Feb 9, 2016
It happens a little earlier on the calendar this year, but the goings on in New Orleans are unmistakable.
Mardi Gras!
For those interested in the religious significant, “Mardi Gras” is the term for Fat Tuesday, or more appropriately, Shrove Tuesday (“Shrove” coming from the word “shrive”, or “confess”). Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season begins.
In New Orleans, the Mardi Gras celebrations begin on Twelfth Night, the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas, and carry on through Ash Wednesday. Parades and general madness that precede the actual Mardi Gras Day, mostly on the riverfront area and French Quarter fall under the category of “Lundi Gras.”
Nancy and I were in New Orleans a week before Mardi Gras last year, and got swept up in the excitement and general bacchanalia that happens there. We even got to take part in a parade by the Krewe of the Cork, a wine, food and fun themed society that strut their stuff in the French Quarter. Click here for a picture from the 2016 Krewe of the Cork parade last month.
The three traditional Mardi Gras colors were selected in 1872 to honor the visiting Russian Grand Duke Romanoff whose house colors were purple, green, and gold. Purple represents justice, green represents faith, and gold represents power.
So it’s time to let the good times roll wherever you are, and enjoy Podcast 52_, an hour plus of uninterrupted Mew Orleans themed and styled music, featuring:
Pete Fountain – "Walking Through New Orleans"
Stanton Moore - "Paul Barbarin's Second Line"
The Hot 8 Brass Band - "We Shall Walk Through the Streets of the City"
Donald Byrd - "House of the Rising Sun"
Wild Bill Davidson - "Big Butter and Egg Man"
Dr. John - "Dis, Dat Or D'Udda"
Cyrille Neville - "Swamp Funk"
Wycliffe Gordon - "Le Marieur"
Davell Crawford - "Ooh Wee Sugar"
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - "I Shall Not Be Moved"
Kid Ory & His Creole Jazz Band - "Sugar Foot Stomp"
Trombone Shorty - 'In the 6th'
Wynton Marsalis - "Uptown Ruler"
Aaron Neville - "Meetin' at the Building"
Jimmy Smith – “When the Saints Go Marching”
For prior year Mardi Gras podcasts, click on the year: 2014; 2013; 2011; 2009