George Bell has been playing trumpet for 46 years.
“I’ve been at it awhile,” he says, in his trademark deep voice. “I’ve been playing since I was in the fifth grade. I’m still working on it.”
Though he’s too humble to admit it, the local jazzman is a fixture in the community. When he’s not playing a gig or performing at his church every Sunday, you can find him at Baton Rouge General Hospital’s Mid City campus. There, he was recently appointed administrator, managing and running physician practices for the hospital. He has no regrets about choosing a full-time job and playing music on the side.
“My job allowed me to raise a family and achieve a level of professional success,” he says. “I enjoy what I do outside of music. Music is like the dessert to the meal.”
However, Bell has found a way to integrate his profession into his hobby. At the hospital, he heads the arts and medicine program and occasionally holds concerts for patients during the holidays.
“To bring a sense of joy and peace to patients through my music is very gratifying for them and for me,” he says. “I think I get more out of it than they do. I started [playing for patients] years before we started the [arts and medicine] program. There’s nothing like that.”
Bell’s willingness to go the nine-to-five route came after he graduated high school. He came to a fork in the road and could have continued to pursue music, but saw how his older brother, also a trumpeter, took a full-time job in the oil industry while continuing to play on the side.
“Unless you’re willing to move and relocate, the lifestyle and touring life of a musician … it’s hard to make a living,” he says. “In my case, with health care, it’s even harder to make the living that I’m making, so I chose not to go that route.”
Still, Bell has his opportunities to show off his trumpeting talents such as this weekend’s concert at Manship Theatre, where he’ll perform as part of the sixth George Bell and Friends concert. Joining him on stage is a veritable who’s who of monster Louisiana talents including Herman Jackson on drums, Todd Duke on guitar, Roland Guerin on bass, Christian Winter on saxophone, Dr. Gregory Ward on percussion and harmonica and Stacey Carter on vocals. While the previous concerts have had themes, this weekend’s show will focus on fun, summertime vibes, Bell says.
Like his job at the hospital, where he manages physicians, he considers himself a manager on the musical stage as well.
“There are a lot of parallels between music and management,” he says. “The whole goal of management is to assemble the right talent and provide the strategy and structure that allows talent to flourish, fulfilling whatever goal that is at hand. With music, you get a group of competent musicians together, provide them a structure that allows them to create and use their talents and abilities, and then beautiful things happen. I’m very democratic in my approach. I rely heavily on the input of these artists I bring in. The whole beauty is when you have musicians playing and contributing and listening.”
Live picks
Local musicians perform their favorite Roy Orbison tunes tonight at Red Star for a Roy Orbison Tribute night. 10 p.m.
Get funky with New Orleans bassist supreme George Porter Jr. and his band Runnin’ Pardners Saturday night at The Varsity. Moon Sugar opens. Doors open at 8 p.m. The show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 online.
A trio of local rock bands—Jetlagger, Molly Taylor and Caddywhompus—hit the Spanish Moon stage Saturday. Taylor is currently at work on her sophomore album, and Caddywhompus is writing new material as well. Check out a live video of Jetlagger below.
Song of the week
Blake Mills’ “If I’m Unworthy”
It’s been five long years since we’ve heard from one of the best session players and songwriters, Blake Mills. In that time, he’s collaborated with Fiona Apple, Neil Diamond and many others. This fall, Mills will release his second album, Heigh Ho, and this single is a dreamy ballad that shows off Mills’ guitar and vocal talents. If you haven’t heard him, it’s time to fall in love.
Album of the week
Common’s Nobody’s Smiling
On his tenth album, the Chicago rapper gets dark and produces one of his most consistent releases since his classic Be. Sure, there are a few missteps, but when Common is on, he’s one of the best in hip hop.
