Issue Articles — BackTalk
Back Talk: Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan has always had a lot going on in both her life and remarkable career. The Chicago native, who grew up in a musical family, formed her first singing […]
Back Talk: Conversing With Stanton Moore
Say the name Stanton Moore and most music fans, especially those outside of New Orleans, would probably respond something like “hard-funkin’ drummer with Galactic.” And that, of course, is right […]
BackTalk: Getting Around with Sousaphone and Bassist Matt Perrine
With Carnival season in high gear and French Quarter Fest, then Jazz Fest, just around the corner, New Orleans musicians become marathoners. Matt Perrine, whose sousaphone and bass has been […]
BackTalk: Jon Batiste, Living in the Moment (Interview)
At 27, Jon Batiste is already something of a visionary. Since leaving New Orleans 10 years ago to study at Juilliard, the pianist has cultivated a holistic approach to his […]
BackTalk: Sherman Bernard, Lifetime Achievement in Music Business Award Honoree
Sherman Bernard’s decades in the New Orleans music business have garnered him a multitude of experiences and stories. He established Bernard Productions in 1983 and, starting in the mid-’70s, was […]
BackTalk: Bonnie Raitt, Coming Around the Bend (Interview)
After losing both parents and her best friend in a short period of time, Bonnie Raitt took some unprecedented time off from touring and recording to tend to personal matters. […]
BackTalk: Passing a Good Time with the Maple Leaf’s Hank Staples (Interview)
Hank Staples is old-school—a raconteur of no mean talent, able to regale listeners with 30 years of wild and sordid tales of the renowned and notorious Maple Leaf Bar and […]
BackTalk: Shemekia Copeland,
In the Groove
Shemekia Copeland has a voice like a force of nature. Now a blues belter in the style of Koko Taylor or Etta James, a shy Shemekia first took the stage […]
Van Dyke Parks & Tom McDermott’s Fascinating Unconventionalisms
Tom McDermott is that rare musician who is not about technique or virtuosity but ideas. McDermott’s crowd-pleasing manner and the extraordinary empathy that makes him such a good accompanist occlude […]
BackTalk: Merry Clayton, Carrying the Chorus (Interview)
Merry Clayton is living proof that you can have a glorious career without becoming a household name. In fact, her name wasn’t even spelled right on her biggest moment of […]
