Issue Articles
Meet Me at the Second Line: The Black Men of Labor Talk Tradition
The 2012-2013 social aid and pleasure club parade season, which runs from the last Sunday in August to mid-June, has begun. The time seemed right to sit down with the […]
Roland Guerin, A Different World (Independent)
As the title suggests, Roland Guerin travels to different realms on his latest CD. Performing in an array of settings, the New Orleans bassist has always displayed his versatility. Noted […]
Stephanie Jordan: Respect, Maturity and Verve
Stephanie Jordan assembled a top-notch group of long-time collaborators to record her debut album. The vocalist hand-picked such notables as pianist and arranger Mike Esnault, saxophonist Roderick Paulin, bassist Chris […]
Essence Festival’s Block Party and New & Next Stage
A carnival atmosphere has always prevailed around the Superdome during the Essence Music Festival. As folks stroll the nearby streets dressed in their summery best, they pass vendors of all […]
Bob French with Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, Cafe Brasil, January 8, 2007
The buzz got out that Harry Connick, Jr. and Branford Marsalis, in town to bolster the Habitat for Humanity’s Musicians’ Village, might sit in at Bob French’s Monday night gig. […]
Monk Boudreaux
Joseph “Big Chief Monk” Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles has been masking Indian since he was a teenager. His father, Raymond, was a member of the Creoles and the Wild […]
The Academy Honors Matassa
It was recently announced that Cosimo Matassa will receive the National Recording Academy’s prestigious Trustees Award for his contribution as a record producer. He is to be honored at a […]
Obituary: Dinerral Shavers (1981-2006)
As family and friends stepped down the stairs of the Fifth African Baptist Church after a three-hour service celebrating the life of Dinerral Shavers, they were met with a street […]
Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement Award in Music Education: Harold Battiste
The words “The Future of Our Past” printed on the upper right cover of Harold Battiste’s sheet music/workbook, The Silverbook, speak volumes about the musician and the man. Generally, when […]
