LIVE Solo Piano Vids

Here are a few new solo piano videos,
recorded at Mahogany Jazz Hall in the 
French Quarter. Enjoy! 

Blue Skies - LIVE  

C'est si Bon - LIVE  

Emily Estrella

 

One of the great experiences I've had while living 
and performing in New Orleans has been collaborating 
with singer/songwriter/dancer Emily Estrella. Although 
her latest chapter in New Orleans was far too short, 
and came to an end in early 2016, we did a great deal with 
our time together. She now resides in New York City.

I helped Emily record an EP while she was in town, 
playing piano, B3 Organ, and Rhodes. I also arranged 
the first track on the EP, titled "Old New France". 
The project was recorded at Word of Mouth Studios
in Algiers, LA. 

Emily's band, The Fauxbarrio Five, in which I played piano,
held a regular slot at 21st Amendment on Iberville St. 
in the French Quarter throughout 2015. Here are 
a few vids captured at one of our last shows there. 

Wishing Emily all the best in the Big Apple!  

Big Pine Blues - Emily Estrella & the Fauxbarrio Five

Lulu's Back in Town - Emily Estrella & the Fauxbarrio Five 

Sweet Georgia Brown - Emily Estrella & the Fauxbarrio Five

The Birds Were Like a Symphony

Here are the links for my newest release! 
It's available for download at iTunes and Amazon only for only 99 cents!

iTunes - The Birds Were Like a Symphony 

Amazon - The Birds Were Like a Symphony

Check out the video here!

YouTube - The Birds Were Like a Symphony

Gert Town Surprise

(pictured: Wildman John of the Wild Tchoupitoulas 

Indian Gang) 

Gert Town Surprise

by Stuart McNair 

This past Sunday evening here in New Orleans, 

I went to visit a friend, a Mardi Gras Indian, up in 

Gert Town, an African-American neighborhood 

famous for producing great musicians like Allen 

Toussaint and Ellis Marsalis. My friend and I 

were sitting on his porch, and there was a 

birthday party going on next door.

All of the sudden, a group of guys (late teens)

came down the street carrying horns and drums. 

They got organized a block from the party, 

and ripped into a groove. The big bass drum 

was thundering through the neighborhood, 

and people started exploding out of doorways. 

They shimmeyed across their front porches, 

down their stoops, and into the street. Soon 

there were umbrellas in the air, children rolling 

up on little bikes, and moms and dads 

pushing strollers.

The young band marched in and set up shop on a 

grassy spot between the two houses, and friends 

and family surrounded them, taking turns in the 

dancing spotlight. One man was dressed to the 

nines in a suit with a handkerchief that he held in 

one hand as he danced with extreme grace and skill. 

The trumpets and trombone traded solos, while the 

tuba, snare, and bass drum raged onward. 

My friend went inside and put on a giant Indian 

Head Dress that he had created for a past 

Mardi Gras, and he leapt off of his porch and 

danced in the street. Then he went and danced 

with the children in the grass. He did two costume 

changes, for a total of three full length Head Dresses. 

I learned some new Second Line dance moves by 

watching one lady gettin' down in the street. 

I made a conscious decision to not pull out my 

camera, trading a pic for a pure memory, and a 

less intrusive presence. And another little story about 

living in the moment in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Music Theory Tips - Augmented

Stu's Music Theory Tip of the Day.
Today's Topic - Augmented Chords:
"What!?" and "Why!?" 

WHAT!? - An Augmented Chord is
a Triad in which the 5 note is raised
a half-step. Awkward, right? The rest of
the chord is normal, though. In the key of C,
it consists of C, E, and G#. This is the
"Caug", or "C#5" chord. The G# is the
"augmented" aspect of the chord. You'll
see these chords with a 7 and stuff, too,
but we'll get back to that. 

WHY!? - The purpose of the Augmented
Chord, also known as the #5 chord, is
movement. This chord is not cozy. It makes
you want to get on to the next chord!
The augmentation of the 5 creates a tension
which propels the chord UP A FOURTH.
Just like Minor Seven chords, and 9, and 11,
and 13 chords, Augmented chords create
a tension which propels chords upward
by a fourth. 

Augmentation is usually done to Major chords,
and most commonly on the V chord back to
the I. It's not usually done on the I to the IV,
but of course there are exceptions to that.
It can be used on a 6 to the 2, if the 6 is
major, and 2 to 5, if the 2 is Major. 

So in the Key of C, when your chord
progression brings you around to your G,
and it's almost time to go back to the top,
back to the C...the Augmentation of the
G gives more tension drawing us home,
back to the One. That sounded a bit,
spiritual, didn't it? 

In the above situation, the Gaug might
also include a 7, or a 9 (so...1,3,#5,7,9),
etc...these all work together to propel us
upward by a fourth. G7#5, is G7Aug,
which consists of G, B, D#, and F,
which propels us upward by a fourth,
which means going back to the One, C. 

In the Song "Ophelia", by The Band,
it's the Augmented 5, the G7#5, that
gives it that crazy tension over the
"I'd die for you" part. And you know in
"Moondance", how the three hits on
the 5 Chord sound so tense? That's
at Augmented chord. And it's everywhere
in Jazz, Blues, American Songbook, etc. 

So, as in Ophelia, in C, the #5 of the
5 Chord, the D#, draws the ear from the
D to the E, the 3 of the One Chord.
Did you catch that? So you can do a
5 chord, 5aug, then 1, and the #5 creates
a bridge between the 5 of the 5 and
the 3 of the 1. Sometimes you'll just
skip the proper 5, through, and go
straight for the 5aug. When you do
that, the ear can hear the tension,
and naturally wants to go home to the 1. 

In a 1 6 2 5 progression where the 6 is
Major and the 2 is Minor, you could use
the Aug on the 6 back to the 2, and then on
the 5 back to the 1. 

Since the #5 is typically used on Major
chords, in the above example, you
wouldn't use it on the Minor ii going to
the V. In that case, you would use the
opposite approach, the Flat 5, which
serves the same purpose for propelling
Minor chords upwards by a fourth. 

But in Major chords, the Augment is a
strrrreeeetttcchhiiinnnggg of the chord...

itching to shed it's skin
it's not a comfy chord
not a soothing sound
it begs to be resolved
begs to swim ashore
be pulled up the ladder
it says look at me
i can see ahead
four steps
i'm ready
to jump!

poem - a thousand rainbows

sometimes the human
beauty of New Orleans 
just overwhelms, in an 
unphotographable, 
unshareable kind of way. 
it makes the heart explode
right out of one's chest
into a thousand rainbows.

Wild Tchoupitoulas

(originally posted Aug, 30, 2015, to Facebook)

Today, on the ten year anniversary of the Flood, 

I'm honoring the departed by drumming with 

the Wild Tchoupitoulas Indian Gang.