Issue Articles — BackTalk
Zigaboo Modeliste
When it comes to the business of defining funk, controversy abounds. Fans and critics will go point by technical point, but we went straight to the source. The simple truth […]
DJ Jubilee
Perhaps the Crescent City’s best kept music secret, Jubilee (Jerome Temple) exploded onto the local arena with his 1993 debut hit single “Do the Jubilee All.” Since then, he’s recorded […]
Irma Thomas
At this point, Irma Thomas needs little or no introduction to New Orleanians or the readers of OffBeat. The quintessential entertainer, for over four decades she’s been regally, and rightfully […]
Little Milton
He still wears the unmistakable accent of a New Orleans native, but Sam Butera can hardly be claimed as a New Orleans musician. Born in New Orleans in 1927, the […]
Keely Smith
Keely Smith’s astounding voice and exotic beauty were a prime ingredient in Louis Prima’s show business success. At 68, she’s enthralling a new generation of music fans with her Swing […]
Ken Burns
Filmmaker Ken Burns first entered the American consciousness in 1990 when The Civil War, his monumental documentary of that defining period in our history became the highest rated program in […]
Terence Blanchard
His father wanted him to be an opera singer, but Terence Blanchard became a jazz trumpeter instead, one whose enveloping sound -defined by a soaring, resplendent tone and a unique […]
Pinetop Perkins
If the term “living legend” weren’t a stock cliche used by every celebrity ass-kisser around, we might use it to describe boogie-woogie piano giant “Pinetop” Perkins. It’s just as well, […]
Earl King
The seventh son of a seventh son, Earl King composes songs that are witty, wry observations of human nature. Earl’s guitar playing, inspired by Guitar Slim and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, […]