Issue Articles
Five Questions with Detroit Brooks, musician and founder of the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival
This month we celebrate the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival. What would you consider Danny’s greatest gift to New Orleans and the world? Giving back his talent and his […]
Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Germaine Bazzle
“Teaching was what I was supposed to do—the [music] gigs are what I could do,” says an emphatic Germaine Bazzle, the 2015 recipient of OffBeat’s Lifetime Achievement in Music Education […]
Heartbeat Award: Catherine Lasperches
When Catherine Lasperches walks into an examination room at the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic or meets a patient in the hall, she enthusiastically greets them using their first name. Since […]
Nigel Hall, Ladies & Gentlemen… Nigel Hall (Feel Music/Round Hill Records)
Soul and funk have long been kissin’ cousins. On his debut recording, Ladies & Gentlemen… Nigel Hall, the Washington D.C. native—and New Orleans resident since 2013—vigorously celebrates their close relationship. […]
Joyful, We’ve Got a River to Cross (Rampart Street Music)
The name of this veteran New Orleans gospel group, Joyful, also describes the way it delivers its musical and spiritual message: joyfully! This is a talent-packed ensemble that holds an […]
The Garden District Trio, Then and Now (DHMP Records)
As Then and Now opens with Cole Porter’s 1929 classic, “What Is This Thing Called Love,” followed by another standard, “Red Top,” it’s clear that some fine, jazz-wise musicians are […]
Harry Connick Jr., That Would Be Me (Columbia)
The big news and big difference in That Would Be Me is that Harry Connick Jr. used two producers/songwriters with whom he previously hadn’t worked. In other words, the Grammy-winning […]
Brent Rose, The Unexpected Gift (Independent)
Considering that Brent Rose is known for playing all over New Orleans’ musical scene—brass band, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, big band—it’s not surprising that the saxophonist incorporates many flavors […]
Christian Scott, Stretch Music (Ropeadope)
“He really stretched out on that solo,” someone might exclaim following a particularly expansive musical interpretation. Trumpeter Christian Scott uses the term “stretch music” not only as the title of […]
Perez Patitucci Blade, Children of the Light (Mack Avenue)
For 15 wonderful years now, pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci and New Orleans native, drummer Brian Blade have been members of the Wayne Shorter Quartet. The three musicians’ debut […]
