March 2021
Cover Story
- Best of the Beat: Lifetime Achievement in Music – Dirty Dozen Brass Band
In 2002, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band celebrated its 25th anniversary and several of its core members related…
Features
- Best of the Beat: Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award (Musician) – Dr. Jean Montès
“Music is life,” says Dr. Jean Montès, director of orchestral studies and coordinator of strings at Loyola University. “I am happy… - Making the Groove Happen: George Porter Jr. talks about the pandemic and his upcoming CD Crying for Hope
George Porter Jr. has played with some of the most storied musicians of all time, from his own funk-defining band,… - Best of the Beat: Lifetime Achievement in Music Business – Mark Bingham
Mark Bingham has been one of the most influential figures on the Louisiana music scene over the last 40 years. As… - Jazz and Rebellion: 1811 Kid Ory Historic House
The 1811 Kid Ory Historic House in LaPlace played a principal role in two significant events in American history. On January… - Best of the Beat: Positive Vibrations Heartbeat Award – Cherice Harrison-Nelson
As Ellis Marsalis is often quoted (but never enough, really), “In other places culture comes down from on high. In New… - Best of the Beat: Lifetime Achievement in Music Education – Sanford Hinderlie
Sanford Hinderlie, the Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement in Music Education recipient, is in his 40th year of teaching at… - What does it mean to be in the Dirty Dozen Brass Band? Gregory “Blodie” Davis, Roger Lewis, Kirk Joseph and Kevin Harris let us know.
What is one of your most memorable performance? Gregory Davis: In the early days when we first started traveling, I got…
Letters
- March 2021 Letters to the Editor
Back to Normal? I donated a bit of money as I fervently wish that your magazine will survive. I am an…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Mr. Ed's Oyster Bar
Lent is one of the most closely-held traditions in New Orleans. The strong Catholic presence in the city influences Catholics and…
Reviews
- Kyle Roussel, Church of New Orleans (Independent)
Keyboardist, vocalist and composer Kyle Roussel immediately brightens the atmosphere with wonderful choir-like harmony of “Daylight,” the opening song of his… - Merry Clayton, Beautiful Scars (Motown Gospel)
When Merry Clayton last played in her hometown of New Orleans, she did a triumphant June 2013 appearance at the… - Joe Dyson, Look Within (Independent)
New Orleans and world audiences have been listening to and watching the remarkable rise of drummer Joe Dyson for almost three… - Alabama Slim, The Parlor (Cornelius Chapel Records/Music Maker Relief Foundation)
When I saw this CD’s primitive package and reading Alabama Slim’s bio, I thought someone was perpetrating hoax, creating the Sidd… - Smithfield Fair, In the Air: More Music from the Early Days: Volume 3, 1983-1984 (Stevenson Productions)
It’s always insightful to hear a group’s early recordings and get a sense of its journey after you’ve been listening to… - Bobby Mitchell, Try Rock and Roll (Jasmine)
An early proponent of the South Louisiana B-flat ballad, the tracks found on Bobby Mitchell's Try Rock and Roll have been around… - Selwyn Birchwood, Living in a Burning House (Alligator Records)
Selwyn Birchwood makes his third Alligator Records album a muscular musical statement. A singer-songwriter who plays slicing electric and lap steel… - AJ Croce, By Request (Compass Records)
When AJ Croce comes off the road, the last thing he wants to do is hang out in public and sign… - Kim Wilson, Take Me Back! The Big Tone Sessions (M.C. Records)
It’s ironic that two ex-bandmates from Austin's Fabulous Thunderbirds would have overlapping new CDs. Of course, here, Wilson headed up his… - Jon Batiste, "I Need You" (single), Apple Music
Jon Batiste has arguably become the most well-known New Orleanian of his generation due to his tenure as the musical director… - Jamaican Me Breakfast Club featuring Susan Cowsill, "Close to You" (single), Soundcloud
(Soundcloud) The Club gets proudly romantic with considerable help from guest singer Susan Cowsill. You already know the song, one of… - Mike Dillon, Shoot the Moon, Suitcase Man, 1918 (three albums) (Royal Potato Family)
The pandemic affects people in different ways, causing some to turn inward and relive their personal history; others to get politically…
