Issue Articles
Freddie Keppard: The King of In-Between
Like many of the best and earliest New Orleans jazz musicians, Freddie Keppard’s name is inextricably linked with that of Buddy Bolden. He was the next King of Jazz in […]
Idris Muhammad: From Here to Hair
Born Leo Morris—a relative of the Nevilles, a resident of the 13th Ward—Idris Muhammad was destined to make an impact. At nine years old, he was drumming with Dixieland bands. […]
Michel Navedo Quartet, New Orleans on My Mind (Parlour Trick Records)
Michel Navedo might be best remembered, up to now, for fronting legendary local noisers, Nipples of Isis. The release of the trumpeter’s recording New Orleans on My Mind should adjust […]
Blue Lu Barker: Kind of Blue
Her voice was never as buxom as she was. Her husband’s fame outgrew her own. Still, Blue Lu Barker remains an important icon of New Orleans jazz and blues 12 […]
Kid Ory: The Permission Not Given
[Updated] Edward “Kid” Ory may not be as well known as the superstars of early jazz, players such as Louis Armstrong and Buddy Bolden, but Ory played with them all, […]
Ed Blackwell: Speaking in Drums
Ed Blackwell died a few days shy of his 63rd birthday in 1992. He was eulogized around the world. His obituary ran in hundreds of papers, mostly because of his […]
Bunk Johnson: History is Bunk
When writers Bill Russell and Fredric Ramsey tracked Bunk Johnson down in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1938, they found him toothless and out of music. Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong […]
