Art Neville RIP

As I returned from Porretta today, I learned the sad news that Art Neville has died at the age of 81. Coming so soon after the deaths of Dr John, Dave Bartholomew and Lil Buck, not to mention others in recent years such as his brother Charles Neville, Frankie Ford and Allen Toussaint, it feels as though that wonderful era of New Orleans music has reached its end.

Art recorded 'Mardi Gras Mambo' with the Hawketts for Chess in the mid fifties and went on to record some great rock and roll records for Specialty including 'Ooh Wee Baby', 'Cha Dooky Do' and 'What's Going On', Then came some wonderful New Orleans R and B records for Instant, including one of my favourites, 'All These Things'. He formed the Neville Sounds with Aaron and Cyril Neville, George Porter, Leo Nocentelli and Ziggy Modeliste, and, minus Aaron and Cyril, the band became the Meters in the late sixties, more or less creating New Orleans funk.
Joining up with Aaron and Cyril and older brother Charles in 1978, he formed the Neville Brothers, whose body of work, and great musicianship, made them one of the really great bands from the 1980s to the early 2000s. It was their seminal album 'Yellow Moon' that was the soundtrack of my first visit to New Orleans in 1989. Art continued to play both with the Meters, now known as the Funky Meters, and the Neville Brothers and I never missed an opportunity to see them, whether at Jazzfest in New Orleans, in London and at Porretta in 2006.
It's sad to think that the Neville Brothers will never perform again, but the memories, oh the memories. 'Poppa Funk' will be missed. The photo below shows Art at Porretta in 2006 with my late girlfriend Maxine.
Above is a photo of Art when the Neville Brothers played Jazzfest in 2010.