Mr. Barker

Last night I trucked into Amherst to see Tradition is a Temple, the Modern Masters of New Orleans jazz. It was one in a monthly series of jazz movies hosted by the local NPR jazz DJ.

The movie focused on the current history of NO jazz especially as it traces to the efforts of Danny Barker, who was a big jazz historian after his own career wound down. He got enough kids interested in the old ways that many of the big brass bands you’ve heard of (Dirty Dozen etc) go right back to him.

As a bonus, the filmmaker was there and engaged in a cool Q&A. Turns out he wasn’t really trying to make a movie, but instead an iPhone app called Tutti Music Player. Which you should check out. Needs more free content, however.