August 2000
BackTalk
- Irma Thomas
At this point, Irma Thomas needs little or no introduction to New Orleanians or the readers of OffBeat. The quintessential entertainer,…
Bayou Boogie
Bluesworthy
- Tryin' to Flag A Ride
It's been a long hard road indeed for the New Orleans Blues Project. The music economic development project, headed by the…
Chassez De Faim
- Cool Cuisine
When the heat rolls in during the summertime, most local diners head North or West to fill their stomachs and explore…
Cover Story
- Kermit Ruffins
"Hey, Ronald, turn that up. I like to hear those big band arrangements," shouts Kermit Ruffins, referring to his juke box… - James Andrews
It’s a typically hot and humid Friday afternoon in New Orleans. Trumpeter and vocalist James Andrews is sitting in a coffee…
Dis 'n' Dat
- Love, The Psychedelic Way
Approximately two decades ago, the Psychedelic Furs first performed in New Orleans. The gig was at the Oak Street club then…
Features
- Masters of Louisiana Music: James Carroll Booker III
Back in the 1970s, shortly after his release from Angola State Penitentiary (where he’d served time following his heroin possession bust… - What Does Louis Armstrong Mean?
What Does Louis Armstrong Mean? It is an interesting question, and a vague one. The questions’ interest is derived from that… - Russell Batiste
New Orleans was, is and probably always will be home to the baddest drummers in the land. From early jazz to… - Suparock: Supagroup & Suplecs
- Louis Armstrong's Birthday: The Debate Continues
In Gary Giddins’ Satchmo, the companion volume to a televised documentary first aired in 1988, Giddins credits New Orleans music historian…
Know What It Means
- San Francisco Stories
I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area at the moment. Although it is an extremely unpleasant circumstance which finds me here…
Letters
- Letters August 2000
THE REAL BIRTHDAY Recently, myself and other members of The Living Folklore Medicine Show were contracted to create an opening second-line…
Mojo Mouth
- Organize!
I've been saying for a very long time that it's a crime that Louisiana doesn't have a real music industry. In…
Pass A Good Time
Straight, No Chaser
- Paxton & Ellington: Piano Simpatico
Piano players rarely play together, or so the saying (and the movie title) goes. But don't tell that to Josh Paxton…
Reviews
- Randy McAllister, Double Rectified Bust Head, (JSP)
Some songs can frighten you from the first line. “He’s got a bat and a gun in the truck and a… - Joe Ely, Live at Antone's (Rounder)
Jimmie Dale Gilmore One Endless Night (Windcharger Music / Rounder) Joe Ely Live @ Antone’s (Rounder) Maybe the music never died… - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, One Endless Night (Windcharger Music/Rounder)
Jimmie Dale Gilmore One Endless Night (Windcharger Music / Rounder) Joe Ely Live @ Antone’s (Rounder) Maybe the music never died… - Louisiana's LeRoux, Aint Nothing But A Gris Gris (LM Records)
In the late ’70s LeRoux recorded the tune that was locally voted “Song of the Century.” The one whose catchy melody… - Fred Anderson, Hamid Drake, "Kidd" Jordan, William Parker, 2 Days in April (Eremite Records)
Avant-garde jazz is challenging music. One must listen to it with open ears and an open heart. Rarely in any type… - EZ Bake Organs, EZ Bake Organs (Independent)
The EZ Bake Organs are three women vocalist/organists—Helena Shoh, Kathleen Kraus and Myshkin—who are part of what I recently heard described… - Emmylou Harris, Cimarron/Last Date (Eminent Records)
Considering the release of second trio album with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, a stunning collaboration just with Ronstadt and a… - Horace Trahan and the Louisiana Express, Get on Board (Zydeco Hound Records)
Five years ago, a teen-age accordionist named Horace Trahan was thought to be Iry LeJeune reincarnated. Cajun music lovers openly wept… - Sullivan Dabney and his Muzik Jazz Band, Down in New Orleans With All That Jazz (Independent)
What can you say about a five-piece dance band that sticks to the pop classics? A band you might hear in… - Muddy Waters, Mojo (Music Club)
Muddy Waters IS the blues, and right up ’til the day he died in 1983, that remained true, especially during his… - Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band, Shoutin' in Key: Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band Live (Hannibal)
Too much Taj? Nothing’s impossible. Since shaking off the roots-music curse of the ’80s (with ’91’s stylishly eclectic Like Never Before),… - South Coast Party Boyz, Escape from New Orleans (St. Roch Records)
In the past few years, hip-hop has shown that it is large enough to contain many different styles. “Some people say… - Lillian Boutte, You've Gotta Love Pops, (Art by Heart)
She spends most of her time in Germany these days, but jazz diva Lillian Boutté’s feet are still firmly planted in… - Bernard Allison, Across the Water (Tone-Cool)
Bernard Allison, son of the late guitar giant Luther Allison, is from a generation that’s not very concerned with labels—he delivers… - Michel Camilo and Tomatito, Spain (Verve)
In Spanish, “Vacilon” refers to the contrast tension between two forces, working together in either opposition or harmony, creating a unique… - Cowboy Mouth, Easy (Blackbird/Atlantic)
After being misused criminally at MCA, Cowboy Mouth has landed at Blackbird, the artist-friendly subsidiary at Atlantic. Easy is the latest… - Gina Forsyth, You Are Here (W.G. Records)
Anyone that’s ever been swept away by Bruce Daigrepont’s mad Cajun music has probably witnessed the wild spirit in fiddler Gina… - Terry Radigan, Radigan (Vanguard)
Writing clever and catchy love songs that bear up to repeated listening has never been easy, but Terry Radigan seems to… - Jeff and Vida, One Horse Town (Independent)
It’s an often heard criticism when it comes to hot shot young white boy blues guitarists—they haven’t lived long enough to… - Ryan Reardon and the Levee Breakers, Walking In Golden Sunshine (Sundown)
- Brad Randell and the Zydeco Ballers, Brad Randell and the Zydeco Ballers (J&S Records)
A while back Brad Randell was known as “Keith Frank Jr.” for obvious reasons. Like his idol, he was a hot… - Dr. John with the Donald Harrison Band, Funky New Orleans (Metro)
To be totally accurate, this CD really ought to be credited to the Donald Harrison Band, billed with Dr. John as… - Mobil Unit, The Year: All of Nothing (Fuku Records)
Mobil Unit used to be known as Karl “Motown” Morrison and was previously hailed in these pages for his “Mary Jane,”… - Sir Douglas Quintet, The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet/The Sir Douglas Quintet Is Back (Sundazed Records)
Sir Douglas Quintet The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet (Sundazed Records) Sir Douglas Quintet The Sir Douglas Quintet is Back… - Cronk, Wegotchu (Independent)
There are plenty of bands out there right now jumping on the funk wagon, spiking it with hip-hop, and pulling in… - Louis Armstrong, West End Blues: The Very Best of the Hot Fives & Sevens (Music Club)
Louis “Satchmo’ Armstrong not only was the supreme musician and ultimate showman of the 20th century, he also lived the kind… - Louis Armstrong, The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia/Legacy)
It’s already started, and for the next two years the nation—for that matter, most of the solar system—will be ablaze with… - Los Vecinos, Guajira en Cyberspace (Category Seven Records)
Los Vecinos is the spontaneous invention of percussionist/drummer Michael Skinkus and bassist Andy Wolf, and reflects their powerful love and understanding… - Duke Robillard, Explorer (Shanachie)
Duke Robillard takes his brand-new, just-out-of-the-case Handy Award for Blues Guitarist as proof positive that he’s finally stepped out of the… - Bob French's Original Tuxedo Jazz Band & Friends, Livin' the Legacy (Royal Tuxedo Records)
- Arlee Leonard, Wild Honey (Solajazz Productions)
- Louis Armstrong, Louis' Love Songs (Louisiana Red Hot)
Here’s my advice: buy any and all Louis Armstrong albums you encounter. I guarantee your life will be enriched. Louis felt… - Irma Thomas, My Heart's in Memphis: The Songs of Dan Penn (Rounder)
It never has been easy being Irma Thomas. Wanting nothing more than a national hit, in the late ’60s, the big-voiced,…
