies character, was more a fan of R&B than of Zydeco. As a keyboard prodigy he backed major roadhouse acts including Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown (Congo Square 2005 by George Hunt). But in 1976 his father persuaded him to join family friend Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana Band as an organist. By 1979, fully smitten by - and tutored on - the accordion, he re-launched himself as Buckwheat Zydeco and the Ils Sont Partis Band. By the 1980s, he had reached an even larger audience than Chenier, becoming the first Zydeco act signed to a major label. Grammy nominations became a regular occurrence for his innovations, culminating in a 2009 Grammy for “Lay Your Burden Down” as well as an Emmy for his TV music. On his climb to the top, the New York Times pronounced him the leader of “one of the best bands in America,” and USA Today called him a “Zydeco trailblazer.” Zydeco’s most popular ambassador has shared his propulsive roots music on record and on stage with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, U2, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon and the Boston Pops among many others. He played the closing ceremony of the 1996 Olympics and for both of President Clinton’s inaugurals.
Artist R. Gregory Christie traces his own Southwest Louisiana Creole roots to his mother’s family in New Roads where still returns to see his aunts, uncles and cousins. For over two decades, he’s been pushing brilliant hues into warmly expressive frontiers. His overt influences were Romare Bearden, Picasso and Jacob Lawrence, but his folk-inspired synthesis makes his shrewdly structured, intellectually fresh pieces accessible and compelling.
Christie grew up in a house with a jazz soundtrack and has crafted covers for multiple jazz albums including “John Coltrane: The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings.” From 1996-2009, he was a New Yorker magazine illustrator. The most recent of his 44 books are “When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat” (Chronicle) and “Jazz Baby” (Harcourt). Christie is a four-time recipient of Coretta Scott King Honor Awards in Illustration and writing. His most recent museum shows are at the Appleton Museum in Ocala, Florida and the Art institute of Chicago.
