April 2006

Buy Now

BackTalk

Lillian Boutte'
Lillian Boutté sang at the first French Quarter Festival and will return to kick off this year’s event with a special… – John Swenson

Bayou Boogie

Short and Curley
Curley Taylor is living up to his band’s name, Zydeco Trouble. Taylor’s recently released sophomore CD, Free Your Mind, is a… – Herman Fuselier

Bluesworthy

Better Weather
It wasn’t really that long ago that Eric Lindell was doing scattered gigs at the Old Point Bar near his house… – Marc Stone

Cover Story

Citizen Marsalis
Photos courtesy of Paula Burch/Tulane University I always see progress; I’m not a doomsayer,” says Wynton Marsalis. He’s reflecting on… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Features

Down By the River
Allen Toussaint finally looks comfortable. We’ve finished talking and during the conversation, he expressed concern that he wasn’t a good interview.… – Alex Rawls
“Land of 1,000 Dances
– Jeff Hannusch
Trouble Brewing
Coffee wasn’t only central to the founding of New Orleans; it was also central to its rebuilding. Eight days after Hurricane… – Brooks Hamaker
Band-Aid
October was a surreal time in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina had passed and the floodwaters were finally gone. The city was… – Alex Rawls

Hidden Charms

Earl Stanley: Ninth Ward Rumble
Earl Stanley sits in the living room of his Metairie home, flanked by two splashy movie posters starring the East Side… – Michael Hurtt

Jazzin'

Home, Spiritual Home
Many years ago, American Airlines ran a contest asking entrants to write an essay about the place they most wanted to… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Letters

Letters April 2006
A Valuable Lesson A big influence on my music career was former New Orleans Summer Pops conductor Milton Bush. He was… – OffBeat Readers

Live Wire

Lundi Gras Celebrations at Spanish Plaza
On a beautifully sunny day the Hot 8 Brass Band kicked hard performing first at the Canal Street side of Spanish… – Geraldine Wyckoff
The Warlocks
With the Mardi Gras season in full swing, the Los Angeles-based Warlocks brought their dark, Echo Park psychedelic rock to New… – John Dean Alfone
New Orleans Social Club
At South By Southwest last month, Saturday afternoon at the outdoor Town Lake stage was a mini-Jazz Fest, with performances by… – Alex Rawls

Mojo Mouth

The Most Festive Time of Year
Spring in New Orleans… don’t you just love it? The air is still pretty cool, the skies are blue, and thank… – Jan Ramsey

Obituaries

Obituary: King Floyd
– Jeff Hannusch

Reviews

Kim Brasso, Bayou Rock & Roll, A Louisiana Swamp Pop Experience (Juicy Pear)
The profusion of swamp pop releases in the past couple of years might lead one to believe that for every swamp… – Jeff Hannusch
Robin Remaily, The Perils of Moving Too Slow (Remaily)
Robin Remaily, part of the legendary Holy Modal Rounders collective of the late 1960s and early 1970s, is now part of… – John Swenson
Jovino Santos Neto, Roda Carioca (Adventure)
When Jazzfest celebrated the 500th anniversary of Brazil by inviting some of that country’s best musicians, pianist Jovino Santos Neto was… – John Swenson
Tom Russell, Love & Fear (Hightone)
Tom Russell’s last project, a tribute to the poet Charles Bukowski, has clearly influenced his own writing here. The country/folk/blues songwriter… – John Swenson
Cassandra Wilson, Thunderbird (Blue Note)
No contemporary vocalist can match Cassandra Wilson’s interpretive breadth. Her transgeneric style turns “Red River Valley” into a stark delta blues… – John Swenson
Chris Thomas King, Juke Joint: You Can Never Go Home Again (21st Century Blues)
Chris Thomas King is, bluntly, perplexing. He is a talented guitarist and actor, but the his rhetoric and results rarely… – Alex Rawls
Chris Thomas King, Red Mud Sessions (21st Century Blues)
Chris Thomas King is, bluntly, perplexing. He is a talented guitarist and actor, but the his rhetoric and results rarely… – Alex Rawls
Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Swing Out (Vappielle Music Productions)
Swing Out from Vappie’s Creole Jazz Serenaders is an exuberant affair of traditional jazz loaded with sudden stops, quick changes, snappy… – Dan Willging
Don Vappie, Banjo a la Creole (Vappielle Music Productions)
Don Vappie recently attended a conference that focused on the banjo’s journey from Africa to the western world and its role… – Dan Willging
The Interlopers, “You Make it Sound So Bad...” (Rhinestone)
If punk rock is defined by its velocity, then the Interlopers “You Make it Sound So Bad…” isn’t punk rock. If… – Alex Rawls
King Louie One Man Band, Chinese Crawfish (Goner)
When “King” Louie Bankston was drummer for the Royal Pendletons, every drum fill was an adventure. There was no telling… – Alex Rawls
Soweto Gospel Choir, Blessed (Shanachie)
The music of the Soweto Gospel Choir might best be described as Ladysmith Black Mambazo goes to church. The two South… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Everett Brady, Swamp & Roll with Soul (MTE Records)
Like his esteemed swamp pop peers, Charles Mann and Lil’ Alfred, Everett Brady proves you don’t need a sizable discography to… – Dan Willging
Wanda Jackson, I Remember Elvis (Goldline)
Sometimes referred as the female Elvis Presley, often called the Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson was, and is the first great… – Mike Perciaccante
Lee Rocker, Racin' the Devil (Alligator Records)
There are enough skeletons, devils, crashed cars, and hellish flames on both the outside and inside of this CD to please… – Robert Fontenot
Saffire, The Uppity Blues Women: Deluxe Edition (Alligator)
Deluxe Edition of what? Well, of Saffire itself. Don’t mistake this for a remodeled version of this group’s self-titled 1990 debut;… – Robert Fontenot
Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble, Free Your Mind (Louisiana Soul)
Ever since his 2003 groundbreaking Country Boy debut, Taylor’s been regarded as a zydeco maverick. The disc, released more than half… – Dan Willging
Waylon and Sammy, The Original Bourbon Street Cajuns (Mardi Gras Records)
Waylon and SammyThe Original Bourbon Street CajunsMardi Gras Records It’s the tale of two Bourbon Street Thibodeauxs, to badly paraphrase VP… – Dan Willging
Jimmy Thibodeaux, Everybody Calls Me Crazy (Mardi Gras Records)
Waylon and SammyThe Original Bourbon Street CajunsMardi Gras Records It’s the tale of two Bourbon Street Thibodeauxs, to badly paraphrase VP… – Dan Willging
Louis Armstrong, Louis Armstrong in Scandinavia Vol.3 (Storyville)
If nothing else, this CD adds further evidence for the oft-repeated proposition that Louis Armstrong never gave a bad performance. These… – Steve Steinberg
Various Artists, Reggae Playground (Putumayo Kids)
– Robert Fontenot
Various Artists, One World, One Kid (Putumayo Kids)
– Robert Fontenot
Anthony Hamilton, Ain't Nobody Worrying' (Zomba)
Anthony Hamilton doesn’t sound like a neo-soul singer; more accurately, Ain’t Nobody Worryin’ sounds like an old soul record, with… – Alex Rawls
Andrew Hill, Time Lines (Blue Notes)
The great eloquence of Andrew Hill as both a pianist and composer resounds throughout the veteran’s return to the Blue Note… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Cat Power, The Greatest (Matador Records)
The new release from Cat Power, a.k.a. Chan Marshall, opens with “The Greatest,” a song of gauzy beauty. A lament to… – Todd A. Price
Christian Winther, The Only Plan (SteepleChase)
Danish-born, New Orleans transplant Christian Winther likes to swing and gets the rhythm and mood going on “New York Strut,” the… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Magnolia Sisters, Lapin, Lapin (Independent)
Granted, Cajun-Creole cultural children’s music has never been given a lot of attention, which, along with the sub-genre’s scant discography, explains… – Dan Willging
Shannon McNally, North American Ghost Music (Back Porch)
Your third (perhaps fourth, depending on how you count) album is an uncommon occasion for a live album. Admittedly, the… – Alex Rawls