August 2007
BackTalk
- Edward Anderson
Between semesters, there are few places as relaxing as building on a university campus. No students, no drama and easy parking—it’s…
Cover Story
- Your Guide to the Satchmo SummerFest
The seventh annual Satchmo SummerFest is a celebration of food, music and fun in honor of New Orleans’ favorite son, Louis…
Features
- The Accordion: Party in a Box
At least once every Schatzy performance, Greg Schatz jumps off the stage and makes his way through the crowd. But even… - The Armstrong Legacy
“All of the trumpeters that come from New Orleans—whether we know it or not, or whether we acknowledge it or not—we… - A Wild "World"
Although Louis Armstrong is most famous for his inventiveness and influence as a player and singer, the song that has come…
Fresh
- Shut Up and Speak Out
The New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic will hold a silent second line Sunday, August 26 at noon. Two brass bands will march… - Indians in the Hall
Sunday, August 12, Congo Square will be the site for the Ninth Annual Mardi Gras Indian Hall of Fame Induction and… - OffBeat Wins Press Club Awards
On Saturday, July 14, OffBeat contributor Geoffrey Himes won a Press Club of New Orleans award for Best Entertainment Writing for… - Allons Danser, Twlya Tharp
Modern dance projects with zydeco music are as common as mountains in New Orleans. But that’s about to change, thanks to… - The New Professors
For years, when people thought of jazz in conjunction with Tulane, they thought of the Hogan Jazz Archive. When 49-year-old graduate… - Ramblers Get a Sweet Deal
The Red Stick Ramblers started recording their upcoming album in 2005 at Dirk Powell’s Cypress House Studios in Breaux Bridge. It… - A Hub City Record
Anyone who knows about cooking realizes that nothing can be done in a hurry. By that measure, Roddie Romero and the… - A Voodoo Long Weekend
The 2007 edition of the Voodoo Music Experience returns with a ferocious line-up designed to draw the masses back to the… - When Harry Met Ella
Harry Connick, Jr. was presented with the Ella Fitzgerald award last month at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, but…
Letters
- August 2007 Letters
NORTH RAMPART STREET As editor of OffBeat, Jan Ramsey is understandably a music advocate, but her focus on North Rampart is…
Live Wire
- Wynton Marsalis Presents Congo Square with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Yacub Addy and Odadaa!, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montreal, June 28, 2007
Wynton Marsalis is a little like Barry Bonds in the batter's box. Don't expect him to bunt. Marsalis swings for the…
Mojo Mouth
- Lucky?
Yesterday I went to a memorial service for my friend and business colleague George Brumat. Known for his crusty, no-nonsense ways,…
Obituaries
- Obituary: George Brumat
George Brumat, a long-time owner of both Snug Harbor Jazz Club and the Port of Call Restaurant, died in his sleep…
OffBeat Eats
- A Snowball's Chance
Snowball fans will defend their favorite with the ferocity usually reserved for sports teams and deities. One hot afternoon, three intrepid… - Dining Out: Coco Hut
I found Coco Hut because of a shortcut. Heading to Jazz Fest, we cut down Bayou Road and, on a corner…
Dining Out
- A Snowball's Chance
Snowball fans will defend their favorite with the ferocity usually reserved for sports teams and deities. One hot afternoon, three intrepid… - Dining Out: Coco Hut
I found Coco Hut because of a shortcut. Heading to Jazz Fest, we cut down Bayou Road and, on a corner…
Reviews
- Arthur Alexander, Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter (Hacktone Records)
Arthur Alexander is best known for “Anna” and “Soldier of Love,” and his songs were typified by solid craftsmanship and a… - Heavy Trash, Going Way Out with Heavy Trash (Yep Roc Records)
Around the time of Orange, I was deeply into Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and bought a number of Spencer-related projects. After… - Mushroom with Eddie Gale, Joint Happening (Hyena Records)
The title and ’60s concert poster art suggest a vital component you’re to bring to the listening experience—one I passed on,… - Khalil El'Zabar's Infinity Orchestra, Transmigration (Delmark Records)
The Infinity Orchestra’s concert in Bordeaux, France, captured on Transmigration must have been something to behold. Kahil El’Zabar, a mainstay of… - North Mississippi Allstars, Keep on Marchin' (DVD) (Songs of the South); The Bangles, Return to Bangleonia (DVD) (Shout! Factory)
Live DVDs—why? I’m not sure how to use them. I understand the mechanics, but I’m not sure where the pleasure or… - Duke Robillard, World Full of Blues (Stony Plain Records)
Rhode Island guitar wizard Duke Robillard picks up where last year’s Guitar Groove-a-rama left off, as he continue to pay tribute… - The Anvils, The Anvils (Independent)
“Without music, life would be an error.” The Anvils quoted that sentence on their MySpace page. “That is motherfuckin’ Friedrich Nietzsche,… - Various Artists, For New Orleans: A Benefit For the Musician's Village (Sugarfoot)
For New Orleans: A Benefit for the Musician’s Village is compilation CD whose efforts not only support the city but our… - Roddie Romero and the Hub City All Stars, The La Louisianne Sessions (Octavia Records)
Ten years in the volatile realm of professional music seems like generations, but it has been that long since Roddie Romero’s… - The Gourds, Noble Creatures (Yep Roc Records)
Austin’s the Gourds have always occupied the vast middle ground between Los Lobos’ broad Americana and the sing-along self-loathing of your… - Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators, Keep Reachin' Up (Light in the Attic Records)
When I first heard “If This Ain’t Love (Don’t Know What Is)” by Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators, it was… - Joe Hall, Mary Broussard and Nolton Simien, La Danse Finis Pas (Independent)
When it appeared that the University of Louisiana-Lafayette would have to delay their field recordings release of Creole accordionist Freeman Fontenot,… - Dax Riggs, We Sing of Only Blood or Love (Fat Possum Records)
Ex-Deadboy & the Elephantmen front man Dax Riggs posted a message on the old Deadboy MySpace page stating that Deadboy was… - King Louie and the Loose Diamonds, Memphis Treet (Empty Records)
What if Elvis Costello were backed by the Clash? What if they were all Memphis natives? What if they recorded their… - the subdudes, Street Symphony (Backstreet Records)
“Poor Man’s Paradise,” one of the highlights of the subdudes’ latest, is the second New Orleans song of that title to… - Corey Harris, Zion Crossroads (Telarc Records)
Born-again Rastas are like any other kind of born-agains; they’re inclined to go a little overboard when stating their newfound faith.… - Various Artists, Florida Funk: 1968-1975 (Now Again Records)
The Godfather of Soul’s swirling cape holds sway over all on this collection, commencing with the ominous horn figure and upright… - The Sophisticats, When It Rains It Purrs (Furry Records)
Meow baby, the Sophisticats are back with the purrfect CD for your next cocktail, or Tupperware party. If your music collection… - Southern Sexual, In a Failing Third World Nation (Permanent Lifetime Records)
Well, here’s an angle the Road Homies never thought of—sex. This “Electro Punk” duo serves up a weird lyrical mix of… - Brian Stoltz, Up All Night (Long Overdue Records)
Rock music’s formal culture has always been defined by recordings, the manifestation of its historic standing in the worlds of fashion… - The Fabulous Boogie Kings, Never Go Away (Spice Records)
The personnel has changed occasionally, but for 52 years the Boogie Kings have cranked out quality Louisiana swamp pop and blue-eyed… - Al "Carnival Time" Johnson, Lower Ninth Ward Blues (Carnival Time/Polly Lee Records)
Al “Carnival Time” Johnson hasn’t been the most prolific of New Orleans’ musicians, releasing a song every 40 years or so.… - David Murray Black Saint Quartet feat. Cassandra Wilson, Sacred Ground (Justin Time Records)
Decades ago David Murray played tenor sax like he was on the verge of combusting. Today, he’s a far more mainstream… - The Schatzy Band, Nocturnal Wild Life Journal (Hot Spazz Records)
You might expect a band so connected to its live shows to get combative with its audience at some point, and… - Goldman Thibodeaux with Steve and Donna Bing, French Creole House Dance (Louisiana Radio Records)
With relatively recent releases by Morris Ardoin, Corey Ledet and Cedric Watson, Joe Hall and Les Amis Creole, old-time Creole music… - Ann Savoy and Her Sleepless Knights, If Dreams Come True (Memphis International Records)
If Dreams Come True presents Ann Savoy at her most relaxed and, consequently, most simply enjoyable. She isn’t flying a flag… - Theryl "Houseman" DeClouet, The Truth Iz Out (Independent)
The new CD from Theryl “Houseman” DeClouet encompasses old school and new school soul with songs that show off his stinging… - Twangorama, Twangorama (Independent)
At some point, most rock ’n’ roll fans—particularly guys—dabble in art rock. Like drugs, lots of tiny notes and odd time… - Johnny Sansone, Poor Man's Paradise (Shortstack Records)
It may finally be time to retire Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927” as the post-Katrina song that everybody plays at Jazz Fest.… - Galactic, From the Corner to the Block (Anti- Records)
The well-publicized story about From the Corner to the Block is that rappers provide the vocals on the new Galactic album,…
