The Preservation Hall Jazz Band‘s continued revival just took a surprising turn: They’ve announced the release of a new album co-produced by their fan and collaborator of recent years, Jim James of My Morning Jacket. The album, That’s It will be the first in the group’s entire history to feature only original material. The venerable [...]
Tag Archives: jazz
Look-Ka Py Py Podcast (ep 36): Tony “Oulabula” Bazley, Rhythm King
May 8, 2013 – 3:43 pm
“All my life, I been a jazz, bebop drummer,” says 79-year-old Pigeon Town native Tony “Oulabula” Bazley in this week’s episode of OffBeat’s Look-Ka Py Py Podcast. Over the course of his six-and-a-half decade career, Bazley has manned the kit for jazz legends such as Eric Dolphy, Dexter Gordon and Wes Montgomery as well as [...]
Jazz Fest Recap, Sunday, May 5, 2013: Meter Men, Hall & Oates, Aaron Neville & More!
May 6, 2013 – 11:18 am
Some bands seem obliged to jam at Jazz Fest, even if jamming isn’t what they do best. That was partly the case in Hall & Oates’ set, with stretched out versions of “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” and “Sara Smile” that collectively filled nearly one-third of a 90-minute show. (Both featured saxophonist [...]
Jazz Fest Recap, Thursday, May 2: Patti Smith, Roy Ayers & More
May 2, 2013 – 9:03 pm
For a certain stripe of blues fan, the older, wilder and more obscure the performer the better. If you’re of that mindset, you probably saw Drink Small, the 80-year-old South Carolina bluesman who’s been playing various joints for the past half-century. The opening of his set, where he delivered a borderline-risque rap and then a [...]
Gregory Agid Quartet: Mystery Blues (Independent)
May 1, 2013 – 12:53 pm
Over the past few years, clarinetist Gregory Agid has seemingly remained the New Orleans jazz scene’s best-kept secret. However, with the release of his quartet’s debut album Mystery Blues, the cat is out of the bag. For those not hip to the late Alvin Batiste’s last protégé, the title track of this Delfeayo Marsalis-produced gem [...]
Panorama Jazz Band: Dance of the Hot Earth (Independent)
May 1, 2013 – 12:51 pm
For a New Orleans jazz group, the Panorama Jazz Band has a very reliable lineup. Four years after the release of their last studio album, Come Out Swingin’, Charlie Halloran continues chugging away on the trombone. Walt McClements’ accordion, Aurora Nealand’s saxophone, and John Gross’ tuba are right where we remember them, while group leader [...]
Steve Masakowski: Things I Like (Independent)
May 1, 2013 – 12:48 pm
Things I Like Best known for his nearly three decades with Astral Project, guitarist Steve Masakowski has also forged a significant solo career. The title of Things I Like is a very big hint: this is Masakowski’s show, with more of his own tunes and a bit more straight-ahead jazz swing than NOLA funk. The [...]
Jazz Fest 2013 Focus:
Christian Winther
May 1, 2013 – 12:32 pm
“I sat in with Kermit Ruffins and the Rebirth on the street,” Christian Winther, 38, recalls about his first visit to New Orleans when he was 14 and already determined to be a jazz musician. “That was a cool introduction to New Orleans for a young guy.” Winther, who moved here in 1997 and who [...]
Jazz Fest 2013 Focus: The Session
May 1, 2013 – 12:28 pm
“Play some bossa nova,” hollers a belligerent man from his barstool. His tawdry female companion adds to the racket just as the band on stage descends onto the closing bar of its set’s second song. In the moment that follows, a tense air fills the room. For the French Quarter crowd, it isn’t the outburst [...]
Terence Blanchard: Jazz Messenger
May 1, 2013 – 12:14 pm
In the early 1980s, trumpeter Terence Blanchard came of age on stage, succeeding Wynton Marsails in drummer Art Blakey’s vaunted Jazz Messengers, the longstanding proving ground that also steered New Orleans saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Donald Harrison through the ranks. A five-time Grammy winner, today Blanchard stands as a preeminent figure in the jazz world, [...]
