Ryan Tramonte is the General Manager of French Art Network and Rue Royale Art Partners of New Orleans. With galleries in Carmel by the Sea, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; New Orleans and Key West, Florida; the company’s family of galleries represents 54 artists from across the globe. With his office in the center of the French Quarter at 541 Royal Street, Ryan has managed to surround himself with some of the most beautiful aspects of New Orleans, its artists. Artists mold the way we think and live on a daily basis, they are one of society’s most prized possessions. Ryan, himself works in all mediums, but centers his work on painting and collage.
"Congo Square: The African Roots of New Orleans Music" features performances and discussion addressing the legacy and impact of the African music tradition on local music, hosted by Dr. Michael White, with guest speakers and performances by New Orleans drummer Luther Gray and his Bamboula 2000 Ensemble as well as Seguenon Kone and L'Ivoire Spectacle. Saturday, November 15th 4-6pm Free Xavier University Center (corner of Drexel Drive and Broadway) 520.5001
Jazz's roots from Africa explored Friday, November 14, 2008 Lolis Eric Elie
When New Orleanians speak of Congo Square, we do so as if those two words by themselves were enough to explain the complex mysteries of our city's African heritage.
We talk vaguely about jazz being born in Congo Square, as if Buddy Bolden himself had played there. We talk vaguely about the connections between west African music and New Orleans jazz as if the harmonies and melodies of King Oliver had direct and obvious parallels on the distant west African shore.
The truth is, the heyday of slaves dancing and drumming in that area had been over for decades by the time jazz developed. In those intervening years, other influences had also crept into the New Orleans lexicon to help form the foundation of jazz.
While much of what we "know" about Congo Square seems to fit somewhere between fact, folklore and fiction, there is a real history to that place that will reward further study.
--- Market at Congo Square ---
Years ago, when I interviewed Freddi Williams Evans about Congo Square, I was surprised to learn of the importance of that gathering place for New Orleans' food culture.
Evans has spent years working on a book about Congo Square and it will soon be published.
Slaves in the Crescent City held a Sunday market in Congo Square. Just as west African musical traditions were renewed and preserved there, west African food traditions were similarly in evidence.
Twice, during the French colonial period, Louisiana's European colonists had difficulty growing enough food to stave off hunger, Evans told me. Thus a Sunday market that encouraged Africans to raise food in addition to the crops they may have raised for their masters may have played a crucial role in maintaining the vitality of the colony.
Perhaps it was by patronizing this market, European colonists developed their taste for those African components of the Creole diet.
--- Musical program at Xavier ---
On Saturday Xavier University will host a program that will delve into the musical legacy and significance of Congo Square. Evans will be among the speakers at "Congo Square: The African Roots of New Orleans Music." It will also feature New Orleans drummer Luther Gray and his Bamboula 2000 Ensemble, as well as Seguenon Kone, a multi-instrumentalist who hails from the Ivory Coast.
This will be the first in a series of performances that seeks to reunite New Orleans music and musicians with their west African counterparts. Perhaps that fusion of these old elements will result in something as powerful and innovative as the jazz that emerged a century ago.
"Congo Square: The African Roots of New Orleans Music" will take place Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m. at Xavier's University Center.
Ryan Tramonte is the General Manager of French Art Network and Rue Royale Art Partners of New Orleans. With galleries in Carmel by the Sea, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; New Orleans and Key West, Florida; the company’s family of galleries represents 54 artists from across the globe. With his office in the center of the French Quarter at 541 Royal Street, Ryan has managed to surround himself with some of the most beautiful aspects of New Orleans, its artists. Artists mold the way we think and live on a daily basis, they are one of society’s most prized possessions. Ryan, himself works in all mediums, but centers his work on painting and collage.