January 2012
BackTalk
- The Soul Rebels
When The Village Voice described New Orleans’ Soul Rebels as “the missing link between Louis Armstrong and Public Enemy,” they got…
Bookmark
- Thomas W. Jacobsen, Traditional New Orleans Jazz: Conversations with the Men Who Make the Music (LSU Press)
There are few listeners in New Orleans who’ve devoted themselves as fervently to the cause of covering traditional jazz as Tom… - Sun Ra, This Planet is Doomed: The Science Fiction Poetry of Sun Ra (Kicks Books)
Few people know that Sun Ra, besides being an avant-black futurist big band leader, was also a poet. He and his…
Cover Story
- Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Award: George Porter, Jr.
In George Porter, Jr.’s attic studio, he has a laminated, yellowed page from the 1970s with a story on the Meters…
Features
- Best of the Beat Heartbeat Award: Mary Howell
For more than three decades, attorney Mary Howell has been at the frontlines of police misconduct and civil rights litigation in… - Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Education Award: John Rankin
For a guy who can be seen playing regularly alongside jazz musicians like Jesse Boyd, Tom Fischer and Don Vappie, guitarist… - Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Business Award: Scott Billington
It’s hard to explain what Scott Billington has meant to New Orleans and Louisiana music in the past two plus decades.… - The 40 Best Louisiana Albums of 2011
New Orleans was once a musical oasis, seemingly unnoticed by the world outside. This year, two of our Top 10 albums… - No Limit Forever: Dawn of the Don II?
Recall New Orleans, 1998, around midnight. Your sweaty back cools against the passenger seat of a silver Maxima buzzing along I-10…
Fresh
- Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Hornets Put the "i" in Hive
This season, the New Orleans Hornets and Irvin Mayfield’s I Club are working together to bring the city’s music to the… - The Blues Music Awards: Who’s the Bluest?
[Updated] Tab Benoit and Johnny Sansone received four nominations each by the Blues Foundation for their annual Blues Music Awards. The… - The Grammy Awards: Everything vs. Everything Else
“And the Grammy in the Category of Contradiction and Confusion goes to ….” That announcement would be made at next month’s… - Wizard World Comic Con: When Titans Clash
What happens when the high lords of fandom meet? Star Trek/T.J. Hooker/Boston Legal/Sh*! My Dad Says star William Shatner… - New Orleans in New York
The Backbeat Foundation is taking a host of New Orleans artists to New York City January 6-8. For the fourth year,… - The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band: What's in a Name?
This year’s Gretna Heritage Festival prompted the question: When there’s only one original member, is Lynyrd Skynyrd still Lynyrd Skynyrd? A…
Letters
- January 2012 Letters
COCO ROBICHEAUX It was a pleasure to get to know you. What a wonderful person, talented musician, what a character! I…
Mojo Mouth
- More Music, More Attention
It’s the beginning of a new year, and it’s time to reflect on what’s happened in the past: our accomplishments, our…
Obituaries
- Six Degrees of Coco Robicheaux
Debbie Davis stood just inside the doorway of Three Muses, singing “When I’m 64.” It was Friday night on Frenchmen Street,…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Carmo
After an overindulgent holiday season, the start of a new year marks an appropriate time for your body and palate to… - Nathan Allen of Luke Starkiller Hits the Spot at The Beach House
The Beach House 2401 North Woodlawn Avenue (504) 456-7470 What’s your usual order from here? I usually get these wings, I…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Carmo
After an overindulgent holiday season, the start of a new year marks an appropriate time for your body and palate to…
Photo Op
- J. Yuenger: Ship Captain
Photographer: Aubrey Edwards It was a pleasure to photograph J. Yuenger, guitarist in White Zombie and Mid-City audio engineer,…
The Spot
- Nathan Allen of Luke Starkiller Hits the Spot at The Beach House
The Beach House 2401 North Woodlawn Avenue (504) 456-7470 What’s your usual order from here? I usually get these wings, I…
Reviews
- The Soul Rebels, Unlock Your Mind (Rounder Records)
After 20 years in existence, the Soul Rebels furiously unleash a barrage of musicianship, originality, and range of accomplishment every bit… - Ani DiFranco, Which Side Are You On? (Righteous Babe Records)
The new Ani DiFranco record is the latest entry in DiFranco’s musical and lyrical view of the world and current events.… - James Booker, The Piano Prince of New Orleans (Black Sun Music)
reviewed together with James Booker's Blues & Ragtime from New Orleans. There are around 15 James Booker albums on the market,… - James Booker, Blues and Ragtime from New Orleans (Black Sun Music)
reviewed together with James Booker's The Piano Prince of New Orleans. There are around 15 James Booker albums on the market,… - Ratty Scurvics and the Black Market Butchers, In Time (Rookery Records)
[Updated] Michael Patrick Welch wrote our December cover story on Ratty Scurvics, and he thought the back half of In Time… - Vin Bruce, Dans La Louisianne (Bear Family Records)
Columbia Records signed Vin Bruce in 1952, making the 19-year-old the first Cajun to ever sign a contract with a major… - Kidd Jordan, On Fire (Engine Records)
The art of listening, whether on the bandstand or in daily life, is a highly underrated skill. As Kidd Jordan continues… - Kathleen Lee, Coming Up For Air (MTT Records)
Many of us in New Orleans have listened to Kathleen Lee’s swing music show on WWOZ for years. What a nice… - The Wee Trio, Ashes to Ashes: A David Bowie Intraspective (Bionic Records)
In 2011, Cliff Hines brought together young jazz and indie rock musicians for a night of music by David Bowie at… - Ryan Foret and Foret Tradition, Let the Groove Move Ya (CSP Records)
When I was coming of age along the Northeast shoreline during the 1970s, my favorite local band was Southside Johnny and… - Ruthie Foster, Live at Antone's (Blue Corn Records)
Ruthie Foster has a cult/fanatic following. People either have never heard of her or they think she has one of the…
