Over Jazz Fest, I got to thinking about the increased prevalence of adrenaline in contemporary New Orleans music, particularly the brass department. Bullish young bands, trombonist dynamos, trumpeters who rap—they crackle in rhythm with the new generation’s manic attention span. Every era deserves its own sound but, I wondered, where’s that lowdown growl and shuffle, [...]
Tag Archives: trumpeters
Nicholas Payton: His Song
June 1, 2011 – 12:10 am
“I want to embark on another journey that will include the music of my own generation,” Nicholas Payton said over coffee at Café Luna on Magazine Street in 2009. “I want my music to reflect all the records I listen to, not just the jazz records. When I went to the stereo as a kid, [...]
Irvin Mayfield, A Love Letter to New Orleans (Basin Street Records)
May 1, 2011 – 12:50 am
Irvin Mayfield has called his tutelage under Wynton Marsalis “probably the largest influence on my life.” Adopting the Wynton model of jazz musician as historian/entrepreneur/statesman, Mayfield has evolved into a Grammy winner, club owner, cultural ambassador, and board chair, all before his 34th birthday. With the addition of “author” to his ever-expanding brand portfolio comes [...]
YouTube du Jour: Irvin Mayfield
April 20, 2011 – 11:10 am
Tonight, the Irvin Mayfield Jazz Playhouse in the Royal Sonesta celebrates its second anniversary of presenting contemporary jazz on Bourbon Street. The night is also a book-release party for Mayfield’s new A Love Letter to New Orleans—a CD and book that elaborates on the links between his music and the city. In 2008, the documentary [...]
Nicholas Payton, Bitches (mixtape)
March 1, 2011 – 12:58 am
Those of you expecting Nicholas Payton’s new record to sound like his great records Dear Louis or Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton will be very surprised. Bitches takes the sound of his 1970s Miles Davis-esque sleeper record Sonic Trance and pushes it into modern rhythm and blues. With the exception of guest vocals by Esperanza [...]
Michel Navedo Quartet, New Orleans on My Mind (Parlour Trick Records)
March 1, 2011 – 12:41 am
Michel Navedo might be best remembered, up to now, for fronting legendary local noisers, Nipples of Isis. The release of the trumpeter’s recording New Orleans on My Mind should adjust that. The disc features music that Navedo describes as “up close, personal, romantic and sweet.” It’s an apt description. This is cool jazz with a [...]
YouTube du Jour: Shamarr Allen “Mr. Old Man” Video Premiere
February 3, 2011 – 12:15 am
Shamarr Allen is working on a new album, 504-799-8147, the follow-up to 2009’s Box Who In? The album title’s significance is that the number is Allen’s cell number. “I want my fans to keep in touch with me,” Allen says. “They can call or text about anything at anytime and I answer. They can find [...]
Thomas Jefferson, With the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band and Monk Hazel’s Band (GHB Records)
January 1, 2011 – 12:53 am
This is a joint review along with Johnny Wiggs’ “Congo Square” and Other Vintage Material. If these musicians had wanted to gather for a drink or some conversation back in the late 1940s to early ’60s when these superb recordings were made, Joe Mares’ Southland Recording Studio is one of the few places in town [...]
