MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL: SEPTEMBER 17, 1977
A CONCERT WORTH CELEBRATING!!!
We have explored and discussed the Brothers’ performance in September 1977 at the Monterey
Jazz festival (featuring the Wild Tchoupitoulas) several times over the years. In recent months, I learned a lot more details about the concert (not the least of which is the exact date of the performance) and have also made the show available in its entirety on YouTube. The Neville Brothers band formed in 1976 so this show is VERY early in their careers!!! According to several sources, this was the first time The Brothers played as a group on the West Coast.
(The photo above, which was used in the official concert program, was taken from Monterey Jazz Festival’s Facebook page.)
Speaking of the concert program, there is a copy of that program on the Stanford University Library’s website. https://exhibits.stanford.edu/mjf/catalog/yc850hq5901
As you can see from this excerpt from page 24 of the program, the show was scheduled for Saturday afternoon on the 17th! (It IS possible that there was a schedule change after the printing of the program but I’m going to say that, in all probability, the show happened on the 17th!!!)
The Nevilles’ backing band for the show was made up of: Gerald Tillman – vocals and keyboards; Rodger Poche – bass; Renard Poche – guitar; and Newton Mossop – drums. (Note that Mossop’s surname is misspelled in the program. Note also that Mossop and the Poche brothers backed Professor Longhair during his performance. That was a new discovery for me; in fact, I never even realized that Fess had performed at this historic show!
Here’s the Brothers’ bio from pages 18 & 19 in the concert program… There is so much info in that biography that is inconsistent with everything that I know to date that it feels like it’s largely fictional. Maybe someone in the know can fact check it!!!
While digging for further information, I also found a digital copy of Billboard magazine from September 10, 1977 with the following story…. This confirms the September 17th date (if the program for the event wasn’t convincing enough.)
Anyway, here’s what was played. A double-asterisk ( ** ) next to a song title indicates that the Wild Tchoupitoulas joined the Brothers on that song:
Fly Like An Eagle
Baby What You Want Me To Do
Arianne
Groovin’
Fever
Mojo Hannah
Ode to Billie Joe
Greatest Love
Hey Pocky Way (instrumental)
Hey Hey (Indians Comin’) **
Here Dey Come**
Big Chief Got A Golden Crown**
Brother John > Iko Iko
What’s the point of discussing such a significant concert without actually LISTENING to it? It has circulated among collectors for decades. I made a feeble attempt to improve the sound quality of this very old recording (which sounds like it was taped off of a radio broadcast.) My hearing has suffered some pretty serious damage over the years, so I hope my “remastering” hasn’t made it even harder to listen to. A few friends have previewed it and said it sounds fine. https://youtu.be/HxwcAdK8ILA
nevilletracks 