Mr. French last performed with the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band
in the summer of 2011. Afflicted with dementia and suffering from
diabetes-related complications, he then moved into an assisted-living facility.
His blunt talk, strong opinions, combativeness and force of
personality earned him detractors; an altercation with a fellow WWOZ deejay
reportedly got him booted off the air. But he also had his fans, including
Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis.
After Hurricane Katrina, he used his position at WWOZ as a
bully pulpit to berate elected officials he believed let the city down. Both on
air and onstage, he returned to similar themes. "In God we trust, all
others pay cash" was a favorite expression. He often referenced red beans
as an indicator of his economic status or as an inducement for fans to buy CDs.
During one two hour-session on the air in the summer of
2007, he lobbied former WWOZ deejay Michael "Mr. Jazz" Gourrier for a
free lunch; bashed the
Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mayor Ray Nagin; and spun a diverse program of mostly
traditional, mostly local, jazz. His radio playlists favored the likes of Louis
Armstrong, Dr. John, trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, pianist-composer Matt Lemmler,
hot jazz singer Ingrid Lucia.
Of his tenure at WWOZ, he said, "I do a lot I'm not
supposed to do, but nobody stops me. I think it's good that somebody can do
something that's not automatic. I'm not a robot; I'm a human being. And I've
always been opinionated. Ask both of my ex-wives."
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