January 2006

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BackTalk

Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis began expressing his thoughts on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina before a question could be asked concerning the subject… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Bayou Boogie

Still Winning Awards
When someone says “with all due respect,” brace yourself. An insult is about to follow. But I don’t mean it as… – Herman Fuselier

Cover Story

Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music: Allen Toussaint
In 1960 Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas showed up to audition at WYLD studio in New Orleans for Joe Banashak and… – John Swenson

Features

2005 Critic's Choice
– OffBeat Staff
Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Business: George and Nina Buck
George and Nina Buck reign over what could be described as the “house that jazz built.” Upstairs in what was once… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Wanda Rouzan
“I just hate ignorance where there’s knowledge for you,” Wanda Rouzan declares adamantly. The much-loved vocalist, bandleader, actress, businesswoman and life-long… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Best of the Beat Heartbeat Award: Uncle Lionel
A flurry in the crowd at the Down By the Riverside post-Thanksgiving concert marked the arrival of Uncle Lionel on the… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music: Irma Thomas
In 1960 Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas showed up to audition at WYLD studio in New Orleans for Joe Banashak and… – John Swenson

Jazzin'

No One Like Rosalee
When I would hear the snap of my mailbox shutting late at night I could be fairly certain that Rosalee Baker… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Letters

Letters January 2006
“I can’t imagine my life without your city. The broken sidewalks. The no left turn signs. Every little nuance that makes… – OffBeat Readers

Mojo Mouth

Please Come Home
Everyone is looking forward to January in New Orleans, because we’re tying our hopes to the idea that in January everything… – Jan Ramsey

Obituaries

Obituary: Chris Whitley (1960-2005)
Chris Whitley always played as if his life depended on it. Sometimes, as in his 2004 manifesto War Crime Blues, the… – Cree McCree
Obituary: Stevenson Palfi
– OffBeat Staff
Obituary: Brian O'Neill
– OffBeat Staff
Obituary: Joe Jones
(1926-2005) Joe Jones, musician, producer, publisher, and black musicians’ rights advocate, has died at age 79 in Los Angeles, following bypass… – OffBeat Staff

Reviews

Wynton Marsalis with illustrations by Paul Rogers, Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits (Candlewick Press)
Trumpeter and jazz advocate and educator Wynton Marsalis waxes poetic as he alphabetically celebrates 26 jazz legends. Each one, from trumpeter… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Wild Jimmy Spruill, Scratch 'n' Twist (Night Train)
If you’ve never heard of Wild Jimmy Spruill, you’re not alone. But if you’ve ever grooved to the magnificently churning guitar… – Michael Hurtt
Archie Shepp & Mal Waldron, Left Alone Revisited: A Tribute To Billie Holiday (Synergy)
There’s almost none of them left. Those who create music so achingly human that you can feel their black and blue… – Michael Dominici
Monty Russell, The Fool (Independent)
Decked out in baggy pants, drab black jacket and Buddy Holly glasses, Monty Russell looks every bit the antithesis of the… – Dean M. Shapiro
Reigning Sound, Live At Maxwell's (Telstar)
In a mere five years, Memphis’s aptly-named Reigning Sound have managed to cut some of the finest rock ‘n’ roll albums… – Michael Hurtt
The Other Planets, Discreet Manipulations (Independent)
I’ve yet to enjoy Anthony Cuccia’s jazzy, experimental Other Planets as much live as on this, their excellent first album. Live,… – Michael Patrick Welch
Tab Benoit and the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, Voice of the Wetlands (Rykodisc)
The statistics are staggering. Forty-five years from now it’s estimated that Louisiana will have lost more than 630,000 additional acres of… – Dan Willging
the subdudes, Behind the Levee (Back Porch)
The very first piece of mail I received when I came home to New Orleans after two long months away was… – Cree McCree
Tungsten, If Death Doesn't Change You, Nothing Will (Tungsten Music)
Tungsten dedicates its latest release, If Death Doesn’t Change You, to lead singer Al Hodge’s recently deceased father and a departed… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Bobo Stenson/Andres Jormin/Paul Motian, Goodbye (ECM)
The last thing you’d expect to hear on an ECM recording is the first thing Bobo Stenson tackles here… a haunting,… – Michael Dominici
Ray Abshire, Arrete Pas La Musique (Swallow Records)
Country honker George Jones coined it; Dewey Balfa practically transformed Jones’ “Don’t Stop the Music” hit title, translated as “Arrête Pas… – Dan Willging
The Fantastic Ooze, Fusion Snakes (Independent)
Remember when you could actually dance to rock and roll music? The Fantastic Ooze obviously haven’t forgotten, as their debut CD… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Sonny Rollins, The Essential Sonny Rollins: The RCA Years (RCA Victor/Legacy)
As jazz critic Bob Blumenthal’s informed liner notes remind us, when it was rumored in 1961 that saxophone colossus Sonny Rollins… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Neti Vaan, Toonzville (Jumping Man Records)
It’s hard to imagine a genre that fiddler Neti Vaan hasn’t tackled by now with her border-hopping eclecticism and folkloric sensibility… – Dan Willging
Keith Jarrett, Radiance (ECM)
Keith Jarrett’s Radiance is a transcendental experience. Recorded live in Japan a few years back, Jarrett’s zen-like approach to this eventful… – Michael Dominici
Lost Bayou Ramblers, Bayou Perdu (Swallow Records)
Turn the clock back 70 years, western swing-influenced Cajun string bands ride again. Well, not exactly, but at least no one… – Dan Willging
Benjy Davis Project, The Angie House (Bogalusa Records)
Baton Rouge native Benjy Davis is only 21 and he already has a list of songwriting accomplishments behind them that most… – John Swenson
Amy Trail, Amy Trail (Independent)
On this, her debut CD, Amy Trail plays keyboards and handles all the vocal chores. Unfortunately, the best thing one can… – Dean M. Shapiro
Beatin Path, 3 (Bayou Mamas)
The guys in Beatin Path describe themselves as alt-country on their website and in press. On first listen, though, Beatin Path… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Laura Freeman, Color Wheel Cartwheel (Independent)
Ever since the beginning of time, mankind has been fascinated by colors, whether it was religious symbolism, military strategy, social studies… – Dan Willging
Lionel Batiste, Sr., Lars Edergan Presents Uncle Lionel (GHB)
Every era in New Orleans seems to produce at least one person who by looks, style, and general demeanor comes to… – Steve Steinberg
Lars Edegran's Palm Court Jazz All Stars, Volume 5 (GHB)
This can fairly be described as a modest disc with modest goals. It is the fifth recording to be issued by… – Steve Steinberg
Various Artists, New Orleans Will Rise Again (Night Train)
New Orleans Will Rise Again is an eclectic 22-track mix of various styles from the catalog/tape vaults of New York’s Night… – Jeff Hannusch
Dr. John and the Lower 911, Sippiana Hericane (Blue Note)
New Orleans is gone but something of it remains that needs to be both rebuilt and reclaimed. Though something is lost,… – John Swenson