Norbert Congrega just wants us to smile. That’s not too much to ask for, is it? Still, the septuagenarian banjo player does live in a sleepy part of southern France rather than this politically volatile neck of the global woods. So, perhaps, it is easier said than done.
Congrega is a member of the charmingly named Les Haricots Rouges jazz combo which is due to appear at the New Orleans Festival at the Tel Aviv Museum November 27-29, as part of a nationwide tour. Stylistically, the band’s accent is very much on early jazz endeavor, such as Dixieland, but they also mix in sounds from other genres and even other cultures, including the mazurka, which hails from Polish folk dance climes.
The group’s intriguing moniker, which translates as The Red Beans, says much about its musical philosophy and how it goes about its entertaining business. The backdrop to the name comes with a compelling historical subtext and makes for a delightful tale.
“The name of the group, in the beginning, was Red Beans,” Congrega enlightens me. “There is a song by Louis Armstrong called “Red Beans and Rice That’s Paradise.”
Any nod in the direction of culinary-based matters naturally resonates over here. But, of course, we don’t have a monopoly on enticing eats, and the banjoist cites a staple of his chosen art form’s birthplace.
“In New Orleans, red beans and rice is a popular dish, like cassoulet in Toulouse,” he notes, referring to his home patch. “This was the music of New Orleans, and red beans was a good thing [to eat]. And the Creoles [mixed-race community of Louisiana] have red beans with fish and manioc.”
Playing for the pleasure of the public
Seems it all fits, on a musical front, too. The Creoles played a key part in the development of jazz in its earliest formative years, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
For Congrega it is not just about the music per se. There is an entire life-affirming line of thought behind the sonic execution.
“For Les Haricots Rouges and the music we play, it is a pleasure. We play for the pleasure of the public. We share the music with the public, and the principal thing for Les Haricots Rouges is to make the people happy with our music. We want people to be happy when they come to hear our music, and go back home without problems,” he chuckles.
That’s a lovely mission to have in life. And it’s a convincing reason to get out of bed every morning – actually, in the professional jazz world perhaps “morning” doesn’t happen until sometime after a.m. is dead and buried – to do your thing in the hope that it will improve the emotional lot of the people who have shelled out their hard-earned cash to see you.
In fact, the band has been doing that for quite some time, actually since long before Congrega first put his own then youthful fingers to banjo strings. Les Haricots Rouges began life way back in 1963 and, naturally, has gone through a number of personnel changes in the interim. Albeit dipping into a very different avenue of musical expression, that is almost as long as the Rolling Stones. And while the peerless British rockers have not changed their lineup much over the past six-plus decades, that is still some going for a bunch of Frenchmen plying musical genres that have been around for well over a century.
Congrega has chalked up plenty of mileage with the band, joining in 1974, at the age of 21. He says the secret to the group’s longevity owes more to the chemistry between the members than to their musicianship. “When someone leaves the group, we based the choice first on who the new person is, rather than because of their technique. We look at what the person thinks about life. That is more important.”
Openness of mind and a willingness to flex stylistic borders also come into the personnel reckoning.
“In the beginning the group played jazz, but now we also play creole music,” he notes. “And it is more important that the guy who joins the group, joins us as a family.” The vittles theme gets a reprise. “It is like we are having a meal, and it is important that everybody sits at the table and we share the pleasure of life, and we share the pleasure of making the public happy.”
That, he says, makes for a cohesive unit dialed in on delivering the artistic goods, with a liberal sprinkling of bonhomie and unbridled merriment.
Musical influences
There may be an unshakable feel-good vibe to Les Haricots Rouges, but it is not just about strumming, blowing, and drumming their instruments. There is considerable energy input to the onstage bottom line. Congrega refers back to some of his earliest musical influences from the swinging sixties.
“The Beatles made very nice music, but the Rolling Stones were wilder!” he exclaims. He also discerns some technical and articulatory common ground. “When I hear parade [marching band] music from New Orleans, when I hear the rhythmic [side] of the parade bass drum, and when I listened to the Rolling Stones it was fantastic. [Stones drummer] Charlie Watts played the same beat as the parade; it was exactly the same notes. I was once asked, in a radio interview, which New Orleans drummer I prefer, and I said Charlie Watts. But, he said, he’s from the Rolling Stones. I said yes, Charlie Watts is a drummer who is an extension of the same [musical and stylistic] expression.”
For Congrega and his pals, it’s not only about the sonic end product. Their declared entertainment line of attack is designed to engage more than just our aural senses. “When you see Les Haricots Rouges, it is for the ear but also for the eyes, to see. We move a lot on stage, and we try to play with the audience like a theater. We try to connect with the audience on different levels.”
For the French septet it is primarily about just going with the mood flow. That has, over the years, delivered a broad performance and recording repertoire. The group has put out 11 studio albums, including French Melodies, released to mark the combo’s half century; and its latest offering, Meilleurs Espoirs Masculins (Best Male Hopes), released in 2020, features singular covers of popular numbers featured in well-known movies, the likes of smash hit 1984 supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters.
That determination to keep us all upbeat has also delivered box office success, with the band opening for the likes of the aforementioned Beatles, Stones, and Armstrong and accumulating in excess of one million record sales, albeit across a lengthy timeline.
Congrega neatly sums up his and his bandmates’ credo by referencing a cut on Meilleurs Espoirs Masculins. “It is exactly the text of the song ‘Smile’ [from Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 movie, Modern Times],” he says, before launching into an impromptu vocal delivery of a stanza or two of the time-honored work. “Smile, though your heart is aching. Smile, even though it’s breaking. When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by. If you smile through your fear and sorrow. Smile and maybe tomorrow. You’ll see the sun come shining through, for you.”
In these challenging post-October 7 times, that might just be worth a try.
For tickets and more information: (03) 573-3001 and www.hotjazz.co.il