If you’ve seen MarchFourth Marching Band live, perhaps at Voodoo or last year’s Halloween show at House of Blues, you know the incredible energy this band is capable of bringing. With an entourage of more than 30 horn players, percussionists, acrobats and stilt-walkers M4 has proven itself to be one of the premiere touring acts. With their third studio album, Magnificent Beast, they attempt to capture this energy on record, which they achieve with mostly positive results.

Based in Portland, Oregon, M4 owes much of its sound and aesthetic to New Orleans’ second-line culture. Yet there is much differentiating M4 from New Orleans brass bands, most notably the absence of tuba or sousaphone. Instead the band uses a Fender bass, often overdriven, to achieve its signature sound. Likewise, the feel of the music differs greatly. M4’s grooves are airtight and click-track steady, lacking any of the push-and-pull commonly heard in New Orleans second-line music.

Where Magnificent Beast really shines is in its unique, genre-bending instrumental songs. The opening track, “Lesley Metal,” kicks off with a repeating sax line set atop a killer hip-hop groove, then abruptly changes into a psycho-beat spy metal juggernaut. “Delhi Belly” combines bhangra beats and catchy horn hooks in a way reminiscent of Brooklyn’s Red Baraat, and it’s a true gem. “Sin Camiseta” bridges the gap between Afro-Cuban and New Orleans second-line with natural ease, while “Fuzzy Lentil” exhibits some deeply infectious funk with a head-banging heavy-metal climax.

The vocal tracks don’t fare quite as well. “Soldiers of the Mind” comes off as self-righteous and a bit cheesy, and “Git It All” with its refrain of “Move / Shake some booty” has no right being released on anything other than a live album. On the plus side, John Averill pulls off a pretty good Jack White impression on “Fat Alberta.” The song “(More) Cowbell,” although slightly ridiculous, is still a great jam.

In spite of any shortcomings Magnificent Beast is still fun from start to finish. Any fan of brass band music would find something to love about this album.

Buy MarchFourth Marching Band’s Magnificent Beast on iTunes

Hear MarchFourth Marching Band’s Magnificent Beast on Spotify

New Orleans, like the rest of the free world, has no shortage of folk-inspired singer/songwriters. As long as the acoustic guitar exists, there will be people pouring out their emotions in song, and musicians willing to play non-paying gigs for the chance to paint their unique picture of reality in music and lyrics. The positive side of this is that music fans are treated to an abundance of insightful, often beautiful perspectives on the human experience. The negative side is that we become jaded, and it is often difficult for an artist to cut through and make a lasting impression.

Kelly Carlyle’s debut album Stethoscope lives true to this principle. The songs are deeply personal and sung with an almost desperate sense of conviction. Seemingly a break-up album, Stethoscope is broadly melancholic and speaks to a fragile state of being. At his most radiant, Carlyle is tuneful and tersely engaging. “Everymood” is catchy yet sincere, and on “Up for a Let Down,” Carlyle’s talent shines like a Bywater incarnation of Elliot Smith. At other times, however, the songwriting fails to pierce the veil of the jaded listener’s perception.

One constant on Stethoscope is great musicianship. Carlyle plays most of the instruments himself and also produced the album. In doing so, he establishes himself as a rising talent with a great aesthetic sense that falls somewhere between Beck and the Beach Boys. Guest appearances from Terry Plumeri on bowed bass, Dr. James “Jimbo” Walsh on guitar and piano, “Sneaky Pete” Orr on banjo, and Anthony Cuccia on percussion add tremendous musical depth to the album and make Stethoscope a truly New Orleans experience.

Buy Kelly Carlyle’s Stethoscope on iTunes

Besides the great jazz tracks like “Autobahn” and “Thoughts of South America,” Bodhi3 also makes reference to other, more ancient forms of spiritual music. Mito and Zeilinski’s shakuhachi (Japanese flute) duet “Two Birds” is a truly Zen expression in accordance with the instrument’s traditional purpose, and is one of the most beautiful passages on Ceremony. A similar high point is the chant song “Native,” where Greene’s commanding vocals and Zielinski’s intuitive rhythmic approach create a moving experience reminiscent of Native American pow wow music.

One thing that Bodhi3 does not exemplify is musical virtuosity. None of the musicians have the chops of artists who play this style of music professionally, such as Hamid Drake or Charles Lloyd, but that doesn’t detract from their overall musicality. Despite occasional moments when the band seems to reach beyond its grasp, Ceremony still glows with a genuine feeling of spiritual communion and showcases some excellent talent from three underrated members of the New Orleans music community.

What’s most striking about the album is how fluid this band is at manipulating dynamics. From the dreamy psychedelia of “I’m Not Sad I’m Just Curious” to the cracked-out video game feel of “Rag Tag Bunch of Apostrophes “ to the aggressive, rock-your-face-off audio assault on “Exponential Flatland Theorem” I, Octopus proves it’s not afraid to take chances. Covering such a vast musical terrain gives … Lightning Rod an epic quality, and the ease with which I, Octopus makes these transitions speaks volumes.

Given the abundance of talent that New Orleans has to offer in the fields of both rap and instrumental music, it’s more than a little surprising that the two genres cross paths so rarely. Jealous Monk, the brainchild of New Jersey transplant Jermaine Quiz and West Bank rapper MC Intelligence, is a rare exception. Through steady gigging over the past three years Jealous Monk has managed to become the Crescent City’s foremost live-instrument hip-hop act. Now, with their debut album From Sun Up to Sun Down, the group proves itself capable of putting the energy of their live performance into album form.

From the opening drum beat, it’s obvious that this is a band that can bring the funk, and they don’t disappoint in that regard from start to finish. The musicians execute a wide array of grooves with great dexterity, from the driving “Black Magic” to the deep funk of the album’s title track to the second-line feel of “Sense In That.” Special guest Kirk Joseph adds an extra dose of funk with his fat sousaphone line on “Come One Come All.” All the instrumentalists shine on Sun Up and are given ample opportunity to show off their skills, most notably on the jazzy instrumental “She Groove Interlude,” which spotlights guitarist Pete Murano.

The real highlights come towards the end of the album. The aforementioned “Sense in That” hits hard with an infectious refrain and some of the album’s most impressive MC work by Intelligence and Quiz. Likewise, the closing track, “High and Down,” is instantly likeable. With its chorus of “We gettin’ high and gettin’ down” put over top of a pounding funk beat, the song proves to be a great party anthem. While Jealous Monk adds a unique element to the New Orleans music scene with its blending of rock, rap and funk, its music adds little to the hip-hop genre as a whole. The aesthetic they create on From Sun Up to Moon Down owes much to the alternative hip-hop movement of the late 1990s. Likewise, on a lyrical level MCs Quiz and Intelligence do enough to keep the vibe going, but rarely do they amaze with their lyrical content or the inventiveness of their flow, barring a few exceptions. But the bottom line is that Jealous Monk is a party band, and with From Sun Up to Moon Down, as with their live shows, they prove capable of getting the party started.

Dr. Lonnie Smith is no stranger to New Orleans. Over the years, the venerable funk-master has recorded and performed with many of the Crescent City’s finest musicians and, most recently, he has become a staple during the Jazz Fest season with his regular appearances at the Blue Nile. Given this, its no surprise that the doctor chose two of New Orleans most talented native sons to join him on his latest album, Rise Up!, namely alto saxophonist Donald Harrison and drummer Herlin Riley. Together with guitarist Peter Bernstein, the group is a powerhouse jazz/funk quartet that doesn’t fail to deliver copious amounts of soul and groove.

The material on Rise Up! comprises an interesting mix. Apart from five new Smith compositions, the band also takes on a handful of songs from the rock and pop catalog. The group’s treatment of the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams,” set with a brooding, soulful refrain, is a gem. Likewise, Smith’s deep, growling vocalese on their version of the Beatles “Come Together” makes that cut standout as well.

Smith’s chops on the Hammond organ have not faded a lick over the years, as is evident from the opening track, “A Matterpat,” in which the leader sets a subdued mood early and then crescendos into a dramatic climax. The only pitfall of Rise Up! is the extremely glossy production. Because of this, the album lacks the edge that you find on the doctor’s earlier albums, and it leads the overall sound of the album dangerously close to the edge of smooth jazz territory. But if you can listen past that, you will find Rise Up! to be an album rich with soul and full of masterful musicianship.

Blue Note Records—the name itself holds much weight in the minds of even the most uninitiated jazz fans. The legendary record label started by Alfred Lion in 1939 came to redefine the jazz aesthetic, especially with the records it produced through the 1950s and early ’60s. Albums by the likes of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Freddie Hubbard, and John Coltrane form the cornerstone of what many consider the golden age of recorded jazz. Now, for Blue Note’s 70th anniversary, the still-vibrant record label is revisiting the music of this era by framing it in a more modern context.

The idea behind Mosaic is simple: Gather of group of today’s finest jazz musicians to rework classic songs from the Blue Note catalog. The resulting Blue Note 7 consists of New Orleans native son Nicholas Payton on trumpet along with saxophonists Ravi Coltrane and Steve Wilson, guitarist Peter Bernstein, pianist Bill Charlap, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash. These accomplished musicians do an impressive job adapting this music into the idiom of modern, mainstream jazz.

The album opens with a rousing version of “Mosaic,” the Cedar Walton masterpiece popularized by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1961, arranged here by Lewis Nash. Nicholas Payton plays with depth and charisma on this track but it is Ravi Coltrane’s soulful solo, rich in melodic creativity, that really makes the song shine. Another highlight is Peter Bernstein’s arrangement of the bluesy Duke Pearson ballad “Idle Moments.” Here Bernstein’s guitar work is sublime, played with uncompromising lyricism and deep feeling.

Pianist Renee Rosnes, who does not play on Mosaic, nevertheless contributes two of the albums finest arrangements. First is a poignant version of McCoy Tyner’s “Search for Peace,” then a colorful, rhythmically nuanced treatment of Herbie Hancock’s “Dolphin Dance.” The former showcases pianist Bill Charlap playing in a delicate, composed style reminiscent of Bill Evans. The latter is an impressive group effort that sees the septet deftly maneuvering through subtle changes in mood and dynamic.

While listening to Mosaic, one can’t help but draw comparisons between this album and the original recordings from which it stems. The originals obviously capture a truer, more pure spark of creativity, which is what makes them timeless. Modern, mainstream jazz is, by nature, derivative, and this highlights the disheartening subtext of Mosaic. Over the last 50 years, jazz has become institutionalized and because of this, it often comes across as sterile. Blue Note 7’s Mosaic may not be the album to turn people onto jazz the way that, say, John Coltrane’s “Blue Train” could, but it is still a great album for those listeners who appreciate the subtlety and discipline of modern jazz.

Silent Cinema’s debut album has been a long time coming. Since the band’s inception in 2004, it has morphed from a small, indie-folk outfit into a bombastic noise circus boasting as many as 12 members at one point. With Fins and Feathers, the group presents itself as a cohesive seven-piece unit that brings years of live experience into the studio and produces mostly positive results.

There is a great deal of diversity in the eight tracks which comprise Fins &Feathers. Lead singer Micah McKee’s songwriting is solid throughout the album, and at times transcends to a level of brilliance (i.e. “Ghost Band”). The band takes the material in a variety of directions, touching on psychedelic, pop, and even second line. Occasionally the arrangements come across as overly ambitious, but it’s still refreshing to hear a group, especially an indie rock group, that’s not afraid to incorporate such a variety of musical styles.

While the whole album is a fairly enjoyable studio experiment, it’s still the tracks that capture the raw intensity of the band’s live performance that shine the brightest, namely “John the Revelator” and “So Say We All.” The former highlights McKee’s growling vocals over top a sonic landscape rich with distortion-drenched guitars and blaring horns, the latter is a four-on-the-floor pop romp that is begging for air play on college radio.

The biggest pitfall of Fins and Feathers is that some of the tracks come across as unfocused, like the nearly seven minute-long version of “Oyster.” That said, there is still a lot of creative energy presented here, and, in the tradition of other debut albums, the band successfully maps out a number of promising musical directions it could pursue in the future.

The influence of saxophonist Wayne Shorter on the world of jazz is undeniable. As a member of the 1960s Miles Davis Quintet and then as co-founder of the ’70s fusion phenomenon Weather Report, Shorter displayed an all-encompassing style of playing and a meticulous, sensitive approach to composition that helped reshape jazz music forever. Mysterious Shorter, an album described in the liner notes as “an investigation and exploration of the groove music of Mr. Wayne Shorter” reestablishes the impact that Shorter has had on the next generation of jazz musicians, not the least of whom being New Orleans’ native son Nicholas Payton.

On Mysterious Shorter, trumpeter Payton is joined by some of his finest musical peers. Saxophonist Bob Belden, organist Sam Yahel, guitarist John Hart and drummer Billy Drummond all display their own highly refined talents on the eight Shorter compositions undertaken for the project. The quintet manages to feel relaxed while keeping the groove tight on key tracks like “Tom Thumb,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and the album’s most recognizable tune, “Footprints.” Some of the album’s best moments are found in the rhythmic interplay between drummer Billy Drummond and Payton, most notably on tunes like “Montezuma” and “Masquelero.” Drummond’s intuitive, constantly evolving rhythms are often the glue holding the ensemble together in spite of varying tangents embarked upon by the soloists.

Mysterious Shorter, like all recordings made for the Chesky label, was recorded live using just a single microphone in a Manhattan church-turned-studio. Because of the church’s natural acoustics, the sound of the album is impeccable, a fact that becomes especially apparent when listening on headphones or through a nice set of stereo speakers. The success that Payton and company achieve recording in this setting helps establish them as some of jazz music’s finest architects of sound.

Here are two words to describe the new Philip Manuel album: Ooooooh yeah. A collection of soulful slow jams and mellow R&B grooves, PM spotlights seductive lyrics sung by the silky-voiced New Orleans vocalist

Anyone familiar with Manuel’s numerous jazz recordings be forewarned: this is not a jazz album. The tone for the album is set in its opening lyrics, “You know just why I called you / Girl, you know what’s on my mind”. For the next 51 minutes, Manuel takes the listener on a smooth ride through 11 new love jams, backed with plenty of wah-wah guitar and female backing vocals.

Throughout PM, there are some great moments. The slow and smooth “I Can Take You Further” stands out as the perfect display of Manuel’s vocal prowess, showing not only incredible technique but his ability to entrance the listener with his rich inflection. Another highlight, “I Got Love for You,” is funky and free-flowing.

Manuel’s new musical direction seems a perfect fit for him; PM leaves no doubt that he has, indeed, got soul. The style and lyrical content of the album are a bit unoriginal, and PM does get a bit cheesy at times. But for the most part, Manuel succeeds in setting a sensual mood the whole way through and doesn’t fail to impress with his vocal talents.