Issue Articles
Helen Gillet: A Whirling Dervish Improviser
Helen Gillet’s cello is much more than just an instrument. It’s a visceral extension of her body and soul and her peripatetic mind, which ranges as far and wide as a childhood spent shuttling between Belgium, Singapore and Chicago, where she first picked up the cello at age nine.
Sharing Gospel’s Joy
In Louisiana, musical families prevail throughout many genres and enjoy the inclusion of multiple generations in their harmonic journeys. Gospel music is, of course, no exception. Two outstanding examples performing in the Gospel Tent at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as they’ve done for many years, are the Dynamic Smooth Family and The Bester Singers.
Anders Osborne Talks Back
Anders Osborne moved to New Orleans from his native Sweden when he was 19 and never looked back. Sixteen albums and four decades later, Osborne is a legacy New Orleans artist set to headline Jazz Fest for the 35th year in a row. His new album, Picasso’s Villa (5th Ward/Missing Piece) is out this month.
Cyril Neville Preserves Neighborhood Culture
If you see Cyril Neville perform this year, you’ll probably hear a song called “Don’t Wait ’Till I’m Gone.” It’s a typically fiery bit of funk, with lyrics that say what a lot of well-traveled musicians are probably thinking: “Give me my flowers while I can still smell them, hear my stories while I can still tell them. Give me my medals while I can still wear them. Don’t wait till I’m gone!”
Dining Out: Wild South
Wild South is the latest restaurant from Here Today Hospitality and helmed by Michael Stoltzfus, a seven-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee for “Best Chef: South” at his flagship, Coquette, as well as Jason Kaplan, Ryan Plas, and Becky Brooks-Macris alongside Bret Macris. Wild South will offer a five-course tasting menu, a three-course prix-fixe menu, and an à la carte bar menu that highlights seasonal ingredients from across the South’s fertile landscape.
A Tribute to Allen Toussaint’s Legacy: New Orleans Ballet Association presents Whirlaway
On May 10, 2014, Parsons Dance and the Allen Toussaint Orchestra will premiere Whirlaway. Commissioned by the New Orleans Ballet Association, the work paired David Parsons’ contemporary dance choreography with music by the beloved New Orleans songwriter, pianist and producer Allen Toussaint.
Music Brings Us Together: The Nous Foundation’s Louisiana French Cajun and Creole music project
It’s been a while since the Library of Congress has added new recordings of Cajun and Creole music to its permanent archives.
“The last major recordings of Louisiana French music were done in the 1960s,” says Scott Tilton, executive director of the Nous Foundation, a New Orleans-based organization dedicated to preserving and promoting French and Creole language and culture. “And those were wonderful musicians, but it was not exactly the most diverse slew. It’s mostly white male Cajuns.”
Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot: 4/20 With Dash Rip Rock
In boggles the mind that a city that celebrates everything else would not have a music festival on 4/20. Dash Rip Rock leader Bill Davis noticed that as well and put together a bash at NOLA Brewing last year. The mini-fest, now dubbed “Everybody Solo,” returns to the venue this year—on April 20 of course.
Beth Patterson is Over The Moon
“My story [Beth Patterson] is archived in what? The Lunar Codex?” As soon as I read the news, I studied the bottle of wine I’d just opened, scratching my head.
Vintage vinyl treasures (Episode 37)
Earl King, an icon in New Orleans’ music, passed away in the month of April of 2003, at the age of 69. He left us with a handful of unique and recognizable tunes, covered by a number of other legends throughout the industry. Hence the following selection of vintage vinyl for your reading pleasure.
