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‘Water’ steeped in rich New Orleans tradition

Saxophonist Devin Phillips, who is headlining the Manoa Jazz Festival, channels the Big Easy in his new album

By John Berger

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Sep 26, 2008

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The Hawaiian tradition of kaona, in which a word or lyric phrase can have more than one meaning, has parallels in other cultures. Take for example "Wade in the Water," the title song of Devin Phillips' current album.

Devin Phillips & New Orleans Straight Ahead

With the Honolulu Jazz Quartet and the Noel Okimoto 'Ohana:

Place: Andrews Amphitheater, UH-Manoa.

Time: 6 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $15 to $25 pre-sale; $20-$30 at the door. Available at Aloha Stadium box office, Rainbowtique stores, Stan Sheriff Center, UH-Manoa Campus Center and Windward Community College office; or visit www.etickethawaii.com.

Call: 483-7123

Note: No rain date. Low-back chairs, mats, coolers and picnics are OK; no alcoholic beverages or glass containers.
At its most basic, the title is reinforced by the cover art, which shows the New Orleans-born saxophonist standing in a seemingly limitless expanse of water representative, perhaps, of the floodwaters that covered much of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Take it to another level - the song is actually a 19th-century spiritual, and although Phillips' version is instrumental, he said some versions of the lyrics directed escaping slaves to the stations of the Underground Railway.

Take the historical connotations of the lyrics another step and there's a tie-in to Phillips' life after Katrina. Phillips didn't go north to escape slavery, but conditions in the flooded city caused him to leave New Orleans and rebuild his life in Portland, Ore. - thanks to the Portland Jazz Festival and Azumano Travel.

Those organizations offered jazz musicians from the devastated area free transportation to Portland, temporary housing and access to work in the Portland jazz community. Phillips was one of more than 50 who took them up on it. He re-formed his group, New Orleans Straight Ahead, in Portland, then recorded "Wade in the Water."

He headlines the First Manoa Jazz Festival at Andrews Amphitheater on Saturday.

"We played that song a little before the hurricane, but I think after the hurricane we put it together and it started to mean a little something more to us. Maybe it's irony or whatever, but all that stuff is there," Phillips said during a brief telephone conversation last weekend.

So many people were trying to reach him that it wasn't possible to talk for long, but he quickly made some key points:

» Programs that bring music to the schools are important for young people. Phillips credits the New Orleans school system's "Jazz Outreach" program with being the catalyst that whetted his interest in jazz.

» Young musicians need opportunities to jam, for example by sitting in with adults playing nightclub and bar gigs. Musical theory and classroom work doesn't substitute for experience.

"Learning how to play on the bandstand or on the streets with (experienced) players is a school in itself. While I was at the arts school, just being around other talented young artists was almost as valuable as learning what I learned at the school. New Orleans is rich in that (tradition), and as much as it is going to change over the years to come, I hope that's something that they can keep."

» It's easy to take hometown musicians for granted. "I think a lot of musicians are not appreciated (in New Orleans). I think maybe New Orleans takes it for granted because it is so rich in culture, there's so much stuff going on there. When there's so much going on, it's easy to treat it as if it will always be there."

Sound familiar, Hawaii?

And, one more thing about the album, wading in the water, and Phillips' successful move to Portland:

"The cover is not necessarily about me having to leave. I could have stayed and made that album. It's almost about dealing with the problem (by leaving) instead of leaving because of the problem."

 

The Hawaiian tradition of kaona, in which a word or lyric phrase can have more than one meaning, has parallels in other cultures. Take for example "Wade in the Water," the title song of Devin Phillips' current album.

COURTESY MANOA JAZZ FESTIVAL

Devin Phillips & New Orleans Straight Ahead

With the Honolulu Jazz Quartet and the Noel Okimoto 'Ohana:

Place: Andrews Amphitheater, UH-Manoa.

Time: 6 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets: $15 to $25 pre-sale; $20-$30 at the door. Available at Aloha Stadium box office, Rainbowtique stores, Stan Sheriff Center, UH-Manoa Campus Center and Windward Community College office; or visit www.etickethawaii.com.

Call: 483-7123

Note: No rain date. Low-back chairs, mats, coolers and picnics are OK; no alcoholic beverages or glass containers.
At its most basic, the title is reinforced by the cover art, which shows the New Orleans-born saxophonist standing in a seemingly limitless expanse of water representative, perhaps, of the floodwaters that covered much of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Take it to another level - the song is actually a 19th-century spiritual, and although Phillips' version is instrumental, he said some versions of the lyrics directed escaping slaves to the stations of the Underground Railway.

Take the historical connotations of the lyrics another step and there's a tie-in to Phillips' life after Katrina. Phillips didn't go north to escape slavery, but conditions in the flooded city caused him to leave New Orleans and rebuild his life in Portland, Ore. - thanks to the Portland Jazz Festival and Azumano Travel.

Those organizations offered jazz musicians from the devastated area free transportation to Portland, temporary housing and access to work in the Portland jazz community. Phillips was one of more than 50 who took them up on it. He re-formed his group, New Orleans Straight Ahead, in Portland, then recorded "Wade in the Water."

He headlines the First Manoa Jazz Festival at Andrews Amphitheater on Saturday.

"We played that song a little before the hurricane, but I think after the hurricane we put it together and it started to mean a little something more to us. Maybe it's irony or whatever, but all that stuff is there," Phillips said during a brief telephone conversation last weekend.

So many people were trying to reach him that it wasn't possible to talk for long, but he quickly made some key points:

» Programs that bring music to the schools are important for young people. Phillips credits the New Orleans school system's "Jazz Outreach" program with being the catalyst that whetted his interest in jazz.

» Young musicians need opportunities to jam, for example by sitting in with adults playing nightclub and bar gigs. Musical theory and classroom work doesn't substitute for experience.

"Learning how to play on the bandstand or on the streets with (experienced) players is a school in itself. While I was at the arts school, just being around other talented young artists was almost as valuable as learning what I learned at the school. New Orleans is rich in that (tradition), and as much as it is going to change over the years to come, I hope that's something that they can keep."

» It's easy to take hometown musicians for granted. "I think a lot of musicians are not appreciated (in New Orleans). I think maybe New Orleans takes it for granted because it is so rich in culture, there's so much stuff going on there. When there's so much going on, it's easy to treat it as if it will always be there."

Sound familiar, Hawaii?

And, one more thing about the album, wading in the water, and Phillips' successful move to Portland:

"The cover is not necessarily about me having to leave. I could have stayed and made that album. It's almost about dealing with the problem (by leaving) instead of leaving because of the problem."

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