Tag: jazz

Interview: Jayna Morgan & the Swing Setters swing kids music

The New Orleans-based jazz band the Swing Setters play kids music!

In this episode of Confetti Park, Katy Ray interviews jazz vocalist Jayna Morgan about her newest New Orleans band, the Swing Setters, a fun, energetic group that plays kids music jazz-style!

(Is this a great name for a jazz band that plays kids music, or what?!)

The Swing Setters truly fill a void in the New Orleans live music scene with their polished treatment of classic American songs, folk songs, and Disney favorites that kids love.

Says Morgan, “There’s not many jazz bands in New Orleans that play children’s music…we were trying to think of names of other people in New Orleans that have a great personality [that aren’t grumpy!], very affable with children, who wouldn’t mind being silly once in a while!”

The band is comprised of professional jazz musicians including Morgan on the vocals, Alex Owen on trumpet, Greg Agid on clarinet and saxophone, David Phy on trombone, Ted Long on guitar, Joe Kennedy on piano, Alan Broome on bass, and Gerald French on drums.

The band recently released their first CD, called Swingin’ at the Playground, available for purchase online at http://11thcommandmentrecords.com/store/ This podcast includes several previews of songs from that record, including “Look for the Silver Lining,” “The Glow Worm,” “This Old Man,” and “A-Tisket A-Tasket.”
Music Memory from Tommy Sancton

Tommy Sancton. Photo by Sébastien Chaillot

In this episode of Confetti Park, Tommy Sancton shares one of his earliest music memories from Preservation Hall, a musical venue in the French Quarter founded in 1961 to protect, preserve, and perpetuate traditional New Orleans jazz. There, Tommy heard the sound that would guide the course of his life.

Tommy Sancton has had an illustrious career as a journalist and musician. After studies at Harvard and Oxford, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar, he began a 22-year career with Time magazine as writer, editor, and Paris bureau chief. Music has always been part of Tommy’s life. As he traveled the world, he never stopped playing his clarinet.

He also never stopped feeling the pull of home. In August 2007, Tommy left Paris for New Orleans. He now teaches at Tulane, continues to write, and plays and records frequently with numerous traditional jazz bands. Visit his website to learn more.

Tommy has a beautiful memoir called Song for My Fathers: A New Orleans Story in Black and White, published in 2006, which recounts his experiences at Preservation Hall and explores his childhood apprenticeship with clarinetist George Lewis and other musicians, as well as his relationship with his own father.
Music Medley: Songs of Donuts & Brains
Welcome to Confetti Park, a magical playground of music and stories for kids everywhere. What’s unique about these songs, and these stories, is that they all come from Louisiana. This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:
- If I Only Had a Brain – Paul Sanchez
- Buckwheat Zydeco – Skip to My Lou
- Sue – Michael Doucet
- A Long Time to Come, performed by PH Fred and Friends
- Floating in a Donut Hole – Philip Melancon
- Buttermilk Drop – Confetti Park Players
- Baby You Wait on Your Mama – Alan Dyson
- Music Memory: Jason Rhein
- Renaissance Cadienne – J’ai du bon Tabac
- Storytime: Why the Possum has a Large Grin – Johnette Downing
Confetti Park current broadcast schedule:
- WHIV 102.3 FM in New Orleans every Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (Listen via Live Stream)
- KSLU 90.9 FM in Hammond every Sunday at 12 p.m. NOON
Music Medley “Baby Astronaut”
Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians.

Songs featured in this episode, in order:
- Jack & Jill – Wardell Quezergue
- Cool Man – Los Po-boy-citos
- Jenny Had a Rocket – PH Fred
- Dancing on the Moon – Confetti Park Players
- Radio Controlled Airplanes – Jimmy Cousins
- Airplane – Confetti Park Players
- Red Bird – Leadbelly
- Five Little Butterflies – Johnette Downing
Music Medley “Pirate’s Favorite Letter”
Pitot the Pelican, from the Swamp Quest app

Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians.

Songs featured in this episode, in order:
- Sally Brown – Valparaiso Men’s Chorus
- Louis Lafitte – Confetti Park Players
- Drunken Sailor – Jeremy Lyons IN-STUDIO PERFORMANCE
- The Rooster & the Chicken – Kandice Chester
- Circling Alligators – AJ Loria
- Alligator Snap – Johnnete Downing
- Emus – Lightning Bugs
- L’arc en Ciel – Michael Doucet and Family
Music Medley “Darn, Spider” from Confetti Park
Confetti Park is a community radio program out of New Orleans. We feature local storytellers and songs that kids love, songs created for kids, or created by kids, right here in Louisiana.

This medley of kids music shows the diversity of Louisiana musicians. Songs featured in this episode, in order:
- Confetti Park – Confetti Park Players
- Okra Man – Mr. Okra & Confetti Park Players
- Playing Possum – Johnette Downing
- Itsy Bitsy Spider – Jeremy Lyons
- Days of the Week – Jason & Layla
- Ol’ Blue – Jimmy Cousins
- Aveine, Aveine – Renaissance Cadienne
- Buttermilk Drop – Confetti Park Players
- Zydeco Gris Gris Rap – Michael Doucet
- Evangeline – Feufollet
- When I See an Elephant Fly – Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes.
- How is the Housecat – Schazty
Storytime: Thorn in My Horn by Alex McConduit

Thorn in My Horn by Alex McConduit

This episode of Confetti Park features the children’s story Thorn in My Horn, by Alex McConduit of New Orleans, La.

Thorn in My Horn is a book about a young musician in New Orleans who LOVES to play his horn. His mother, on the other hand, cannot stand to hear the noise! She’s a thorn in his horn! This fun rhyming book includes illustrations by Darrell Rollo that showcase the French Quarter, Jackson Square and other iconic places in The Big Easy.

Thorn in My Horn was written by Alex McConduit and published by Big Boot Books. Learn morn about Alex and his books at http://bigbootbooks.com/about/

Confetti Park is a radio show out of New Orleans, featuring children’s and kids books narrated by the author. The Confetti Park podcast, hosted by Katy Hobgood Ray, features music and stories spun in Louisiana. It showcases songs that kids love, songs created for kids, and songs created by kids. Sparkling interviews, in-studio performances, delightful music medleys, jokes, local author storytime, and a little surprise lagniappe make for an entertaining show!