Wardell was stationed in Japan during the Korean War, after being drafted in 1951. He became an army musician and added to his musical knowledge, and also met a Japanese girl Yoshi Tamaki, whom he married. On his return to New Orleans at the end of his service, Wardell continued his musical education at the Gateway School of Music in the city, that provided education for military veterans. By the mid-fifties, he was leading his own bands, first The Royal Dukes of Rhythm (with fellow ex-servicemen) and then Wardell and the Sultans. At the same time, he was teaching music and arranging pieces for many local acts. He became recording secretary for the New Orleans Negro Musicians Union, with membership for life. Even this early in his career, it is clear that he was naturally talented, hard-working, with a wide range of musical interests, and that he enjoyed the trust of his fellow musicians. All of these attributes are born out by his life in music.
During the early sixties, Wardell worked for Dave Bartholomew, arranging songs that well-known local artists were recording at Cosimo Matassa’s Studios for Imperial Records. Horn arrangements were his forte, using his knowledge of playing trumpet. He arranged for Professor Longhair (“Big Chief”), Earl King (“Trick Bag”), and Fats Domino, and even fitted in some stage arrangements for Stevie Wonder. He was also writing music with other performers, including the instrumental “It Ain’t My Fault” with drummer Smokey Johnson. Earl King’s “Trick Bag” also gave Wardell the chance to play trumpet alongside Dave Bartholomew, who produced the recording.
In 1964, Wardell set up Nola Records, with his partners Clinton Scott and Ulis Gaines, signing a small number of local New Orleans singers. Eddie Bo and Willie Tee had a strong following in the city, but the most successful of the early signings was Robert Parker, whose single “Barefootin’” went to number two on the R&B chart. Around this time, Wardell also arranged two songs for The Dixie Cups, which also sold well: “Iko Iko” and “Chapel of Love”.
Things ticked along for a few years, until a major breakthrough came suddenly in May 1970. Wardell made a deal with a small record company in Jackson, Mississippi, whereby he would supply the artists and songs in exchange for studio time and session musicians at Malaco Records. He duly turned up with five New Orleans artists (in a school bus he had borrowed) and started the recording sessions. By the end of that week, he had a number of tracks that he offered to Stax and Atlantic, but the response was negative. Malaco decided to release one of the songs, King Floyd’s “Groove Me”, on its Chimneyville label, maybe to show the bigger companies what they were missing. Sure enough, “Groove Me” started getting radio airtime and sales were encouraging. Atlantic’s response was to offer Malaco a distribution deal, which meant much better sales nationally. Stax’s response was to pick up another of the Querzergue recordings, “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight, on which Wardell played piano and organ, as well as arranging and producing the song. Knight’s single outsold any other Stax release. Quite a feather in Mr. Quezergue’s cap! He was offered a job at Atlantic Records, but he declined the offer. He was happy being his own boss and working with New Orleans artists.
His success with Jean Knight and King Floyd also brought Malaco Studios to the attention of a wider range of artists. Amongst those who came to record there were Paul Simon, B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, the Pointer Sisters, and Willy Nelson. For a few years, things went well, but as the Quezergue effect wore off, the company was less successful. There was to be one last blaze of glory for Wardell, however, when Dorothy Moore’s “Misty Blue” was released by Malaco in 1975. The song had a beautiful arrangement by Mr. Quezergue, that no doubt helped it to reach number three on the Pop chart in the US. “Misty Blue” was also awarded a silver disc by the BPI on August 1st, 1976, for over 200,000 copies sold in the UK. The song added to Wardell’s reputation within the music industry, bringing offers of work from the Supremes, the Staple Singers, Irma Thomas, and Tami Lynn.
He continued, of course, to support the development of New Orleans R&B. During the eighties and nineties, Wardell worked with Aaron Neville, the Neville Brothers, Dr. John, and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, who had moved to New Orleans in the seventies. Listening to these artists’ albums gives a good indication of the way that Wardell was able to add richness to the songs through his arrangements.
The Neville Brothers second studio album, the 1981 album “Fiyo on the Bayou”, gave Wardell an opportunity to show another of his talents. He played synthesizer and acoustic piano for the recording, alongside a large group of session musicians that included Leo Nocentelli on guitar and Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) on percussion and keyboards. Cissy Houston and her young daughter Whitney were among the backing singers. The tracks are very varied in style, with some funky percussion and jazzy horns balanced by the Neville Brothers’ take on Nat King Cole (“Mona Lisa”) and a soul ballad “The Ten Commandments Of Love”.
In 1985 Wardell was involved in an interesting project with Aaron Neville and his producer Joel Dorn. Aaron was born in 1941 and had grown up listening to early R&B and doo-wop from the fifties and sixties. Now he wanted to revisit the sounds of his youth and pay tribute to those pioneers. Six songs were chosen (two were linked as a medley) and Wardell was invited to arrange them and conduct the recording at Ultrasonic Studios in New Orleans. Wardell arrangements are simple, soft and warm, perfectly enhancing the purity of Aaron’s vocals. Johnny Ace’s “Pledging My Love” sets the tone for the EP, followed by the Impressions’ “For Your Precious Love”, with its gospel-style backing harmonies. Aaron’s song from the Neville Brothers’ 1981 album is included too; it is maybe the stand-out track.
Dr. John’s Grammy award-winning 1992 album “Goin’ Back to New Orleans” was arranged and produced by Wardell. It was another project that must have given him great satisfaction. Mac Rebennack set out to pay tribute to a wide range of earlier contributors to the music of New Orleans. Aaron Neville’s tribute was centred on songs from the fifties and sixties: Dr. John kept his focus on New Orleans and went back a lot further. The album draws on jazz, blues and early rock’n’roll. A few names from the list of songwriters give a good idea of the quality of chosen pieces: W.C. Handy, Jellyroll Morton, Huddie Ledbetter, Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew, and Huey “Piano” Smith. What a fantastic challenge for Wardell Quezergue to arrange and produce such a varied collection. Of course, he does a brilliant job. More than any other single album “Goin’ Back to New Orleans” conjures up the spirit of the music of the Crescent City. Give it a listen. It will make you smile!
Wardell Quezergue (left) with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown at Tower Records, New Orleans, 1997
Photo: Masahiro Sumori (Wikimedia Commons)
Early in 1999 Wardell was back in Ultrasonic Studios, conducting his arrangements of the songs on Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown’s album “American Music, Texas Style”. Brown was a well-known blues singer, born in Louisiana but raised in Texas. He had moved to New Orleans in the seventies and played on Professor Longhair’s album “Rock’N’Roll Gumbo” in 1974. Now, twenty-five years later, Brown wanted to pay tribute to the jazz and blues players that had inspired him. At seventy-four years of age, his voice was good but not quite as strong as before, but his guitar-playing was as good as ever. Wardell’s arrangements brought out the spirit of the original tracks that Brown had heard, recreating a big-band sound, with help from Nicholas Payton on trumpet and Wes Anderson on alto saxophone. Once again, Wardell was able to do exactly what his client wanted.
In 2000, Wardell released an album of his own. Surprisingly, it was a classical piece, entitled “A Creole Mass”, that he had been working on for many years. It was based on his personal experience during the Korean War and recognised his Creole ancestry. Wardell’s unit had been based in Tokyo, where he was given responsibility for arranging music for the army bands. When his unit was then sent to the front line in Korea, Wardell was expecting to go with them. However, he was replaced by another soldier, so that he could continue his work with music. The man who replaced him was later killed in action. This led Wardell to start work on a tribute to his fellow soldier who lost his life. The final Mass is complex and varied, requiring a full orchestra, a chorus, a chorale (that sings spirituals), a children’s choir, a brass band, and a group of vocalists. The Mass was premiered in 2000 at St. Louis Cathedral, in the centre of New Orleans, and recorded at the same time.
In 2003 Wardell produced a debut album for Will Porter, a West Coast singer, who was interested in exploring jazz, soul, and blues. Mr. Quezergue could certainly cope with all of those. For the recording he brought in Leo Nocentelli on guitar and Billy Preston on keyboards and added strings by way of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. The resulting album, “Happy”, is jazzy but gentle. Some of the songs hark back to Memphis (“Don’t Pass Me By”), while others are more New Orleans in inspiration (“Easy Street”). There is a nod to the blues in “Like a Circle (Around the Sun)”. The keyboard melodies are sweet and simple, with excellent horn arrangements in support. There is nothing with sharp edges, even on the funkier tracks. According to the New York Blues & Jazz Society, it was the year’s best-produced CD. And it was exactly what Will Porter wanted.
Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, devastating many parts of New Orleans. Wardell lived in one of the affected areas. He lost all his belongings and his large collection of musical scores. In addition, he had recently been declared legally blind, following a period of failing eyesight due to diabetes. Support came very quickly, a mark of the respect that his fellow musicians had for him. In 2006, a group of people led by Dr. John and including Mike Mills of the pop group REM, organised a series of benefit concerts. Grapevine Records then issued an anthology of Wardell’s work entitled “Strung Out”. Somehow, he got back on his feet and was able to continue working.
In 2009, Wardell was awarded an honorary doctorate in music by Loyola University, New Orleans. The ceremony highlighted his commitment to public service, especially his dedication to teaching, and his life-long desire to enhance the careers of others through his work. The same year, a tribute concert to Wardell was organised at the Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Centre in New York. The headline acts were Dr. John, Jean Knight, The Dixie Cups, and Robert Parker, backed by a band drawn from New Orleans musicians, including Zigaboo Modeliste, conducted by Wardell himself!
In 2010 he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
In 2011 Wardell worked on another album by Will Porter entitled “Tick Tock Tick”, that featured Dr. John, Bettye LaVette, Jimmy Haslip on bass, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, Bernard Johnson on drums, plus the Louisiana Philharmonic Strings.
Wardell also finished another classical piece in 2011, that he had been working on for two years. It was inspired by his Catholic faith and deals with the concept of resurrection. It is called “The Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ” and the whole work received its premiere at Corpus Christi – Epiphany Church in New Orleans in 2013. The performance was recorded and is available……Sadly, Wardell and his wife did not get the chance to hear this performance. Yoshi Tamaki died in May of 2011. Wardell Quezergue died in the following September.
In trying to understand why Wardell Quezergue was such an icon for New Orleans musicians, it is instructive to read what he said about his way of working. He described the process in an interview reported in New Orleans’ OffBeat Magazine, 1st February 2004, by John Swenson: “Whenever I arrange, the first thing that comes to my mind is the bass part. From the bass you get the groove, you get the bottom of what you want to do from the bass. A good drum player will fill in the gaps. That’s the root. But it’s always the melodic line with the bass that starts me off with everything. It’s all about energy.”
He deserves to be mentioned alongside Dave Bartholomew and Allen Toussaint as one of the creators of the New Orleans R&B Sound. He was there at the beginning, playing in Dave Bartholomew’s band, and he was there still in 2011, still working despite his failing eyesight and still an inspiration to those with whom he worked.
When asked to comment on Wardell Quezergue for his obituary, Deacon John Moore said: “Wardell was truly an inspiration and a tremendous asset to the music community. He always tried to help somebody. He would never turn down a project. He gave his whole life to the promotion and promulgation of New Orleans culture.” (Offbeat Magazine, October 1st, 2011, John Swenson)
He was a humble man, but he gained an appropriate nickname that did justice to his contribution to the music of his city: The Creole Beethoven.
Wardell Quezergue: The Creole Beethoven
Image: creolemass website
