C i g l i o

Through Gracie I met Jessie Paige, manager of the Blue Nile.  After Jazzfest, the Blue Nile resumed repairs and once again put the plywood up.  Even though the Blue Nile was closed, I wanted to maintain the vibrancy of the club.  Jesse permitted me to paint a mural on the boards of the closed club.

This  mural was dedicated to a local beloved genius  congo and jazz drummer, Kufaru Aaron Muton. Kufaru was born on August 28th 1949 and died on June 12th 2006 almost a year after the great flood. Kufaru was a pillar of New Orleans’ music community.  He loved Frenchmen Street and Frenchmen loved him.   He was a mainstay of the Street frequently blessing the Street with the sound of his drum.

Although I never knew Kufaru, I feel I came to know him in his afterlife.  I began this piece during Kufaru's Second Line on Monday, June 26, 2006. Kufaru’s second line ended at Cafe Brasil across the street from the Blue Nile. I began to paint Kufaru's image while people celebrated his life in the Street on the crossroad behind me.

The mural took me six steamy weeks to complete.  During the creation of this piece many friends of Kufaru would stop by and tell me his story.  All spoke of the strength of his spirit and the humbleness of his heart. My intention for this piece was to put Kufaru at the center and have his spirit emanate throughout. Everything else was found in the moment. Often wondered if it was Kufaru that I heard whispering in my ear.
  
It was a blessing to give this gift to Frenchmen Street and the Blue Nile. It was through the process of this mural that I began to see just how necessary and transformative art is in the construction of our lives. I’m convinced this mural helped many people heal from the losses of Katrina.  The Kufaru Katrina Mural inspired and put smiles on many faces. It was inspiring to be inspiring. The mural is currently housed inside of the Blue Nile. Kufaru now sits and plays with all of the greats that that enter the building.

The Blue Nile was hit by a small tornado that swept through the French Quarter during Katrina.  Consequently, this vibrant Frenchmen Street music club was forced to temporarily close its doors and board up the club.  Thankfully the club was open for Jazzfest 2006.

I was called to New Orleans by the human indecency exposed by the response to Hurricane Katrina. And so I came on a reconnaissance mission during Jazzfest – the first one after Katrina.  On my fourth night ever in New Orleans, I went to the Dragon Smoke show at the Blue Nile where I met my beautiful love Gracie. She was my girlfriend for two and a half years, the Grace of my life and my key to the city.

Kufaru Katrina mural was to be my rite of passage into the city of New Orleans. I met and was inspired by many wonderful people painting the 40'x7' mural on the plywood of the boarded up Blue Nile.

To this day, I am amazed to think I had the honor of painting this special, historical mural; on the same building where I met my beautiful  ex- girlfriend Gracie, the same building where I met my current girlfriend Sarah LaRock. She is my love, my lava and the queen of my heart. In this way the Blue Nile has become a vortex for my life.