June 2000
BackTalk
- Keely Smith
Keely Smith’s astounding voice and exotic beauty were a prime ingredient in Louis Prima’s show business success. At 68, she’s enthralling…
Bayou Boogie
- Her Majesty Mona
Calling a queen stubborn and intimidating is like calling Hugh Hefner a connoisseur of breasts. Yet Mona “Zydeco Queen” Wilson has…
Bluesworthy
- Planting A Tradition: The Delta Blues Gets A New Home
First there was the river, and then the land, and then the land that the river brought in. Then came the…
Bookmark
Cover Story
- John Mooney
About one hundred years ago, out of an unforeseen fusion of cultures, came a new sound that broke all the rules.…
Dis 'n' Dat
- The Allure of The Forbidden
In another life, Miss Tammy Faye Starlite was a nice Jewish girl from New York named Tammy Lang. She was a…
Features
- 10 Years Ago in OffBeat: June
- Masters of Louisiana Music: Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden
When Louis Armstrong was five years old, he remembered peeking through a window at Funky Butt Hall on Perdido Street in… - Marcia Ball
The scene at Tipitina’s that Monday night is typically insane. It’s the end of the annual WWOZ Professor Longhair Tribute/Piano Night… - Steve Masakowski
An average working class guy. A cup of coffee. A short Italian-American actor with a gun and nasally voice saying, “Do… - Jazz Fest Redux
ACURA-CY Few things in life stay as enjoyable year after year as they were when first encountered, but the New Orleans…
Know What It Means
- The Rites-ous Brothers
Someone once said to me, “Jon Pult, you’re a sap.” It was after I said that my favorite tune was “A…
Letters
Mojo Mouth
- Show Us the Money
According to Jazz Fest figures, this was the best Jazz Fest ever, attendance-wise. The official headcount was 466,500 at the Fairgrounds,…
Straight, No Chaser
- Jason Marsalis Exits Los Hombres Calientes
Drummer Jason Marsalis has decided to leave Los Hombres Calientes, the popular Afro-Latin New Orleans jazz group which has been closely…
Talkin' 'bout New Orleans
- Lawrence Cotton: Guitar Slim's Piano Player
Five nights a week the Bourbon Street Five perform in the Monteleone Hotel’s Carousel Lounge. Unbeknownst to the tourists and conventioneers…
Reviews
- Tarbox Ramblers, Tarbox Ramblers (Rounder)
Sometimes the best way old music endures is when its presenters play it with such freshness that they appear to be… - Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners, The Monkey and Baboon (Thomas Records)
Although some would argue this until their dying breath, Houston, not Southwest Louisiana, is the present Mecca of zydeco. There’s a… - The Magnolia Sisters, Chers Amis (Rounder)
It doesn’t seem that long ago when Ann Savoy and Jane Vidrine performed informally at a crawfish boil where Arhoolie’s Chris… - Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now (Warner Brothers)
Joni Mitchell is no stranger to the jazz world, forging alliances with the likes of Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, Herbie Hancock… - Brint Anderson, Notes from Clarksdale (Toulouse Records)
Brint Anderson is a contemporary blues player with his feet firmly planted in the rich blues of the Delta mud and… - Rosie Ledet, It's A Groove Thing (Maison de Soul)
Ever since Robert Johnson’s immortal “Crossroads Blues,” it’s been part of blues lore to sell your soul for musician stardom. In… - Smokin' Joe Kubek featuring Bnois King, Bite Me (Bullseye)
These guys may be veterans of the chitlin circuit, but they’re also to some degree the Great Black and White Hope… - Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Little Wooden Box (Shanachie)
In some ways, the latest from Cajun accordion rocker Wayne Toups parallels his 1995 return-to-roots Back to the Bayou. As that… - North Mississippi All Stars, Shake Hands With Shorty (Tone-Cool)
No matter who you are, the roots always call you back. But when they do, you take a piece of wherever… - Suplecs, Wrestlin' With My Lady Friend (Man's Ruin Records)
Go through the French Quarter and try to find a New Orleans tchochke that features a member of Suplecs. Sure, there… - Roscoe Chenier, Roscoe Rocks (Bayou Records)
Though Roscoe Rocks works as a convenient alliteration, in reality Roscoe Keeps It Jumpin’ is closer to the truth. Unquestionably Chenier’s… - Katie Webster/Rockin' Sidney, The Goldband Years (Goldband Records)
Now here’s a wild one, swamp boogie queen Katie Webster coupled with Rockin’ “My Toot Toot” Sidney on this previously unavailable… - Kenny Neal, What You Got (Telarc)
Despite countless attempts to gentrify it, prettify it, whitewash it and generally remove its teeth, the blues remains—as it began—a workingman’s… - The Boulevards, Desire (Cage Free Records)
“My band fits into the blues/jazz realm,” says multi-instrumentalist Chris Klein, who also sings lead for the Boulevards. He’s being modest.… - The Blacks, Just Like Mom (Bloodshot)
The common thread between the countryish bands on Chicago’s Bloodshot Records is a class consciousness. Few songs have been so overt… - Tracy Griffin, Grace (Trac-One)
Griffin is a trumpeter who has been on the local scene for some time. Most of his work has been in… - Rick Holmstrom, Gonna Get Wild (Tone-Cool)
Guitarist Rick Holmstrom is a West Coast mainstay, mainly because of his ongoing relationship with Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers… - Quintology, Blues by 5 (Independent)
In a remarkably short period of time, this young quintet has established itself as one of the most unique and consistently… - Gallivan Burwell, Amurka (Highbrow Records)
I’m not quite sure how to categorize Gallivan Burwell’s music. His deep and rhythmic ruminations, filled with heavy, soulful strums of… - Lil' Band O' Gold, Lil' Band O' Gold (Shanachie Records)
What makes this record such a strong statement is its many sides. With nine members and four distinctly different vocalists, each… - Governor Jimmie Davis, Louisiana (Bloodshot/Revival Records)
At over 100 years of age, Jimmy Davis may not have done it all, but he’s sure come close. Not many… - Rhino, The Rendering (Independent)
For an all-too-brief period, between 1994 and 1996, New Orleans was well represented in the smooth jazz market by radio station… - Bryan Lee, Crawfish Lady (Justin Time)
Bryan Lee has been playing the blues in Chicago since the early ’60s and in the Quarter since Edwin Edwards was… - Melissa Sigler, Easy Way Out (Independent)
Even though Melissa Sigler’s music may ensconce you to the point you’d swear you’re in some shag-carpeted lounge sipping a glass… - George Porter Jr. & Runnin' Pardners, Funk 'n' Go Nuts (Independent)
George Porter has been quoted claiming that his live audiences are the same average age now as they were 20 years… - Kipori "Baby Wolf" Woods, Big Black Cadillac (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
It’s all about the flash. If you weren’t looking closely at the cover of Kipori “Baby Wolf” Woods’ latest CD, Big… - Walter "Wolfman" Washington, On The Prowl (Bullseye Bayou Basics)
Bullseye Blues Basics are the Big Mac of the roots-music world, cheap, attractively packaged, and while it’s not the most haute… - The Meters, Cabbage Alley/Rejuvenation/Fire On The Bayou (Sundazed)
First of all, a disclaimer: I wrote the liner notes for these three reissues. I was paid a small fee but…
