Issue Articles — Features
Lost Bayou Ramblers Begin a New Phase
The last time the Lost Bayou Ramblers released a live album, they had never collaborated with Hollywood starlets, Barack Obama had yet to be elected president, there was officially a […]
Bobby Rush is Still a Bayou Boy
“I’m almost back at home,” Bobby Rush exclaims with a laugh. Youthful for age 80, Rush is laughing because what he means is that since he lives in Jackson, Mississippi, […]
Prospect.3 Tackles Sound-Oriented Pieces in New Orleans
“Who are we? What are we? Where are we going?” These are some of the questions curator Franklin Sirmans hopes to tackle through his selections for Prospect.3: Notes for Now, […]
Joshua Caffery Takes a Fresh Look at Alan Lomax’s Louisiana Recordings
In the 1850s, French aristocrat Amédée Carayon-Latour crafted “L’Armour et Fanatisme,” a song from the point of view of an Islamic knight in love with a blue-eyed Christian girl. It […]
A Day in the Life of Burlesque Diva Bella Blue
It is 11:50 p.m. on a Saturday at the Allways Lounge—10 minutes before cutting-edge burlesque spectacle the Dirty Dime Peep Show is set to begin—and producer/performer Bella Blue has just […]
Checkpoint Charlie Bar Fight Spawns Independent Film “Laundry Day”
The whole place launched into a melee. A bar stool struck the bartender; pint glasses flew; instruments were thrown aside; people were dragged out by their hair. Writer/director Randy Mack […]
Tuba Skinny Stays on the Street
It’s easy to understand why musicians who can’t get indoor gigs would play on the streets for tips. It’s harder to understand why they would keep busking even after […]
Wynton Marsalis on Louis Armstrong, New Orleans, and America
When Louis Armstrong was only age 21 at the dawn of the Jazz Age, he left his hometown of New Orleans to seek his fortune. By 1928, he’d become the […]
The Shotgun Jazz Band Moves on Up
After three albums, myriad roster changes, and the steady transformation from a ragtag street band to dependable club and festival performers, the Shotgun Jazz Band has found its niche. Even […]
New Mosaic Records Box Set Redefines Louis Armstrong’s Legacy
Forty-three years after his death, Louis Armstrong’s later career is undergoing a serious reevaluation. Historians are re-examining the critical consensus that Armstrong’s brilliance was confined to his early career. […]
