Fine ART: Oldest Neville Brother stays true to his heritage

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Feb. 28, 2003 | 8:50 a.m.

Who: The Neville Brothers.

When: 9 p.m. tonight through Sunday.

Where: The Club at the Cannery.

Tickets: $25.50-$29.50.

Information: (702) 507-5700.

Spend even a moment chatting with Art Neville, and it quickly becomes apparent how seriously the eldest Neville Brother takes his roots.

"Right now I'm looking at the house that I grew up in," Neville, 65, said in a recent phone interview from his New Orleans home. "I'm sitting down now right across the street from our first house. In fact, my brother, Charles, still owns it and stays there whenever he comes to town."

From the moment Neville began singing and playing piano and keyboard in the 1950s, his New Orleans background has been a major factor in his music and his life.

"If you grow up in New Orleans, naturally you're going to take a lot from it, the street bands, the parade bands. I know I did," Neville said. "It's always with me."

Tonight at 9, Art Neville and his three siblings Aaron, Charles and Cyril will begin a three-night run at The Club at the Cannery. The Neville Brothers' performances highlight a Mardi Gras festival at the venue that kicks off at 7 each night.

Despite their close-knit family environment, the four Nevilles might not have come together as a musical group had it not been for their uncle, George Landry.

In 1975 Landry brought in Art Neville's band at the time groundbreaking funk outfit the Meters for a session with Landry's own Wild Tchoupitoulas. Aaron, Charles and Cyril Neville also showed up for the recording, and Landry soon hatched the Neville Brothers concept.

"He said, Have you ever thought about doing a family thing?' and evidently, none of us had," Art Neville said. "It turned out to be very rewarding. I'm glad we did it."

Officially formed in 1977, the Neville Brothers have released more than 20 studio albums, live recordings and compilations during their storied career. The group won the 1989 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental, and Aaron Neville has gone on to even greater commercial success as a solo artist.

"Cyril is like the fire. He's passionate the way he sings and the way he puts himself into whatever it is he's doing. And Charlie is the horn man, the be-bop man. He likes to play songs that we heard when we were kids," Neville said.

"And Aaron ... you know Aaron. You hear him in elevators. I go into the supermarket and I hear Aaron."

But for all their recording success, the Nevilles are most renowned for their stage act, a show Art Neville says only gets better with age.

"We know how to keep it strong," Neville said. "I come onstage and look at the audience. I check out the age. We know what to do for young people, elderly people, middle age, whatever it is. We can play country, the blues ... we've got a little bit of everything."

For Neville, simply being onstage this weekend will be a significant accomplishment. In 2001 he underwent surgery to alleviate a painful back condition. Since then he has been confined to a wheelchair at times, and undergoes regular physical therapy sessions.

"I'm much better off than I was. There's no pain, and it hasn't affected my playing, but I'm not walking that well," Neville said. "I had the same operation seven years ago, and the scar tissue from the first surgery got all tangled up with muscle and nerves. I was in very much pain."

Art Neville still makes it to most of the Neville Brothers' gigs, but occasionally the group performs without him.

That doesn't mean there are only three Nevilles present, though. Aaron's son, Ivan, and Art's son, Ian, often supplement the core lineup, and Art says the family's musical pipeline isn't likely to end there.

"There are a lot of musicians in the family," Neville said.

"Cyril has a son who's a serious drummer. Ian is becoming a very serious guitar player. And some of the other kids will probably wind up doing what we're doing. We were lucky. They may be lucky too."

Neville also has plans to release a solo disc, which he said will likely hit shelves in 2004.

"What I'm planning to do is go back to when I first started and pick some songs that I did then, some I wrote and some I didn't," he said. "I also have some original stuff that hasn't been released yet. But mainly, I'm thinking about getting some good rock 'n' roll, some good rhythm and blues, from back in the day and putting my touch to it."

That touch has helped earn Neville the nickname "Poppa Funk" from devoted fans of both the Neville Brothers and the Meters. During his Meters years, his band even toured with the Rolling Stones.

"Oh man. That was something you never forget. The Stones knew who we were when nobody else did," Neville said. "And all I knew about the Stones was, '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.' But after we got out there with them it was incredible."

Neville said he remains in contact with some of the Stones, most notably guitarist Keith Richards, who stops by Art Neville's home whenever he visits New Orleans.

"Adventures like that are good, stuff you can be proud of," Neville said. "But the best part of the whole thing is playing. I'm really enjoying that aspect of it right now."