New Orleans Jazz band extends Colorado tour after hurricane hits
DENVER — While New Orleans deals with water rescues and power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, a group of musicians is touring the country telling the musical story of the Big Easy. The Secret Six has extended its tour in Colorado by an extra week since power is still out for them back home.
The band brought their modern brand of traditional jazz to Nocturne Jazz and Supper Club in Denver on Sept. 1.
“We left town a week ago before Ida was a storm, and we’re all hanging in there while things are a little chaotic at home,” says Reid Poole, band leader of The Secret Six and Colorado native, “At least we’re out here working, unlike our musician brethren in the city. We love to spread the music beyond the bayou.”
The Secret Six evoke the rich style of collective improvisation and ensemble playing, specializing in stomps, blues, rags and no-frills hot jazz. Poole explains, “There are actually seven of us in the band, four horns and three on the back line.”
The name of the band is a tip of the hat to Louis Armstrong’s semi-pro baseball club, the Secret 9.
Poole enjoys being an active band leader, freelance musician, and educator in the great city of New Orleans. The trumpeter, native of Fountain, Colorado and University of Northern Colorado graduate fell in love with the Crescent City on a high school band visit there. He relocated to New Orleans after gaining a Master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music.
While he's happy to be playing music in Colorado, he knows his family in New Orleans had a lot to deal with during the storm.
"Well, for me personally, I had my wife and my 10-and-a-half-month old son and my mother-in-law that was visiting that was kind of allowing me to be here. So those three plus my two pit bulls all had to leave," explained Poole. "So they had to do all of the things I would've done, you know, they had to bring all of the plants inside....I had some really great neighbors that helped put shutters up over the windows so nothing flew up and broke into them."
News that there wasn't going be electricity in New Orleans for a while and a message from the New Orleans mayor for evacuees to stay away from the city until it recovers more has prompted the band to extend their tour.
They planned another week in Colorado adding events on the Western Slope. Still band members know how important music is to New Orleans and remembered the time after Hurricane Katrina where bands played in the streets to help lift spirits.
"Everybody is ready to go back just like Katrina, you know, so as soon as we're able to get back, everyone is going to go back and keep it rolling," said Poole.
If you're looking for ways to help people affected by Hurricane Ida, here's a list of possibilities.
Steve Chavis is the Program Director at KUVO Jazz. You can read more about him here.
Brian Willie is the Content Production Manager with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at brianwillie@rmpbs.org.