In the music world of New Orleans, it is rare to see a clarinet player venture outside of traditional jazz, however, Gregory Agid has been deemed as something special by his peers.
Showcasing his unique take on music, Agid, a Loyola alumnus, has released his first album “Mys– tery Blues” on Feb. 28.
“Playing clarinet outside the traditional jazz is pretty rare. The album shows who Greg is and his personality,” Erin Demastes, Loyola alumna, said. “I think it’s a great premiere album.”
After two years of playing a weekly gig with the same band, Agid felt that the band had achieved something that needed to be documented.
“Not many bands have the opportunity to play together so much, we came to a really cool band sound and I felt it was im– portant to capture what we had been working towards and the album is really like a snapshot of the moment,” Agid said.
Agid feels that “Mystery Blues” is a product of years of practice. The album is a live take all the way through with no edits made. “This CD is going to be a really big step up, more people need to be able to hear him and this is going to get out to a world wide audience,” John Reeks, instructor
of clarinet at Loyola, said.
Reeks worked with Agid before and during his college career. Throughout that time, he has witnessed his development as a
musician.
“When he came here, and this is not a knock on Greg, he was not on the same reading level as the other players because he was primarily a jazz player, but he just went nuts practicing,” Reeks said.
Agid was always serious about
his music and never wasted any time according to John Mahoney, professor of music and coordinator of music studies.
“Really quickly, he not only got up to the college level, but was one of the leaders, and he remained that way the whole time he was here. He excelled at jazz and in the classical department,” Reeks said. “Very few people are able to do that.”
Agid’s work ethic and dedication remain memorable to other New Orleans musicians.
“He is an outstanding musician and hopefully he will continue to stay in New Orleans, we need musicians like him in New Orleans,” Jospeh Hebert, professor of music, director of bands and coordinator of wind and percussion actives, said.
Leslie Gamboni can be reached at [email protected]
