Issue Articles
A Tale of Two Allens: Luke Allen and His Son Arlo Talk Music—and Poultry
Over a fresh goose-egg omelet, prepared by Luke Allen, we dig into Happy Talk Band’s history and their new album, Low Shoulder, and trace the musical evolution of Luke’s prodigious son Arlo.
Quintron: Ephemeral Ponds (Independent)
“Nature is the best drummer,” Quintron notes at the end of a short video documenting his six-week residency with Miss Pussycat at A Studio in the Woods.
The Rolling Stones: Hackney Diamonds (Polydor)
The Rolling Stones have not mellowed with age. Not by a long shot. Proving time, time, time is on their side, they shatter the glass ceiling of age on the aptly titled Hackney Diamonds, Brit slang for the shards of broken glass car thieves scatter in their wake. On track after track of their first album of originals in 18 years, Keith starts me up harder than ever with his iconic riffs, while Mick has never sounded more petulantly pouty than he does spitting out the lyrics on Hackney. Like he sings on “Whole Wide World,” one of many instant-classic additions to the canon: “When you think the party’s over … it’s only just begun.” And boy, is it a rager.
WWOZ Ready to Move: A “Game Changer”
From the moment it was launched from a beer storage room above Tipitina’s, where DJs sometimes dropped a mic down to the stage to send live music across the airwaves, the namesake radio station of the Wonderful Wizard Of Oz has kept its laser focus exactly where it belongs: on the musical heartbeat of New Orleans.
Harry Shapiro: John Campbell: Spirit of a Bluesman (The Crossroads Press)
John Campbell: Spirit of a Bluesman
Dead & Company Will Play Jazz Fest Debut
The Grateful Dead goes on forever. The Jerry Garcia-led band played its final show at Chicago’s Soldier Field on July 9, 1995, just weeks before Garcia died, and has continued in various incarnations ever since.
Loose Cattle (Finally!) Set for First Jazz Fest
I’ve been a Loose Cattle devotee since 2017, when they debuted with the instant-classic holiday album, Seasonal Affective Disorder. The album encapsulates the push-pull dynamic of the molten core of my favorite Americana cowpunks in New Orleans: Michael Cerveris, who adores Christmas, and Kimberley Kaye, who is shadowed by the holiday’s darkside.
A Fascinating Background: Catherine Russell will have a good time at Jazz Fest
Catherine Russell may be making her Jazz Fest debut in 2023, but her New Orleans roots run deep. Her dad, Luis Russell, recorded with Louis Armstrong in 1929 and 1930 and served as Armstrong’s musical director from 1935 to 1940. She also contributed to Wynton Marsalis’s soundtrack for the 2019 docudrama “Bolden,” which explored the near-mythic life of Buddy Bolden, considered by many (including Armstrong) to be first person to play jazz.
Christmas This Year: A new holiday song by David Heatley with Michael Cerveris
Christmas This Year: A new holiday song by David Heatley with Michael Cerveris
Little Freddie King: Best Of The Beat Lifetime Achievement In Music
Best Of The Beat: Lifetime Achievement In Music – Little Freddie King, Little Freddie King’s Remarkable Lifetime Achievements Have Only Just Begun.
