An Itinerant Mind

More Musings on Andre

Prompt 2. What is Andre's favourite genre? Does he have a favourite artist? Who and Why?

A conno-sewer of so many musical genres, you might think it impossible for Andre to have a favourite. He's done blues; ragtime; punk; industrial; electro-pop; bubble-pop (electric); and naturally, Celtic Rock. But his first love is always for Jazz. He loves the highbrow, rarefied and downright intellectual aspects of Jazz. Experiments with tempo, technique and even on one strange occasion tea, all give Andre goosebumps.

Being the consummate drummer he is, he has been in demand to play with many of the greats. Never one to name drop, Andre keeps photos of himself with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald in prominent displays around the Banana Bar. Pride of place however goes to a signed picture of Andre's favourite artist Cab Calloway. Mr Calloway as the better educated amongst you will already know, was a master of scat. How could Andre fail to love the guy. Cab even had a hit with 'The Scat Song'. Andre loves scat, and if you think about it, how could it be otherwise?



Calloway is best known for his song 'Minnie The Moocher', which he performed so memorably in 'The Blues Brothers'.
Andre and Cab got on like a house on fire and according to unsubstantiated rumours on more than one occasion literally burned down a house.

Following Cab's death in 1994, Andre performed a stark acoustic version of 'Minnie The Moocher' on the Jimmy Kibble show. 'Pretentious Percussion Magazine's Wilberforce Cherryblossom described it as being:

"A performance full of raw sewage, scatological beyond belief, Andre has just flushed his career down the pan."

But the public loved it and called for more. Andre obliged, and teamed up with Snoop Dawg. Together they released a tribute album, with newly recorded versions of Cab Calloway classics. On the back of the album's multi-platinum sales they funded a Robot Chicken project 'Monkey Poop Island, The Musical'. Based loosely on Snoop's ten second appearance on the plastic puppetry's deeply philosophical examination of societal norms and responses to diverse stimuli, the show hit Broadway like an ocean going liner, and promptly sank.

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