December 2006
BackTalk
- Hal Willner
“You pick your cast and you work with them.” One of the great ironies of the folk revival of the late…
Cover Story
- A World of Pure Imagination
It’s Saturday morning. This isn’t a time for live music. For some musicians, it’s time to go to bed. If you’re…
Features
- Lost In Music
OUR SPACE Bob Dylan: Modern Times (Sony) Chandler Travis: Tarnation & Alastair Sim (Iddy Biddy) Sonny Rollins: Sonny Please (Doxy) Tom… - Playing Under the Radar
In September 2005, the New Orleans Jazz Vipers were one of the first jazz bands back on the streets of New… - Collateral Damage
Sam Price of Otra came to New Orleans to play the Voodoo Music Experience. Now living in San Francisco, he had…
Fresh
- The Beat Goes On
At OffBeat’s tent at the Voodoo Music Experience, T’Shanda Baldridge of Gonzales, Louisiana subscribed to “The Weekly Beat,” thus entering a… - Do You Know…Metronome The City?
Who: Metronome The City is a four-piece instrumental rock band consisting of locals William Gilbert, Patrick Condon, Brad Theard and Marc… - Learning The Blues Again
To catch a break in the music business, it certainly it helps to have talent. However, a little luck, and being… - Heavy Medal for Preservation Hall
On November 9, President George W. Bush awarded the Preservation Hall Jazz Band the National Medal Of Arts at a ceremony… - Dressed To Swing
1 p.m. on a Sunday is a pretty early meeting time for any musician who had a Saturday night gig on… - All in the Family
The buzz is definitely out on the Burnside Exploration. As the name suggests, the band is composed of the late blues… - A Star Is Televised
The New York Times said he “plays zydeco accordion like a boy possessed.” The New York Daily News said he “has… - A Sketchy Character
Mark Andresen’s sketches of New Orleans ripple with energy. Quick pencil lines catch a trumpet player strutting with his chest held… - Tis the Season
In honor of the election season, Mem Shannon has a funky new “single” available for download titled “Good-Bye Mr. President (Time…
Letters
- December 2007 Letters
"I hope his music and non-profit organization "Voice of the Wetlands" moves enough Americans to use their voices and votes to…
Mojo Mouth
- Louisiana: The Festival State
This is the season when we all give thanks for our friends and family. It’s especially meaningful, considering what New Orleanians…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Timothea Beckerman
Timothea Beckerman, 55, known professionally as Timothea, the “Siren of Soul”—and to her friends as “Timi”—passed away on Thursday evening November…
OffBeat Eats
- Gabrielle's Fate
In September,Chef Greg Sonnier returned from a frustrating trip to City Hall, hung a “For Sale” on the banquet facility he…
Dining Out
- Gabrielle's Fate
In September,Chef Greg Sonnier returned from a frustrating trip to City Hall, hung a “For Sale” on the banquet facility he…
Reviews
- Various Artists, The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited
It is uncertain where in the chasm of history to begin this discussion. With whether or not Hermes Trismegistus, the grandpappy… - George Strait, Fresh Cut Christmas (Hallmark)
People say the Nashville of classic country no longer exists, but the fiddle, mandolin and pedal steel on Fresh Cut… - Tony Joe White, Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings (Rhino Handmade)
Tony Joe White’s appearance at Tipitina’s this fall became a pleasantly unexpected trip through his substantial catalogue. One of the… - Various Artists, Christmas Break (Telarc)
This album is “Relaxing jazz for the holidays,” but for some of the versions, you could replace “relaxing” with “narcotizing”… - Rhonda Vincent, Beautiful Star: A Christmas Collection (Martha White/Rounder)
Rhonda Vincent’s Christmas album works because she commits to the songs, and to what the songs are supposed to be.… - Blackbeard, Strictly Dub Wise (Front Line/EMI)
Blackbeard—Dennis Bovell—doesn’t quite have the same reputation as Augustus Pablo, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Mad Professor or the other great names… - Incognito, Bees+Things+Flowers (Narada Jazz)
Incognito is the sort of thing that couldn’t come out of America. The lite jazz/soul/funk is all about the groove… - Michael Hall, The Song He As Listening to When He Died (Freedom)
It seems young Bob has found himself another record label again. Recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London, England, (I’m guessing… - Robert Cray Band, Live From Across The Pond (Nozzel/Vanguard)
It seems young Bob has found himself another record label again. Recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London, England, (I’m guessing… - The Sadies, Tales of the Rat Fink (Yep Rock)
Ed “Big Daddy” Roth is a fascinating counterculture figure because his T-shirts monsters driving souped up-cars in the early 1970s… - Johnny Cash, The Legend of Johnny Cash Vol. 2 (Universal)
As is often the case, the second cull through a legend’s work is in many ways more fun than the… - Waylon Jennings, Nashville Rebel (RCA Nashville/ Legacy)
He started out playing bass for Buddy Holly on that fatal final tour; spent the ’60s fighting the Nashville establishment for… - Broken Smokes, Separate The People (Independent)
Though they’re a trio live, Broken Smokes actually revolves around the insular dreamworld of transplanted Northwesterner Charles Smith, who makes indie… - Don Rich, You Need Love (Jin)
Here’s another helping of bayou soul from the current reigning king of swamp pop, Peirre Part’s Don Rich. Rich’s ninth CD… - Bluerunners, Live at the Triple Door (Independent)
Usually when a band has been around for close to two decades, there’s at least one live album popping up in… - Jay Weigel/The Saint Louis Cathedral Orchestra and Choir, The Mass of Pope John Paul II (Manchester Craftsmen 's Guild)
New Orleans composer and musician Jay Weigel’s The Mass of Pope John Paul II The Great was commissioned by St. Louis… - Junior Wells, Live At Theresa's 1975
In the 1970s, Chicago’s Junior Wells—and his partner Buddy Guy—were international blues icons, touring North America, Japan, Europe and even Africa.… - Guitar Gabriel, Toot Blues (Music Maker)
Like malted scotch, country blues is an acquired taste. You either like it, or you don’t. Guitar Gabriel was one of… - Billy Iuso And the Restless Natives, When Can I Come Home (Independent)
If you’re looking for the absolute fulcrum where New Orleans funk and the jam-band aesthetic balance each other out equally, this… - Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Road Runners, You Got Me! (Independent)
With six albums in seven years, you would think that by now Leroy Thomas would be running on fumes. But as… - Esquizito, Something I Dreamed Last Night (Maison Musique)
Perhaps vocalist/guitarist Esquizito can best be described as a stylist. His eclectic approach to a host of standards is all his… - Dire Wood, Stand at the Edge and Listen (Red Amp)
You could be forgiven for mistaking a band and an album with names like these for something darker and more intense… - Racines, Racines (Swallow)
Steve Riley gave it a lot of thought. If he were to form a band outside his venerable Mamou Playboys aggregation,… - Clint Maedgen, Clint Maedgen (Independent)
Just when you think multi-faceted frontman Clint Maedgen has done it all, he goes and releases a solo record. Maedgen’s self-titled… - James Andrews and Friends, New Orleans, New Orleans (Independent)
Few musicians have been as dramatically transformed by the impact of Hurricane Katrina as James Andrews. The crisis turned the trumpeter… - Judith Owen, Here (Courgette)
The subversive sense of humor that leads part-time New Orleanian Judith Owen to record cabaret versions of “Eye of the… - Delfeayo Marsalis, Minions Dominion (Troubadour Jass)
This is as much an Elvin Jones album as a Delfeayo Marsalis session, which is a testament to the trombonist’s genius…
