May 2000
BackTalk
- Ken Burns
Filmmaker Ken Burns first entered the American consciousness in 1990 when The Civil War, his monumental documentary of that defining period…
Bayou Boogie
Bluesworthy
- A Blues Lover's Guide to the Jazz Fest
Who plays the blues at Jazz Fest? Everybody does. Despite the name, it’s not possible to attend the New Orleans Jazz…
Bookmark
- The Rivers of Black Poetry
High school almost ruined poetry for me. Between counting syllables and trying to understand the point of trochees and dactyls, the…
Chassez De Faim
- Eating Around the Fair Grounds
A successful Jazz Fest culinary experience requires great mental preparation and gastrointestinal endurance. One cannot enjoy the festival blowout activities on…
Cover Story
- Jazz Fest 2000: From A to Z
When you want to make a complicated thing simple, you break it down to the ABCs. When you want to get…
Dis 'n' Dat
- Oysterhead on the Half Shell
OYSTERHEAD ON THE HALF SHELL “It’s kind of mind-boggling how exciting this is all turning out to be,” drummer/composer Stewart Copeland…
Features
- Fest Focus: SOB
SOB (Same Ole Band – original War members) Music business is a funny thing. Sometimes you win every battle and still… - Fest Focus: Margaret Lewis
South Louisiana’s musical heritage, rich as it may be, sometimes makes it easy to forget that the northern part of the… - Fest Focus: Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. & Wayne Dopsie
Zydeco Royalty: Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and Dwayne Dopsie If Clifton Chenier was the king of zydeco music, Alton “Rockin’ Dopsie” Rubin,… - Fest Focus: John Boutte
John Boutté felt the unmistakable power of music early on, “I remember when I was 8 years old begging my mom… - Fest Focus: Pat Jolly
WHO IS PAT JOLLY? Pat Jolly remembers taking her three children to the art museum armed with empty toilet paper rolls.… - Fest Focus: Al Belletto
Al Belletto tells good stories. Interesting stories. Some of them are poignant, some are funny. Some have a fairy tale quality.… - Fest Focus: Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers finally achieves recognition Sam Rivers has done a number of things that should place him among the most treasured… - Fest Focus: Lil’ Brian and the Zydeco Travelers
For the past decade, the 27-year-old Lil’ Brian and the Zydeco Travelers have developed a reputation as one of the most… - Fest Focus: Tim Laughlin
“I was growing up in Gentilly, it was in the fourth grade, and a friend of mine down the street had… - Fest Focus: Ann Savoy
Ann Savoy – The Cajun Spirit That Keeps Going, Going and Going… Whoever coined the saying “when it rains, it pours”… - Fest Focus: Li'l Band O' Gold
A lot of people would argue that South Louisiana is not only the cradle of jazz, but the cradle of rock… - 10 Years Ago in OffBeat: May
Long, long ago in May, 1990, OffBeat presented its “Jazz Fest Survival Guide,” commencing with these words of wisdom: “It’s true… - Fest Focus: Hadley Castille
Cajun Fiddler Hadley Castille – Sharecroppin’ Is Much More Fun These Days D’Jalma Garnier of the Cajun-Creole band Filé refers to… - Fest Focus: Lazy Lester
Along with Lightnin’ Slim, Lonesome Sundown, Slim Harpo, Silas Hogan and a host of other colorfully named musicians who recorded at… - Fest Focus: Dick Hyman
By the time he was 23, pianist Dick Hyman had gigged with Charlie Parker, Lester Young and Benny Goodman. Stop a… - Club Crawl
Here we go again. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for—Jazz Fest 2000. If the utter insanity of Mardi Gras… - Fest Focus: Roy Rogers
This Roy Rogers Has The Blues You may think you know all you need to about slide guitar, but if you… - Fest Focus: New Orleans Klezmer Allstars
In a town full of traditional music from jazz to blues to Cajun to rhythm and blues, the New Orleans Klezmer… - Masters of Louisiana Music: Louis Daniel Armstrong
Born: August 4, 1901, New Orleans, LA Died: July 6, 1971, New York, NY “It seems that the imperious bird known… - Ray Charles: New Orleans 1953
On Thursday April 27, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will pay a well-deserved tribute to one of the greatest… - Lyle Lovett: The Song's The Thing
As the crow flies, Klein, Texas, isn’t that far from the Louisiana border. But for Lyle Lovett, the town’s proud son… - Ernie K-Doe Is Back
After a two year absence, that Charity Hospital baby, that internationally known recording star, the New Orleans legend, none other than… - Ani DiFranco: Life for the Music
“I think I’m in life for the music...My political ideas are not separate from the rest of my life, so they… - Ones to Watch
The New Orleans jazz tradition is as strong as ever, but many of today’s rising jazz stars are not as traditional… - Wardell Quezergue: Architect of the Sound
On an unseasonably warm December afternoon, Wardell Quezergue walks carefully into the Musicians Union meeting hall on Esplanade Avenue. The 77-year-old,…
Know What It Means
- My Excessively Happy Jazz Fest
Last year a musician friend and I drove out to the Fair Grounds, parked the car and got out. A couple…
Letters
- Letters May 2000
LOVE TO LES I'm stunned to see Les [Getrex] is finally getting the recognition he deserves, after paying some serious dues…
Mojo Mouth
- The Best of New Orleans is Her Music
Every year I feel obligated to wax poetic about why I love the Jazz Fest-and why you should love it too…
OffBeat Eats
Pass A Good Time
Straight, No Chaser
- A Kickin' Boutte & More Jazz Fest CD's
A few weeks ago, the newly elected Prime Minister of Dominica (a small eastern Caribbean island) was in town, and, like…
Reviews
- Brazil's Jazz Fest 500th Birthday Party
Rita Peixoto and Carlos Fuchs Na Minha Cara, or In My Face (Independent) Ilê Aiyê Ilê Aiyê-Canto Negro (Estúdio Eldorado) Ilê… - Larry Habetz, Larry Habetz (Lonyo Tunes Inc.)
Okay, so admit it. Not everybody likes country music. But if you can get past the fact that this guy’s got… - Manuel Obregon, Simbiosis (Independent)
On the cover of his newest CD, Simbiosis, Costa Rican pianist Manuel Obregon credits crimson-fronted parakeets and capuchin monkeys for the… - Sergent Garcia, Un Poquito Quema'o (Higher Octave)
Sergent Garcia’s, “Un Poquito Quema’o,” (“A Little Burnt”) shows the popular French band that mixes Latin dance music and Jamaican dub… - Monty Alexander, Monty Meets Sly and Robbie (Telarc)
New World music since the late nineteenth century has been the result of mixing and melding elements of Old World styles… - Various Artists, Republica Dominicana (Putumayo World Music)
Thanks to Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club projects, sales of Latin music, especially Cuban, have been skyrocketing. Yet… - Ian Moore, And All The Colors... (Koch Records)
Man, Ian Moore’s got the studio work down. I have absolutely no idea how he got his guitar to scream so… - Jamil Sharif, Jamillennium (Umdah Music)
Jamil Sharif has musical roots as deep as jazz itself. His father, Umar Sharif (a.k.a. Emery Thompson), was a well-known trumpeter… - Various Artists, Floyd's Early Cajun Singles (Ace)
From Main Street in Ville Platte, Louisiana, via London, England, comes this magnificent down home collection of early Cajun singles, comparable… - Agents of Oblivion, Agents of Oblivion (Rotten Records)
The idea of progression is sadly not one analogous with Louisiana hard rock bands. Maybe it’s got something to do with… - Rhudabega, Rhudabega (Louisiana Red Hot)
Rhudabega reminds me of the stuff I used to listen to as an angry 14-year-old. I mean that in a good… - Louis Armstrong, Hot Fives and Hot Sevens (JSP Records)
We’re about to enter the Armstrong centennial, so get ready for an onslaught of tributes, reissues with rare and obscure material,… - Spencer Bohren, Carry the Word (Zephyr Records)
Gospel music has always walked hand in hand with its country and blues brethren in terms of shaping America’s musical heritage.… - Hermeto Pascoal, Eu e Eles (Radio MEC/Import)
After four years, the long awaited CD by Brazilian Hermeto Pascoal has finally arrived. Eu e Eles (I and Them) produced… - Rhodes Spedale Trio, Snug Harbor Sessions (Jazz Vignette)
Attorney Rhodes Spedale has been playing jazz piano in hotels and restaurants around New Orleans since the 1960s, giving him the… - Frigg A-Go-Go, The Winning Score (Scooch Pooch Records)
All that testosterone brewing around in teenage manhood—if you thought Jim Morrison had it and you’ve been anxiously awaiting its return,… - Jaz Sawyer & Irvin Mayfield, 20/20-Live at the Blue Note (Half Note)
As the title implies, drummer Sawyer and trumpeter Mayfield are two young men in their twenties who possess clear artistic vision.… - Trudy Lynn, U Don't Know What Time It Is (Ruf)
You know exactly what you’re getting into 20 seconds after this CD begins: the funk groove, the sassy shouts, the exhortations… - Roland Guerin, You Don't Have to See It To Believe It (Half Note)
This follow up to bassist Roland Guerin’s superb Live at the Blue Note release (picked by OffBeat as one of the… - Sean Costello, Cuttin' In (Landslide)
A lot of people play the race card when it comes to the blues—you’re having a nice conversation about some good… - Myshkin, Why Do All the Country Girls Leave? (Binky/Louisiana Red Hot)
On her debut album Blue Gold, Myshkin was rightfully recognized as a bona fide talent beyond just being a collaborator with… - Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loka, Sao Salvador (Putumayo)
It’s one of the most intriguing chapters of musicology. When African slaves were deported to the New World, along with them… - Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band, Ready or Not (Shanachie)
By now, the wildly popular Keith Frank can do practically anything and still be worshipped by his adoring fans. So umpteen… - New Orleans Rhythm & Blues Company, Identity Crisis (PHG)
Obviously a local group, the New Orleans Rhythm & Blues Company’s debut CD displays their fondness for Southern rock, soul and… - Native Sons, Black Bayou Road (Latanier Music)
It’s not zydeco, Cajun or even swamp pop but truthfully the acoustic folk-grass music of Lafayette’s Native Sons is as much… - Johnny Angel and the Swingin' Demons featuring the Red-headed Canary Julia La Shae, Club Deuce (Deuce)
Most of the nouveau swing bands can’t hack it. They’re all manned by guys with sideburns playing the same songs at… - Herlin Riley Quintet, Watch What You're Doing (Criss Cross Jazz)
Watch What You’re Doing—especially if you’re a jazz fan and fail to pick up this new release by groove master Herlin… - Jason Marsalis, Music in Motion (Basin Street)
This stimulating new release from drummer Jason Marsalis contains the expert musicianship and compositional ingenuity associated with the Marsalis name, but… - Alex Chilton, Set (Bar/None)
ALEX THE GREAT The Box Tops The Letter/Neon Rainbow (Sundazed) The Box Tops Cry Like A Baby (Sundazed) The Box… - The Box Tops, The Letter/Neon Rainbow, Cry Like a Baby, Nonstop, Dimensions (Sundazed)
ALEX THE GREAT The Box Tops The Letter/Neon Rainbow (Sundazed) The Box Tops Cry Like A Baby (Sundazed) The Box… - Lee Dorsey, Ride Your Pony/The New Lee Dorsey (Sundazed)
Lee Dorsey Ride Your Pony (Sundazed) Lee Dorsey The New Lee Dorsey (Sundazed) Lee Dorsey probably summed up his attitudes about… - John Mooney, Gone to Hell (Blind Pig)
John Mooney has officially ventured beyond the blues. It’s a good thing since what he has arrived at is something much… - Charlie Miller and Freddy Staehle, Fonk Horn: Rhythms From New Orleans (Independent)
There has never been a recording exactly like this: Charlie Miller and Freddy Staehle, native New Orleanians and both lifetime “podnahs”…
