The Trio with Johnny Vidacovich, featuring George Porter Jr. and Tab Benoit

Photo Credit Jerry Moran

     Tonight, The Trio featuring Johnny Vidacovich plays its thursday night residency at Maple Leaf Bar on Oak street in Uptown New Orleans. The special guests for the night are George Porter Jr. and Tab Benoit.
     George, one of today's most sought after bassists, has been purveying funk music since the late 1960's when he helped create The Meters, who went on to revolutionize funk music. Since then, he has toured rigorously, playing with artists such as Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones, as well as a plethora of local New Orleans musicians. Along with The Trio, George tours with The Runnin' Pardners, The Meter Men featuring original Meters members Leo Nocentelli and Zigaboo Modeliste with Page McConnell of Phish, on top of finding time to sit in with numerous musicians. He is a regular on the festival circuit, including yearly performances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest, Jam Cruise, and Bear Creek.

Photo Credit Jerry Moran

     Tab Benoit started playing the blues when he was a teenager in Houma, Louisiana. He honed his craft, playing bars and clubs in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, specifically Tabby's Blues Box and Heritage Hall. Playing with notable blues musicians such as Henry Gray and Raful Neal, Tab began emerging as a presence in the blues community, impressing locals and national fans alike. He has appeared on records with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville, Brian Stoltz, George Porter Jr., and Anders Osborne. His gritty, soulful blues have come to be recognized nationally, as Tab has taken to touring the United States regularly.
     With Johnny holding the beat on the drums, George funkin' it up on the bass, and Tab slinging soul on the guitar, The Maple Leaf promises to be grooving and moving tonight.

Check out a recording of a previous Trio show with Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr. and June Yamagishi
 https://archive.org/details/JVidacovich2002-08-29 

Thanks to Jerry Moran of Native Orleanian Photography for allowing me to use some of his great photographs. See more of Jerry's work at http://www.nativeorleanian.org/ and enjoy more of his shots from this show here: http://www.nativeorleanian.org/johnny_vidacovich_trio_tab_benoit_george_porter_jr_maple_leaf_11_14_13