Uncle Lionel Batiste

[jeffcrom]

I've learned from some of my New Orleans friends that Uncle Lionel Batiste is apparently in the terminal stages of cancer, and that his doctors have recommended hospice care. Uncle Lionel is 81, and is a national treasure. He has been the bass drummer with the Treme Brass Band since the beginning of that ensemble. He's also an engaging singer (he's got a CD out on GHB as a vocalist), but more importantly, he has been a role model and "uncle figure" in New Orleans for years. His standard greeting to his younger fans is "How are all my little nieces and nephews this evening?"

One evening in the late, lamented Donna's on Rampart Street while the Treme BB was performing, I stood at the side of the stage and concentrated on what Mr. Batiste was playing, and I was amazed at the creativity he brought to the bass drum. His playing helped me understand the impact that Black Benny Williams had on Louis Armstrong; when I read Satchmo: My Life In New Orleans as a kid, I didn't understand how a bass drummer could impress a youngster and excite an audience in the way Armstrong described. When I hear Lionel Batiste play, I get it.

Every time I've visited New Orleans, Uncle Lionel has been on the scene, hitting the clubs, sitting in with the bands, dancing with the young ladies. I'm sad tonight.