David Buchbinder’s NOLA Dreams

New Orleans is a strange, colorful and magical place: circles within circles at once mythic, elegant, rough, beautiful, earthy, etherial, confounding & illuminating, resonant with the stories of visionaries & misfits, creators & schemers, cultures crossing and colliding; brutal racism, disenfranchisement and heroic resistance. And everywhere and always the sound of music driving the essential spiral of celebration.

David was born in Kansas City, Missouri, grew up in Saint Louis and–after decades of not knowing what he was missing–first came to the Crescent City in February 2019, just in time to have his mind blown by all of the wild culture he found in the lead up to Mardi Gras. Since then the Grammy-nominated, JUNO-winning musician has been living on and off in New Orleans, and has had the honour of playing with a number of musical institutions including the iconic Treme Brass Band, the Panorama Jazz Band, the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, and The Iguanas, among others, along with playing in many, many parades. And, since this past February he has been playing gospel trumpet and piano in a local church.

NOLA Dreams brings his love for New Orleans culture to Toronto, refracted through his dreams and the talents of a crew of fantastic Toronto musicians, featuring extraordinary singer Alana Bridgewater,  New Orleans-based phenom Trombone Red, tradition-immersed, fleet-fingered pianist Michael Shand, rising & groovin’ bassist Max Simpson, and drummer deep-in-the-NOLA-bag Lowell Whitty. The show features music David has learned from New Orleans culture bearers in the brass band/jazz traditions, some gospel songs he’s played in church, a few NOLA-inspired originals, and some classic NOLA songs reimagined by Ms. Bridgewater.