During the summer of 2010, clarinetist Tim Laughlin asked cornetist Connie Jones to imagine a “dream band”. The list included—among others—John Sheridan on piano, Ed Wise on bass, Danny Coots on drums, and Larry Scala on guitar. Unbeknownst to him, Laughlin was planning a recording session. He brought in that very fantasy rhythm section, adding [...]
A grid of 12 images adorns the cover of Almost Native. It includes a po-boy, a pair of maracas, and the Arc de Triomphe. If that seems too subtle, the track listing includes titles like “Tandé Sak Fè Loraj Gwondé”, “Chorando Em Paris”, and “Tango Ambiguo”. Styles range from waltz to blues to choro and [...]
The Moonshiners have built a reputation as one of New Orleans’ most capable—and unpredictable—trad groups. The group’s third album witnesses a tempering of their more offbeat tendencies, but loses none of their ensemble cohesion. Chris Edmunds’ rhythmically aggressive approach to the banjo remains a staple of the Moonshiners’ sound, as do his gritty-with-a-southern-twang vocal stylings. [...]
This is the third record in as many years from Tuba Skinny, one of the more interesting members of trad jazz’s younger generation. The group is a frequent sight on Royal Street, performing their straightforward but personalized brand of New Orleans jazz. There’s nothing flashy in Tuba Skinny’s approach, but their attention to detail makes [...]
“My first exposure to jazz was through the music of New Orleans,” says saxophonist and clarinetist Anat Cohen. Growing up in Tel Aviv, Israel, one of her earliest musical experiences was as a member of the Jaffa Conservatory’s Dixieland band. Recordings of Sidney Bechet stoked that interest. “There was so much fire and so much [...]
On April 19 last year, the curtains at Tulane’s Dixon Hall slid open to reveal the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in the midst of the opening strains of “Bourbon Street Parade.” The stage was mocked up to resemble Preservation Hall; a projection screen hung overhead. The occasion was the premiere performance of Song for My [...]
On April 28, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art opens a new exhibition, “Art and Jazz: Preservation Hall at 50.” The show is part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the traditional jazz institution, focusing on the visual art associated with the Hall. The show includes works by Sister Gertrude Morgan, Lee Friedlander, Barry Kiser, [...]
Double reeds have the potential to sound terribly out of place on a jazz record (take Daniel Smith’s dubious Blue Bassoon project), but on Crossings Ben Kono makes a good case for the English horn. As the record opens, it settles lightly between Pete McCann’s guitar and Henry Hey’s piano, sounding almost like a soprano [...]
You won’t find pianist Steve Pistorius on any of the Bourbon Street stages at this year’s French Quarter Fest, and that suits him just fine. “Three years ago I was on Bourbon Street and it was pretty noisy,” he recalls. “Terrible smells, motorcycles going by, noise from the clubs,” he says. “I’ve seen it all [...]
The New Orleans Moonshiners, Meschiya Lake’s Little Big Horns, Panorama Jazz Band, Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship?—just a partial list of local groups to which Aurora Nealand claims membership. But the Royal Roses, whom Nealand will front at French Quarter Fest, are a first. “This is the first group that has my [...]
