[mp3j track=”Me_And_Bobby_McGee.mp3″]
With a salute to legend Kristofferson and a nod to Roger Miller, Johnny Cash and Janis Joplin, Dr. Michael White (a legend in the making) rolls out his interpretation of Me and Bobby McGee as apart of his upcoming June release, Adventures in New Orleans, Part 2 (Basin Street Records). And a class act Dixieland rendition this is. The veteran jazz artist and clarinetist chisels through the deep south of Kristofferson’s 1969 classic, restoring a timeless art in the bass and melody while interchanging rhythm and tempo with his Wurlitzer to layer measures between country and Hot Jazz. An earful of polished pipes and brass over drums sets and keys, White signals the setting of a Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong presence in a listener’s company. That, atop echoes of a dark wooden bar with cigar smoke and smooth pours, recalling the inevitable early jazz scene.
His sixth album on Basin Street Record and honored with a lineup of music awards including National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship Award, Dr. Michael White has played a pivotal role in addressing music traditions through his art with instruments and his education through working with some of music’s most influential talent including Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Creedence Clearwater, and Hank Williams to name a few. Just in time for the Jazz season, catch Dr. Michael White this weekend for International Jazz Day alongside Herbie Hancock, for the happening in New Orleans.
