"Jay Mazza is the ultimate authority on the New Orleans music scene. If he doesn't know it, it's not worth knowing."
Reggie Scanlan, bassist for the Radiators and formerly for Fess

"You can always trust Jay Mazza's musical judgement. He's always on the scene to find out the real deal."
Kirk Joseph, founding member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Backyard Groove

"He's been on the scene for as long as I can remember."
Corey Henry, Rebirth Brass Band, Galactic

Kermit Ruffins and the Glass House

There is a long-standing tradition among trumpet players of a certain disposition to play up against a willing woman’s private parts. They say that the sensation of compressed air coming through the bell of the trumpet can be very stimulating (check out the cover of Rounder Records’ New Orleans Brass Bands- Down Yonder for a photographic depiction of the practice that was shot at the Glass House)

I had seen it done several times before by Kermit Ruffins and other like-minded trumpeters. But in each instance it was clear that the woman involved was playing along; acting like she was feeling it deeply, when she was actually just enjoying the attention.

But one night in the Glass House, a particularly willing woman sat down on the one of the chairs at the front of the dance floor and Ruffins went to work on her. After a few minutes of spirited blowing (pun intended), the crowd mostly stopped dancing and gathered in a circle.

The woman had her eyes clenched tightly shut and Ruffins continued to play a long winding solo. I could never say for sure, but everyone in the place would have agreed that something more significant was going on than simply enjoying a trumpet solo up close and personal. When the solo ended, the woman appeared visibly embarrassed when she realized most of the room had witnessed such an intimate moment.