MONK BOUDREAUX HONORED WITH 29th ANNUAL U.S. POSTAL SERVICE JAZZ FEST CACHET
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indian tribe is the honoree on the 29th annual United States Postal Service's Jazz Fest Postal Cachet. This highly collectible mailing envelope, embossed with the Jazz Fest logo and an image of the group, will be unveiled on April 27.
Mr. Boudreaux, 75, is expected to perform at the unveiling ceremony, which is free and open to the public.
The ceremony takes place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 27, at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center (1225 N. Rampart Street, New Orleans, LA 70116).
The 2017 Postal Cachet will be available for sale at the ceremony starting at 10 a.m. The cost is $15 each. They also are available for sale at the U.S. Postal Service tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, which takes place at the Fair Grounds.
Monk Boudreaux - born Joseph Pierre Boudreaux in New Orleans in 1941 - is the Big Chief of the Golden Eagles, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. He is widely known for his long-time collaboration with Big Chief Bo Dollis in The Wild Magnolias, with whom he was friends since childhood.
In the late 1960s, Boudreaux joined the Wild Magnolias. In 1970, Boudreaux appeared with the Wild Magnolias at the very first New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and also in the same year, the group released the single "Handa Wanda" on Crescent City Records, the first studio recorded music by the Mardi Gras Indians. In 1974, Boudreaux appeared with the Wild Magnolias on their debut album on Barclay/Polydor Records which featured Snooks Eaglin and Willie Tee in the supporting musicians. Boudreaux is exclusively featured on Golden Eagles' album “Lightning and Thunder,” a live recording released in 1988 on Rounder Records.
After being with the Wild Magnolias for over 30 years, Boudreaux left the group in 2001. Since then he has performed and recorded with artists such as Anders Osborne, Galactic and Papa Mali, in addition to leading his own group, the Golden Eagles.
In the recent years, he has also participated in the recording and tour of the Voice of the Wetlands All-stars, a band that also featured Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, and Dr. John among others. He is also featured on one track in the New Orleans Social Club's album “Sing Me Back Home,” released in 2006. He currently performs regularly in New Orleans, both with the Golden Eagles and with other artists, including John Lisi & Delta Funk, with whom he has also recorded.
In 2010, Boudreaux appeared in the feature-length documentary “Bury the Hatchet,” directed by Aaron Walker. The film is an intimate look at the Mardi Gras Indian tradition, following Boudreaux and several other Mardi Gras Indian Chiefs in the year before Hurricane Katrina, through the storm and the years after. The documentary won best Louisiana feature at the New Orleans Film festival and a work-in-progress edit of the film won the Grand Prize and Intangible Culture Award at the Royal Anthropological Institute Festival of Ethnographic Film in Leeds, England.
In 2016, Boudreaux received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship.
The U.S. Postal Service's Jazz Fest Postal Cachet program began in 1989 with a commemorative envelope featuring Professor Longhair. The list of honorees is:
2016 George Wein
2015 The Meters
2014 Rebirth Brass Band
2013 Trombone Shorty
2012 Kermit Ruffins
2011 The Marsalis Family
2010 Louis Prima
2009 Mahalia Jackson
2008 Deacon John Moore
2007 Harry Connick, Jr.
2006 Art Neville
2005 The Dixie Cups
2004 Aaron Neville
2003 Ernie K-Doe
2002 Ellis Marsalis, Jr.
2001 Dr. John
2000 The Neville Brothers
1999 Fats Domino
1998 Allen Toussaint
1997 Sidney Bechet
1996 Doc Cheatham
1995 Buddy Bolden
1994 Louis Armstrong
1993 Pete Fountain
1992 Irma Thomas
1991 Danny Barker
1990 Jelly Roll Morton
1989 Professor Longhair
Source: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is the nonprofit that owns the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell. The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest, and other raised funds, for year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural enrichment. For more information, please visit www.jazzandheritage.org.
