New Orleans’ legendary drummer and a member of the Funky Meters among many other bands, Russell Batiste Jr., passed away on Saturday at his home in LaPlace. He was 57. His brother, Damon Batiste, has stated that a heart attack was the cause of death. Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli said of Russell, “He was like a son to me,” hours after hearing the news of his death on Sunday.
New Orleans funk drummer #RussellBatiste’s cause of death was reported by his brother Damon Batiste on September 30, 2023. He was 57.
— US day News (@usdaynews) October 1, 2023
“I didn’t know how much he meant to me until now. It’s a helluva loss to New Orleans music and culture.” In addition to his own Orkestra from da Hood and Russell Batiste & Friends, Batiste has performed with a wide variety of other bands, such as the Meters, the Funky Meters, George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Dumpstaphunk, Bonerama, Papa Grows Funk, the Wild Magnolias, and the Joe Krown Trio.
He also played in the all-star Vida Blue trio alongside Page McConnell (keyboardist for Phish) and Oteil Burbridge (bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and Dead & Company). “Russell was a major economic development engine by himself,” Damon Batiste said. “He gave all of his blood, sweat and tears to other groups when he was young.”
Batiste had a global following, and even rock stars like Mick Jagger praised his drumming, yet he never sought fame or money for himself. Instead of seeing the globe, he focused on playing at small bars. “He never was interested in accolades and money,” Damon Batiste said.
“He wanted to make the music right. Russell loved New Orleans more than anything. He just wanted to be at the Maple Leaf Bar and Le Bon Temps Roule.” “Russell should have been playing stadiums, not music clubs. You don’t have talent like that in a bar.”
Russell Batiste joined his renowned cousin Jon Batiste onstage for the first few songs of his pop-up event at the Maple Leaf in the days leading up to the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The excitement of his cousin appeared to amuse Jon Batiste. “When he and Jon performed at the Maple Leaf, he was the happiest man in the world,” Damon Batiste said.
Born David Russell Batiste Jr. from a large musical family, he picked up several instruments at an early age. David Batiste Sr. was a founding member of the Gladiators, an influential New Orleans funk band that later became the Batiste Brothers Band. David Jr. went by his middle name, Russell, to avoid being identified with his famous father.
When they were in elementary school, he and Damon both became members of the Batiste Brothers Band. In 1978, the brothers debuted as Young Gifted & Black at Jazz Fest. The next year, they came back with their band, the Batiste Brothers. Russell played drums in the Marching 100 band at St. Augustine High School.
He attended Southern University after high school and studied jazz saxophone under the late Edward “Kidd” Jordan. After graduating from Southern, he joined the band of vocalist Charmaine Neville as the drummer. For the last four decades, he was an essential member of the New Orleans music scene.
Following the retirement of original Meters drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste, he rose to popularity in the late 1980s as the band’s drummer in a later version. When compared to Modeliste, Batiste’s funk was more forceful. His debut performance with the Meters was at the Riverboat Hallelujah on Tulane Avenue.
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“Russell was a wild young guy,” Nocentelli said. “The first time he played with the Meters, he was late. We had to go find him. I chewed him out.” After Nocentelli quit the Meters, Art Neville on keyboards, George Porter Jr. on bass, Batiste on drums, and Brian Stoltz on guitar continued as a new group called the Funky Meters.
They gave fans all throughout the country a taste of the heat with their powerful renditions of Meters standards. Batiste’s battle with addiction lasted several years, but he managed to get through. “He crossed that hurdle a long time ago,” Damon Batiste said. “He got back on his feet.”
After Batiste’s “wild” years, Nocentelli stated, “that depiction of him was gone,” and he went on to say that Batiste had been a trustworthy partner for over a decade, one whose “heart and soul” approach to music mirrored his own. According to Damon Batiste, he was the “glue” of the large Batiste family. He placed a premium on music above anything else.
Even though B.B. King’s on Decatur was closed due to the COVID outbreak, Russell Batiste & Friends still practiced there on most Tuesdays. As part of the drum corps for the Krewe of O.A.K.’s Mid-Summer Mardi Gras Parade on August 26, Russell Batiste paraded down Oak Street, not far from the Maple Leaf. “That was his last parade,” Damon Batiste declared.
Russell Batiste & Friends played at Le Bon Temps Roule on Magazine St. every Sunday in September. He went to see his alma mater, St. Augustine, take on Edna Karr at Tad Gormley Stadium on September 23. He shared a video on Instagram of himself sitting in the bleachers with other members of the St. Augustine’s class of 1983, his hair short and coloured aquamarine.
At the NOLA Funk Fest, held October 20-22 at the New Orleans Jazz Museum on the grounds of the Old U.S. Mint, he was slated to perform three times, once with his own band, once with the Gladiators, and once with Nocentelli.
As news of Russell Batiste’s passing spread, artists from all over the New Orleans music scene took to social media to share their thoughts and feelings about a man whose character was as big as his drumming.
Batiste’s “talent, unpredictability, fire” were praised by trombonist Mark Mullins, who worked with Batiste in the Runnin’ Pardners and Bonerama. On-stage spontaneous combustion and a unique pocket design. With him, there was no tactfulness. When he smiled and gave you that look on stage, you knew you were about to be taken to musical heights you never imagined possible.
Papa Grows Funk founder John “Papa” Gros wrote on Facebook, “Russell Batiste embodied the entire history of New Orleans drumming every time he played. He represented it all, from street bands to trad, from rhythm & blues to rock ‘n’ roll, from funk to fusion. He was the past, present and future of the New Orleans sound and we all knew it.”
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