Jack Spann: “Jesus Of New Orleans” (2020) Single Review

Things are bad out there, no question about it. We are seeing the ugliest side of our country on display daily. Making it more distressing and infuriating, this ugliness is thriving while a pandemic is taking so many lives. You’d think we’d be coming together as a nation in a time like this; instead, we are being torn apart by a soulless racist bully in the White House and his pathetic fascist followers. So where do we turn? For me, music has been the thing to pull me out of a state of despair. Jack Spann offers us a party with his new single, “Jesus Of New Orleans.” And in a time when actual parties are ill-advised because of the danger of spreading a deadly virus (and to hell with anyone who throws a party now), this song is especially welcome. Jack Spann is a keyboardist, singer and songwriter based in New York. In 2017 he released an album titled Beautiful Man From Mars, the title inspired by his time working with David Bowie on the demos for what would become Blackstar. He followed that in 2019 with Propaganda Man. In that album’s title track, he asks, “Who will be my next little Hitler?/Who will be my next little Putin?” I think we all know who is desperately trying to follow in those footsteps, and we must come together in November to vote him out. Now Jack Spann’s single “Jesus Of New Orleans” should help raise us from our collective gloom. Jack Spann plays piano, bass, synthesizer and guitar on this track. Joining him are Cecil Robbington (apparently also known as Robb Cecil and Robb Cecail) on percussion, Christian Mendoza on guitar, Kate Weston on backing vocals, Matthew Gallagher on alto saxophone, John Covelli on trombone, Jason Clinton on tenor saxophone, Jake Brookman on cello, Andrew Driscoll on violin, and John Wolf on trombone.

“Jesus Of New Orleans” is an unusual and totally fun song, with a dance beat. At times, it might feel like the theme song to a superhero television show. It has that kind of style, that kind of vibe. It is funky and delicious, designed to make you smile and dance. So please don’t disappoint these musicians. Turn your home into a club for you, your family, your pets, your action figures, whomever you have settled in with during this time. The song is about a guy who lives on the streets of New Orleans, and has a striking resemblance to Jesus Christ. There is a line early on that stands out: “But he looks like a Manson in blue jeans.” Have you guys seen that photo of Charlie Manson standing behind Donald Trump? Some of Trump’s followers apparently didn’t catch the identity of Trump’s companion. Of course, what is more troubling is that the artist Danny Hahlbohm saw fit to create the original artwork coupling Jesus and Trump without any sense of its incongruity or absurdity. That is the sort of twisted world we inhabit now. Anyway, this track is nearly ten minutes long, and takes us through some cool changes. I love those sections that feature the horns prominently. In the second half, there is a great section of vocals and percussion. “He digs voodoo/Got a hoodoo/Likes gumbo/Half creole/He’s going to die-o/On the bayou/He loves James Booker.” And, yeah, there is a sense of voodoo to this song, a delightful, playful voodoo. I also seriously dig that jazzy instrumental section toward the end, with that excellent stuff on keys, and then again those horns.

The disc also includes a shorter version of the song, the radio edit, which is only four minutes long. It’s fun, but it is missing some of my favorite sections, including that great instrumental section at the end.

CD Track List

1. Jesus Of New Orleans
2. Jesus Of New Orleans (Radio Edit)

Jesus Of New Orleans was released on August 15, 2020 on Big Boo Records.