March 2006
BackTalk
- Morning 40 Federation
“What I didn’t like about the other records is that our live energy didn’t come across at all,” says Bailey Smith…
Bayou Boogie
- The Last Dance
If you’ve ever been to Lewisburg, chances are good you were lost. Not even Google can find it without a struggle.…
Cover Story
- Cowboy Mouth Finds a Way Home
Fred LeBlanc gazes across the House of Blues dance floor at an audience of his peers. LeBlanc and Cowboy Mouth partner…
Features
- Injuns Here Dey Come
While feathers and plumes are delicate, the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indians whose suits they adorn remain remarkably resilient. Though many… - Back on the Beat
James Andrews added his trumpet to Fred LeBlanc and Paul Sanchez’ acoustic set. On Saturday, January 21, OffBeat presented a version… - Open for Business
South by Southwest has evolved from a gathering of music industry professionals and new bands into the music industry conference and… - JazzFest Lineup
Friday, April 28 Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Keb’ Mo’, Ani DiFranco, Cowboy Mouth, Yerba Buena, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans…
Hidden Charms
- The Name Game
There are huge chunks of New Orleans’ musical past that seem destined to remain shrouded in mystery, yet none has proven…
Jazzin'
- Benny's Back
YOU LIKE US! YOU REALLY LIKE US! Enclosed please find my check as my donation to OffBeat. This is just a…
Letters
- Letters March 2006
YOU LIKE US! YOU REALLY LIKE US! Enclosed please find my check as my donation to OffBeat. This is just a…
St. Rock
- In the Public We Trust
The members of The Public are a testament to the old cliché that you should never judge a book by its…
Reviews
- David Mooney Trio, Luckless Pedestrian (Independent)
This talented young jazz guitarist, a former member of the Hot Club of New Orleans and a finalist in last year’s… - daKah Hip Hop Orchestra, Unfinished Symphony (Kufala)
One of the best fringe gigs of Jazz Fest ’05 was the TwiRoPa performance of this conceptually ambitious outfit, a big… - Burning Spear, Our Music (Independent)
As fundamentalist Muslims and Christians drag us through global war and ancient cities are carpet bombed or abandoned to inundation, the… - Lynn Miles, Love Sweet Love (Red House)
The woman who turned the phrase “Hockey Night in Canada” into an alienation anthem returns with an album of beautifully crafted… - Art Blakely and the Jazz Messengers, LIVE! At Slug's, N.Y.C. (Everest)
If you think you know Blakey from his hard bop academy including the lineup with the Marsalis brothers, this recording will… - Frank Zappa, The Dub Room Special! (DVD) (Eagle Rock)
Frank Zappa is well known for political satire and compositional genius, but his singular talents as an electric guitarist are well… - Alvin “Red” Tyler, New Orleans Jazz Master Series (Musicblok)
Tyler, an icon of New Orleans R&B, was also a great jazz saxophonist, although he didn’t get many opportunities to… - Zora Young, Tore Up from the Floor Up (Delmark)
This one already has my vote for blues CD title of the year! A Chicago artist, Young might best be compared… - Chris Miller and Bayou Roots, Bayou Roots (Bayou Roots)
It’s fashionable these days to proclaim oneself as a roots musician, especially when it comes to hunting down big money gigs.… - Tres Chicas, Bloom, Red and the Ordinary Girl (Yep Roc)
It may be unusual that an Americana roots release would be recorded in London and produced by Neil Brockbank, known for… - Gayla, Gumbo Rodeo (Independent)
South Louisiana musical fusions seem endless. Wayne Toups amalgamated the frontal attack of Cajun music with the backbeats of zydeco to… - Andrei Codrescu, New Orleans, Mon Amour (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
After lunch one recent afternoon, a guy rode up on his bike and asked a friend and I, “Are you… - Kristie Nalley & the Pagan Romantics, Kristie Nalley & The Pagan Romantics (Independent)
New Orleans has never had enough good chanteuses, especially in the rock category, and so Kristie Nalley’s debut EP Mama’s Wine… - Bart Ramsey, Cafe Amnesia (Jumping Man)
Bart Ramsey’s Café Amnesia doesn’t fit comfortably in any one genre. His piano playing has a jazz flavor, while his thoughtful,… - Various Artists, Heartworm Highways (Shout! Factory)
Be Here to Love Me, Margaret Brown’s documentary about the life of Texas folk-blues legend Townes Van Zandt succeeds in… - Be Here to Love Me (DVD) (Rake Films)
Be Here to Love Me, Margaret Brown’s documentary about the life of Texas folk-blues legend Townes Van Zandt succeeds in… - Dukes of Dixieland, New Orleans Mardi Gras (Leisure Jazz)
The big voice of Luther Kent, one-time member of Blood Sweat & Tears and longtime fixture on the Crescent City scene,… - Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Swamp Tech (Rhinestone)
For years now, Quintron and Miss Pussycat have made art that is quintessentially New Orleans, not only in the way… - Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws, A Step Ahead (Bridge Entertainment)
When Step Rideau stepped out in Houston’s zydeco kingdom in the ’90s, he did so in a big way. Capacity crowds… - Miles Davis, The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (Columbia/Legacy)
“Miles Davis fed on conflict,” wrote Philip Freeman in his fascinating new book Running the Voodoo Down: The Electric Music of… - Rob Wagner Trio, Lost Children (Valid)
Saxophonist Rob Wagner’s third trio disc maintains continuity with his first two albums while forging ahead into fresh turf. As before,… - Hadley J. Castille, Refait (Swallow)
Ever since his epiphany during a tour of Canada in the early ’80s, Hadley Castille has represented a rare side of… - Various Artists, New Orleans Underground: Sounds Below Sea Level (Independent)
How can a CD created to generate money for our (un)fair city’s plight be criticized? It would be safer to just… - Dr. John, Right Place, Right Time: Live at Tipitina's Mardi Gras 1989 (Hyena)
It might be heretical to say, but I’m not always in the mood for Dr. John. The Dr. John concept… - Dr. John, Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Volume Two (Clean Cuts)
It might be heretical to say, but I’m not always in the mood for Dr. John. The Dr. John concept… - Various Artists, Our New Orleans (Nonesuch)
If there is an essential characteristic of New Orleans music, it’s the spirit of play. From the singles Cosimo Matassa… - New Orleans Social Club, Sing Me Back Home (Burgundy/Sony BMG Special Marketing/Honey Darling)
If there is an essential characteristic of New Orleans music, it’s the spirit of play. From the singles Cosimo Matassa…
