New Orleans funk and R&B
New Orleans, Louisiana
Photo: Remsberg Inc.
In New Orleans, as Cyril Neville explains, being a musical family is itself a tradition, and the Neville family is one of the city’s most important musical dynasties. “It’s the culture here that it’s passed down from one generation to the next,” Neville notes, and his life story certainly illustrates that legacy. At age 74, Cyril Neville, who got his start as the youngest of the four Neville Brothers, is a renowned percussionist who’s been lauded as “one of the last great southern soul singers.” In Richmond, the family tradition comes full circle, as Cyril performs with his son Omari Neville and Omari’s band, the Fuel.
Growing up surrounded by music, the rhythm really spoke to young Cyril, so he naturally gravitated toward percussion. According to family lore, he wasn’t allowed metal utensils as a toddler because he would break plates drumming on them. He was profoundly influenced by the early musical successes of his three older brothers—Art, Charles, and Aaron—particularly when eldest brother Art’s band, the Hawketts, who had once rehearsed in the Neville’s living room, recorded the iconic “Mardi Gras Mambo” in 1955, when Cyril was only seven.
Cyril eventually joined the Meters, a band Art and his friends formed. The Meters were key innovators in the development of funk in the 1960s and ’70s. Funk emphasizes the off-beat with heavy rhythms and slows down the tempo, allowing for the often-improvised insertion of richer melodic expression than possible in faster dance music. New Orleans funk marries this modern groove with local sounds like New Orleans jazz, Mardi Gras Indian tunes, and brass band second-line parades.
In the late 1970s, Cyril’s uncle George Landry, aka Big Chief Jolly, invited the four Neville siblings to collaborate with his Mardi Gras Indian band, the Wild Tchoupitoulas. The resulting eponymous 1976 recording brought national attention to this vital New Orleans tradition. For many Black New Orleanians, it is an homage to Native Americans who assisted their enslaved ancestors; for the Nevilles, who have passed down stories of Choctaw ancestry for generations, it is a proud expression of family identity. Inspired by this experience, the siblings formed the Neville Brothers. Over the next three decades, they became international stars as the first family of New Orleans funk, soul, and R&B. Cyril also continued his storied solo career, including innovative collaborations with the blues-rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, the next-generation New Orleans phenomenon Galactic, and Dumpstaphunk with nephews Ivan and Ian (Aaron and Art’s sons, respectively).
At the Richmond Folk Festival, Cyril Neville will share the stage with his son’s band, Omari Neville & the Fuel. Playing with Omari, Cyril says, brings “another level of Neville,” and the band represents “the past, present, and future of New Orleans funk.” In addition to Omari on drums, the band includes Daryl Johnson, the original Neville Brothers’ bassist—and one of Cyril’s best friends—as well as Gregg Moliaro (guitar) and Austin Clements (keyboard), both of whom have been playing with Omari since they were all in their early teens. For Cyril Neville, veteran of the Meters, Wild Tchoupitoulas, and Neville Brothers, “being on stage with my son and his band is like being on stage with all three of those entities at the same time, all rolled into one.” For audiences, it’s a New Orleans history lesson wrapped up in a soul-stirring dance party in the great Neville tradition.