Issue Articles
Dr. Steven Price: Best of the Beat 2013 Heartbeat Award Honoree
Dr. Steven Price is a warm and gregarious man. His eyes twinkle in a certain way when he speaks to you. That twinkle radiates outward to embrace the people who […]
It’s Five Somewhere with “Papa” John Gros
What have you been up to? I’ve been enjoying not being a bandleader. I’ve had a blast playing with all my great friends from over the years. I’ve been playing […]
Borah Bergman, Kidd Jordan, William Parker, Michael Wimberly, Vita Brevis (Some Real Music)
It’s hard to believe that albums featuring Kidd Jordan used to be rare occurrences and difficult finds. This month, there are not one, but two, records that feature his stellar […]
Gillet Singleton Duo, Ferdinand (Independent)
This is not ya mama’s string duets. She would not recognize some of the sounds coming from this direct and powerful live recording from cellist Helen Gillet and bassist James […]
James Booker, Classified: Remixed and Expanded (Rounder Records)
The rap on James Booker’s Classified is that it was good, but not even close to what one might see and hear on any given night at the Maple Leaf […]
BackTalk: Passing a Good Time with the Maple Leaf’s Hank Staples (Interview)
Hank Staples is old-school—a raconteur of no mean talent, able to regale listeners with 30 years of wild and sordid tales of the renowned and notorious Maple Leaf Bar and […]
Jason Isbell, Southeastern (Thirty Tigers)
Jason Isbell’s skills as a songwriter have never been in doubt. His songs “Outfit” and “Danko/Manuel” rank as some of best his former band, the Drive-By Truckers, ever did. And […]
Why Does James Booker Matter?
With increasing frequency, the life, music, and mystique of pianist James Booker are asserting their presence again in our consciousness. Never far from the surface, Booker’s keyboard prowess and legendary […]
The Melatauns, Bards of Melatonia (Independent)
From the sounds of this record, Melatonia is the extra-dimensional world where the drinks are always cold, the nights breezy, the music rocking, and the musicians loose. When you find […]
Breton Sound, Maps (or Cartography and the Art of Generalization) (Independent)
For a five-song EP, Breton Sound concentrates on perfecting a certain sound. There’s hard-rock seriousness, rave ups, and a pretty ballad that slowly switches into an almost march. They pull […]
