Issue Articles — Features
Chief of Chiefs: Robert Nathaniel Lee and the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans (Book Review)
Robert Nathaniel Lee, renowned as Big Chief Robbe, tells of his lifelong journey in the Mardi Gras Indian tradition as carefully as author Al Kennedy does in capturing it in […]
300 Songs for 300 Years: Keyboardists
The piano is an enduring constant in New Orleans music, and this month’s installation of classic songs features four of the city’s cornerstone keyboardists—six in fact, since the Dr. John […]
Traversing the Map: Corey “Passport P” Peyton raps with global ambition
“I’m looking at life through a wider frame,” Corey “Passport P” Peyton says in the intro track of his new solo rap project, Global Ambition, out May 11. It’s a […]
Jazz Fest A to Z
Get a Jump On It All you need to know is in our Jazz Fest Guide. > View our Full Online Guide OffBeat’s Jazz Fest “A to Z” contains […]
Do You Know What It Means?: Kermit Ruffins pays tribute to Louis Armstrong
When Louis Armstrong left New Orleans to go to Chicago in 1922, he joined up with his mentor, Joe “King” Oliver, and from there he went on to become one […]
Like Father Like Son: Willie Nelson’s son Lukas Nelson is a gifted songwriter and singer
Lukas Nelson, whose father is Willie Nelson, knew what he wanted to be when he was 6. The revelation arrived like a vision. In a dream, Nelson stood on a […]
San Francisco-based musician and promoter Mitch Stein feels at home in New Orleans
Mitch Stein scored his first success as a live-music promoter decades ago by booking New Orleans’ first family of funk, the Neville Brothers. While attending Syracuse University in the early […]
Alvin Fielder: Keeping the motion in the music with Kidd Jordan
“The first time Kidd and I played together in 1974 it was like instead of a kinship it was a twin-ship,” remembers master drummer Alvin Fielder of saxophonist Kidd Jordan. […]
Southern Crossroads Connection: Charles Lloyd with Lucinda Williams
If spirituality is predicated on the notion that there’s something bigger out there than ourselves, then it makes sense Charles Lloyd would not distinguish between his spiritual beliefs and his […]
Drums in the Bloodline: Weedie Braimah brings the African element to the music
Djembe master Weedie Braimah will be on stage at the Jazz Fest with trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, trombonist/trumpeter Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, percussionists Alexey Marti and Bill Summers and […]
