Music
Michael Juan Nunez, About To Snap (Parishing Records)
A presidential term ago Michael Juan Nunez proved there was life after the River Babys, Lafayette’s seminal rockers, by dropping a dandy of a solo acoustic blues debut. This one […]
Beth Patterson, Caught in the Act (Little Blue Men Records)
She absorbs you with an unrestrained exuberance,” notes Smithfield Fair’s Dudley-Brian Smith about his Celtic colleague Beth Patterson. Given the bouzouki-slinging solo act’s live disc, such a laudable endorsement couldn’t […]
Chris Ardoin and Nu Step, Sweat (Independent)
The body wasn’t even cold by the time Chris Ardoin re-christened Double Clutchin’ to NuStep immediately after the release of 2004’s Save the Last Dance. But years after an amiable […]
Various Artists, The Rough Guide to Bottleneck Blues (World Disc)
Granted, there will always be blues compilations flooding the market as an introduction to an imprint’s wares. The Rough Guide to Bottleneck Blues takes a unique approach by concentrating solely […]
Various Artists, Mali (Putumayo World Music)
Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal and Bonnie Raitt are among the Westerners who’ve collaborated with Malian musicians in recent times. Corey Harris was so intrigued by his encounter with guitarist Ali […]
Various Artists, Acoustic Brazil (Putumayo World Music)
After Carnival has silenced its mighty roar, things slowly return to a saner sense of normalcy with the swaying, tropical acoustic music Brazil is renowned for. The samba cancão and […]
Various Artists, Ultimate Gospel Fest (Mardi Gras Records)
Move over high-steppin’ brass bands and funky hipsters, here comes the hallelujah-hoisting gospel God squadders. As these 15 testifying tracks demonstrate, gospel is just as essential to the fabric of […]
The Flavors of Louisiana, The Flavors of Louisiana (Mambito Records)
It took swingin’ saxophonist Jerry Embree a moment of Hawaiian paradise to have an epiphany. There, in the midst of a tropical scene that had all the trappings of a […]
Jimmy Thackery, Healin’ Ground (Telarc)
Thackery gets the roadhouse revue rolling with the humorous opener “Let The Guitar Do The Work,” whose moral is that it’s the guitar, not the bling-bling, that gets the chicks. […]
Eddie Turner, Rise (Northern Blues)
If you ever wondered where mystical bluesman Otis Taylor gets much of his dark, brooding, mysterious textures, look no further than departed sideman/guitarist Eddie Turner. He’s been blues’ best-kept secret […]
