Music
Alex McMurray, How to Be A Cannonball (Threadhead)
Alex McMurray’s long awaited new album, How to Be a Cannonball, could be the record that gives him the recognition as being one of the best songwriters working today. Every […]
Honey Island Swamp Band, Wishing Well (Independent)
In the years since the Honey Island Swamp Band released its first record, it has crossed the country and been the secret force behind swamp soulster Eric Lindell. Now it […]
Sacred Songs: Danny Barker
“When Danny first approached me, I saw him as someone who was quite cool,” remembers trumpeter Leroy Jones with a smile as he recalls one of his great influences, guitarist, […]
Royce Osborn, All on a Mardi Gras Day (Spyboy DVD)
From the beginning moments of Mardi Gras Indians parading, Skull and Bones groups eerily taunting, and Baby Dolls shaking their moneymakers over the immortal Carnival music of Professor Longhair that […]
Best of the Beat Posthumous Lifetime Achievement in Music: James Carroll Booker III
He had the character (or some might say “characters”) and the sheer virtuosity befitting his full name, James Carroll Booker III. But he wasn’t just another New Orleans pianist who […]
Randy Poe, Skydog: The Duane Allman Story (Backbeat)
In Skydog: the Duane Allman Story—recently released in paperback—author Randy Poe has written the definitive biography of the late Allman Brother and session guitarist. Since his death, Duane and the […]
Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Forked Tongue (Cuneiform)
The new CD from Cambridge’s Revolutionary Snake Ensemble advances their Sun Ra-meets-the-Dirty Dozen hybrid with songs both traditional and unexpected. The tunes they choose and write have meaty riffs that […]
007, You Only Drop Once (Independent)
The new release from 007, You Only Drop Once, is a more serious recording than their previous effort, Studied Rudeness, but that does not mean that this recording takes itself […]
Frederick “Shep” Sheppard, Tradition: The Habari Gani Sessions (Drumparade)
The late Frederic Sheppard was best known for his rhythm and blues work in Fats Domino’s horn section, but he could do so much more. His modern jazz sensibility was […]
Dianne Reeves, When You Know (Blue Note)
Multiple Grammy winner Dianne Reeves’ new record is yet another excellent showcase for her voice. Whether wistful on her cover of the Motown hit “Just My Imagination,” playful on Jon […]
