May 2014
BackTalk
- Back Talk: Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan has always had a lot going on in both her life and remarkable career. The Chicago native, who grew…
Bookmark
- Jay Mazza, Not Just Another Thursday Night: Kermit Ruffins and Vaughn’s Lounge (Threadhead Press)
Music writer and the world’s foremost Kermitologist Jay Mazza has turned his pen and insight to one of his favorite subjects,…
Cover Story
- The Life of Rebirth Brass Band
The Rebirth Brass Band is one of the great musical institutions in New Orleans history; the group best defines the transition…
Features
- Fest Focus 2014: Sammy Rimington
Traditional jazz is by nature passed on through the age by torchbearers. Without the torchbearers, the music would cease to be.… - Fest Focus 2014: Jason Isbell
Few people in the music business pull off the triple threat of being a great singer, a killer guitarist, and an… - Jazz Fest Food by the Numbers
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival draws thousands of visitors to its Food Fair each year with its extensive menu… - Fest Focus 2014: The Gloryoskis!
When it comes to musical collaborations, one might think that a combination of the avant-garde and French leanings of Helen Gillet,… - Fest Focus 2014: Phillip Manuel
As a singer and a musical artist, Phillip Manuel is always looking for something new to offer an audience. So as… - Fest Focus 2014: Gregory Porter
No male jazz singer has elicited more attention recently than Gregory Porter, who, since his 2010 debut, Water, has consistently been… - Fest Focus 2014: Luke Winslow King
Given his interests and experiences, it is no wonder that Luke Winslow King’s music combines much of the music of New… - Fest Focus 2014: Lil’ Nathan & the Zydeco Big Timers
Several years ago, Nathan Williams stood at a crossroads of sorts, forced to chose between football and music. After a successful… - Fest Focus 2014: Clive Wilson
New Orleans music is a siren call for players from all over the world. Trumpeter Clive Wilson emigrated here from England… - Fest Focus 2014: Chegadão
Most North American musicians, if they play Brazilian music at all, dabble with the bossa nova of Antonio Carlos Jobim and… - Fest Focus 2014: Roy Rogers
Slide-guitar wizard Roy Rogers has racked up a great history of Jazz Fest performances over the years and should add to… - Fest Focus 2014: Sweet Olive String Band
For Sweet Olive String Band’s Mike Kerwin, the summer of ’06 was particularly tough. After months of repairing his Mid-City home, Kerwin… - Jazz Fest 2014 Lineup A to Z Guide
It can be daunting to choose from the panoply of cultures, rhythms and sounds available at Jazz Fest when mapping out… - Staying Alive: A Trio of Young Musicians Continue the Cajun Music Tradition
In 1962, Church Point Cajun musician Bee Cormier sprung into action after reading the back of an album jacket. A lamenting… - Branford Marsalis Plays a New Song at Jazz Fest 2014
"I'm one of those people who, when I’m on the bandstand, I’m thinking collectively, not individually,” says saxophonist Branford Marsalis, a… - Young Men Olympian Celebrates its 130-Year Anniversary
The sound of Doc Paulin’s trumpet and the sight of men in color-coordinated suits carrying ribbon-bedecked streamers and fans through the… - Harmonica Man Johnny Sansone Returns to Jazz Fest
It's been a slow-and-steady progression for harmonica man and songwriter Johnny Sansone, but he has become one of the best bluesmen… - Jazz Fest Feature: Jim McCormick
Jim McCormick has written two number-one Billboard country singles and, with cuts this year on records by Luke Bryan, Keith Urban… - A Tribute to Buddy Bolden at Jazz Fest 2014
Charles “Buddy” Bolden. For those in the know, the cornetist’s name conjures up an entire world of turn-of-the-19th century New Orleans… - Alabama Shakes Take Their Time at Jazz Fest
For better or worse, the Alabama Shakes are well past the bar-band stage. Even before the Athens, Alabama, group’s 2012 debut… - Tague Richardson Builds Jazz Fest From Scratch
Jazz Fest site director Tague Richardson has been building Jazz Fest since 1974. Unlike the almost-overwhelming experience the crowds will have… - Creating Culture: The Rituals Customs and Traditions of Jazz Fest
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is made up of millions of individual elements that all come together to form… - Loud and Proud: The Flag Bearers of Jazz Fest
Every year I look out into the crowd and think, “Who are these people?” Despite their large numbers, Jazz Fest’s quirky group… - Book Excerpt: Huey "Piano" Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues
After working hard for many years, Jon Wirt has finished writing the biography Huey “Piano” Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues.… - Charles Bradley is off Script at Jazz Fest
On the first Saturday of Jazz Fest 2013, Charles Bradley strode out on the Blues Tent stage as if he weren’t… - Fishhead Man Ed Volker Returns to Jazz Fest
Ed Volker became the shaman of the New Orleans “Fishhead” subculture back in the 1970s when he described his band’s style… - The Dirty Bourbon River Show Brings its Gypsy-Brass Circus Rock to Jazz Fest
Right in the middle of one of Noah Adams’ patented speed raps, rapid-fire musings that reveal much about the sound and… - Bobby Womack Writes the Songs the Whole World Sings
In 1963, Bobby Dwayne Womack was just 19 when he wrote “It’s All Over Now”—inspired by his uncle’s woman troubles—for he…
Fresh
- Frenchmen Street: A New View
Frenchmen Street has seen a flurry of building activity over the past few months, most notably the new Dat Dog location… - Zander Andreas Celebrates 15 Years of Jazz Fest Shows
This year marks a decade-and-a-half of Alexander “Zander” Andreas producing shows during Jazz Fest. Many of Andreas’ concerts will take place… - Teacher and Student: Terrance Osborne and Richard Thomas Create Jazz Fest 2014 Posters
New Orleans artists Terrance Osborne and Richard Thomas produced a pair of posters for Jazz Fest 2014. Osborne’s poster features the… - It's Five Somewhere With Tommy Malone
With a new solo album out in April as well as a series of reunion gigs with his old group, the… - My Music: DJ Matty
I’m from a small town, so people listened to country. Also I went to high school before rap music, so white…
In The Spirit
- In The Spirit: "Shake the Devil Off" by Kimberly Patton-Bragg of Tivoli & Lee
Washboard Chaz and I have a New York connection. A gentleman I did Shakespeare with up there used to jam with…
Letters
- May 2014 Letters to OffBeat Magazine
DUKES OF DIXIELAND Shame on you Brett and OffBeat... next time do your homework as this band has been sued for…
Mojo Mouth
- Welcome to the Church of New Orleans
I recently had dinner with friends I’ve known since I was in grammar school, two people who became a couple in…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Pagoda Café
In the New Orleans real estate market, the principle of best use typically dictates that any available space be marketed as… - Boyfriend hits the Spot at Domenica
What do you like about Domenica? Domenica, much like Boyfriend, offers variety amid consistency; it’s classy, yet accessible. Do you… - In The Spirit: "Shake the Devil Off" by Kimberly Patton-Bragg of Tivoli & Lee
Washboard Chaz and I have a New York connection. A gentleman I did Shakespeare with up there used to jam with… - Lucky 7: Profiles of Seven Newly Opened New Orleans Restaurants
One of the most striking changes on the local culinary scene since 2006 is that you no longer have to drive…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Pagoda Café
In the New Orleans real estate market, the principle of best use typically dictates that any available space be marketed as… - Lucky 7: Profiles of Seven Newly Opened New Orleans Restaurants
One of the most striking changes on the local culinary scene since 2006 is that you no longer have to drive… - Frenchmen Street: A New View
Frenchmen Street has seen a flurry of building activity over the past few months, most notably the new Dat Dog location…
Photo Op
- Photo Op: Sites of Jazz Fest
My first assignment ever in New Orleans was to cover Jazz Fest 1991 for USA Today. I knew nothing about the…
Reviews
- Khari Allen Lee & the New Creative Collective, Our Great Awakening (Independent)
The spiritual nature of saxophonist Khari Allen Lee’s musical and philosophical state of mind is immediately revealed on the album’s opening,… - Charlie Dennard, From Brazil to New Orleans (Independent)
Ex-New Orleanian Charlie Dennard has toured the world constantly as a keyboardist since 2002 and later on as the musical director… - LosOtros, LosOtros (Independent)
Although there aren’t enough Latin or Brazilian bands in New Orleans given the geographical and cultural similarities between the genres of… - Dexter Payne Quartet + 1, Prá Você (Dexofon Records)
Dexter Payne is a clarinetist from Boulder, Colorado, and his Prá Você is proof that Brazilian music can flourish in the… - Van Broussard, The Final Curtain (CSP Records)
After 61 years of performing, though not necessarily all in swamp pop, Van Broussard finally called it quits last year. Since… - Stover with the Voormen, Low Night Lights (Independent)
There is a lot of night in Stover and the Voormen’s new release, Low Night Lights. There is the lead-off track… - Rotary Downs, Traces (Rookery Records)
Rotary Downs is an unclassifiable New Orleans band. Therein lies its greatness, nestled right alongside its obscurity. The word used most… - Mike Dillon, Band of Outsiders (Royal Potato Family)
The music of Mike Dillon combines many sources, yet comes out sounding unto itself. This latest report from the mind of… - Bobby Rush with Blinddog Smokin’, Decisions (Silver Talon)
Always entertaining, Bobby Rush with this release (and other recent CDs) is becoming the new millennium’s soul philosopher. Perhaps odd that… - Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, Zydeco Confessions (Louisiana Soul Records)
Ask Curley Taylor where he fits in the zydeco circuit these days and he’ll talk about being an artist having to… - The Revivalists, City of Sound with Bonus Live Disc (Wind Up Records)
The Revivalists play Jazz Fest on Saturday, May 3—Samsung Galaxy Stage, 2:05 p.m. Wind Up Records has reissued the fine disc… - Waylon Thibodeaux, Back in My Old Stompin’ Grounds (Rabadash Records)
With songs about Tabasco, fishing and mudbugs, Waylon Thibodeaux’s latest Cajun-country effort is bound to have widespread commercial appeal, regardless if… - DVS (Dillon, Vidacovich, Singleton), Bones (mikedillonvibes.com)
The jazz trio as a format is as old as jazz itself. However, few if any jazz trios have sounded like… - John Mooney, Son & Moon (Fatback Records)
John Mooney & Bluesiana plays Jazz Fest on Saturday, April 26—Blues Tent, 1:30 p.m. Delta blues great Son House is not… - Tommy Malone, Poor Boy (M.C. Records)
Most artists in fields other than popular music make their best work not in their youth but later in life, when… - Kelcy Mae, Half Light (Independent)
Singer/songwriter Kelcy Mae has also been published as a prose writer (and OffBeat contributor), so it’s no surprise that the lyrics… - Ellis Marsalis Trio, On the Second Occasion (ELM Records)
Ellis Marsalis plays Jazz Fest on Saturday, May 3—Zatarain’s/WWOZ Jazz Tent, 2:30 p.m.. Drive, lightning speed and boogie aren’t exactly terms… - Stanton Moore, Conversations (Royal Potato Family)
Stanton Moore plays Jazz Fest on Thursday, May 1—Zatarain’s/WWOZ Jazz Tent, 2:50 p.m. This record will be a surprise to those… - Glen David Andrews, Redemption (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
Glen David Andrews has been one of the most exciting and charismatic performers in New Orleans over the years. Unfortunately…
