PLAY ON THE STREETS I once was a street musician before and when you could buy a permit. I remember meeting John Phillips of the Mama and Papas, and he told me that he played on the streets of New Orleans in the early ’50s with Chuck Berry. Everyone should have a t-shirt that says [...]
Sense of History Bravo and congratulations to Jason Marsalis for his frank and insightful piece in the July 2010 issue of OffBeat. His emphasis on the importance of a sense of history and “the jazz tradition” is right on. My only comment would be that, as a member of the generation of Jason’s distinguished father [...]
BUNK’S SAINTS Hank Cherry’s piece on Bunk Johnson in your June 2010 edition is quite interesting and to the best of my knowledge completely accurate, but it leaves out one important historical fact. It was Bunk’s recordings and regular playing of “When the Saints Go Marching In” that turned it into the musical icon that [...]
DON’T GET HBO When we were in New Orleans for French Quarter Festival, the HBO series Treme was the talk of the town. People who didn’t get HBO were going to bars that did to watch the premiere. I enjoyed your article on the series and have heard nothing but good things about it. I [...]
DISAPPOINTED WITH NOLA Your [Jan Ramsey] Mojo Mouth “Reviving Music in the Quarter” in the March issue was interesting because the problem hit me, too. I am Fritz Neidlinger, a trained musician from Heidelberg, Germany and for 30 years a program assistant at a German radio station. I’m retired since 2005. Jazz (especially Dixieland and [...]
STRANGE CHOICE OF WORDS I found the March cover to be in questionable taste considering the origin and references of the Billie Holiday song. A bunch of white guys yukking it up is definitely not my association to “Strange Fruit.” —Karl Holzmuller, Anacortes, WA OffBeat, one of my favorite magazines, I got my copy in [...]
MAKING A DIFFERENCE My wife and I would like to thank y’all for an absolutely amazing time at the Best of the Beat Awards. Took us a few years to make it and man what a year to finally do so. We both are quite proud to count ourselves as members of the Threadheads and [...]
BITTERSWEET POTLUCK Just wanted to let you know that I received the “Super Potluck” box you sent me last week, and am enjoying looking through all the old issues. I moved to the New Orleans area in 1994 but didn’t really start getting into the music scene until 1997 or 1998. I haven’t missed a [...]
MANTRA MUSIC Thanks a lot for the positive review of our new album Devaloka (Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band, Nutone Music) in the October issue. We’re grateful to be included. One correction to share is that we didn’t intend for the album to be a soundtrack for practicing yoga exercises, though it can [...]
NOLA BIBLE My wife and I live in Baltimore and have been coming to Jazz Fest since ’93. Absolutely love it and we make it most years. Fell in love with NOLA music and food as a result but we limited ourselves to our once-a-year trip. Well, in November, 2007 a NOLA friend gave me [...]
