Over the past few years, saxophonist Khris Royal has emerged as one of the most exciting up-and-coming musicians on the New Orleans music scene. He’s one of George Porter, Jr.’s Runnin’ Pardners, and his own funk-fusion outfit, Dark Matter, has been busy establishing itself as one of the city’s most incendiary live acts. On the [...]
Like OutKast’s flagship Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and Isaac Hayes’ soul odyssey “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” before it, Elespee and Prospek’s Quantumetaphysicadillac Music pushes musical boundaries and puts the urban landscape in perspective. “Morality’s a luxury / Survival is a must,” Elespee raps over a woozy, nostalgic jazz-funk groove in the opening verse of “Milk & Honey,” a song that sizes [...]
In an era defined by piecemeal pop, snazzy Los Angeles sextet Fitz and the Tantrums have stirred up crowds the world over with a nouveau-soul sound that is as snappy as it is subtle. The brainchild of Michael “Fitz” Fitzpatrick, the band materialized out of an impromptu jam session in his living room—their impetus, marrying [...]
Over the course of the year, musician Paul Sanchez and screenwriter Colman deKay’s opera and album Nine Lives has blossomed into one of the most celebrated New Orleans releases of 2011. On stage, the musical adaption of Dan Brown’s 2009 book of the same title takes the form of a pop opera. Backed by a [...]
A natural talent with a knack for penning vintage gems that harken back to the golden era of R&B, Eric Lindell is in top form on West County Drifter. After parting ways with Alligator Records in 2009, Lindell remained busy, independently releasing 2010’s Between Motion and Rest and 2011’s Cazadero on his own Sparco imprint. [...]
Exceptional lyricist and incomparable guitarist Thomas Johnson, the gravelly-voiced leader of Thomas and the People, is an explorer and a soul-searcher whose sound veers between the lo-fi folk of Iron and Wine and the homespun blues of Ben Harper. As the title of his recently released LP suggests, Beneath the Trees is an earthy, organic [...]
This fall, trumpeter Mario Abney will host a series of open jazz jams Wednesday nights upstairs at Maison on Frenchmen Street. Inspired by New York’s loft jazz scene, which took place in the mid-1970s and produced some of the era’s most progressive sounds, Abney will open his stage to all improvisationally inclined musicians. Tonight, Wednesday, [...]
Today, renowned soulman William Bell has come to be known as one of the principal architects of the Stax sound, a sound that defined R&B and soul music from the early sixties through mid-seventies. In his own words, Bell describes the Stax sound as “hybrid sound, rooted in gospel that was a mixture of blues, [...]
After 25 years of running and rebelling, Steve Earle’s 14th album, I’ll Never Get Out of this World Alive, renders a sobering conclusion: “Doesn’t matter / ’cause there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna leave this town.” Fans of HBO’s Treme will recognize these lyrics as those of street musician Harley Watt, the character portrayed [...]
On the joint release Dollar$ & Daialogue, New Orleans emcee Slangston Hughes and Memphis rapper/producer L’Daialogue DiCaprio show they aren’t afraid to put their money where their mouths are, delivering an album that is as deep lyrically as it is sonically. The deft production by the team of L’Daialogue and MiZUnderstatistic compliments the two underground [...]
