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| New Orleans All Star Brass Band |
Doha -- New Orleans came to Doha last night when a brass band of veteran Louisiana
musicians gave a rousing performance to an enthusiastic crowd at the Qatar National
Theater.
The eight-member New Orleans All Star Brass Band, composed entirely of native-born
New Orleans musicians, was sponsored by the U. S. Embassy in Doha in cooperation
with Qatar’s National Council for Culture, Art and Heritage. In remarks before
the performance, Chase Untermeyer, U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, welcomed participants
and noted that the purpose of the performance, which is one in a series taking
place in the Middle East, was to thank the Government and people of Qatar for
Qatar’s generous donation of $100 million to the relief efforts following
the devastation in August of Hurricane Katrina.
The newly-renovated National Theater provided the perfect venue for the sterling
performance of New Orleans jazz, which included renditions of favorites such
as Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans” and “What A Wonderful
World” and When the Saints Go Marching In.The foot-tapping melodies and rousing
rhythms had the audience on its feet for much of the concert and calls for an
encore ended with an impromptu audience dance session on stage. During the performance,
the musicians expressed their personal thanks, as citizens of New Orleans, to
Qatar and to all those who supported and continued to support the victims of
Hurricane Katrina.
The musicians, who were all based in New Orleans at the time of Hurricane Katrina,
are themselves survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Mervin Campbell had to evacuate
a hospital in New Orleans with his newborn baby, the day after the mother gave
birth; and Jeffrey Hills carried his two young children on his shoulders as
his house started flooding and spent a couple of days in the Superdome. There
are also stories of hope; Kevin ODay and his fiancé were married the weekend
after the Hurricane after they realized they had lost everything but each other.
The members of the band include Rasheed Ali Akbar (tenor saxophone), Lionel
Batiste, Jr. (bass drum), Mervin Campbell (trumpet, vocals), Corey Henry (trombone),
Jeffrey Hills (tuba), Charles Joseph (trombone), Kevin O’Day (snare drum),
Eric Traub (tenor saxophone).
The New Orleans All Star Brass Band came to Doha following performances in Dakar,
Rabat, Casablanca, Cairo and Alexandria, and are proceeding to Kuwait before
returning home to the United States.
http://qatar.usembassy.gov/new_orleans_all_star_brass_band.html