May 2020
Cover Story
- Sweet Crude Verve debut 'Officiel//Artificiel' blooms in coronavirus season
Sweet Crude, that sprightly synthesizer-and percussion-laden pop band from New Orleans, set the spring release date for Officiel//Artificiel months ago. Despite…
BackTalk
- John "Papa" Gros talks back
I interviewed John Gros for this piece on March 12. There was so much to talk about. He had a great…
Features
- An Appreciation of the 2020 Jazz Fest Headliners Who Weren’t
Anyone who witnessed The Who's first performance at Jazz Fest three years ago understands what a superbly balanced show it was.… - Positive Sound in a Negative World: Jon Cleary’s first trip to New Orleans
“I grew up in England hearing New Orleans music. My mother and father both love it and it was the soundtrack… - Interesting Times: Debbie Davis and Josh Paxton are rebootin
Barely six weeks ago, the duo of Debbie Davis and Josh Paxton had big plans for this season: They’d be performing… - A Conversation with Preservation Hall’s Ben Jaffe and OffBeat’s Jan Ramsey
Ben Jaffe, bass and sousaphone player with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, is not on the road as he usually is…
Fresh
- My Music with vocalist and songwriter Louise Cappi
“I grew up on Long Island. It was the ’burbs, you know, but it was an easy commute into the city.… - My Music with Basin Street Records founder Mark Samuels
“I’ve been listening to and even playing music since fifth grade. I performed in the Ben Franklin high school band, and…
Letters
- Letters to the Editor: OffBeat Magazine May 2020
These letters are in response to Jan Ramsey’s Mojo Mouth “Killing the Goose” in the March 2020 issue.—ED. I just…
Obituaries
- In memoriam: Ellis Marsalis Jr. (1934 - 2020)
Ellis Marsalis Jr. brought integrity to his every endeavor as a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer, as an educator with a… - In memoriam: Alton "Big Al" Carson (1953 - 2020)
A big man, with a big voice and a big heart, "Big Al" Alton Carson died April 26, felled by an…
Jazz Fest Focus
- REWIND: Jazz Fest Redux
Memories of Jazz Fest from 1993 to 2019 Every year, OffBeat does a recap, a "redux" of Jazz Fest in…
Reviews
- John "Papa" Gros, Central City (Funky Krewe Records)
John "Papa" Gros has seen a lot of personal growth over the past few years even as he’s had to deal… - Tim Laughlin, New Standards (Gentilly Records)
Clarinetist Tim Laughlin has had a handsome career in New Orleans for over 35 years. He started as a Pete Fountain… - Aurora Nealand & Tom McDermott, Live at Luthjen’s (Big Whinny)
Singer/saxophonist Nealand and pianist McDermott never cared too much about musical boundaries, so the set list for this duo album is… - Sweet Cecilia, A Tribute to Al Berard (Independent)
Though beloved Cajun fiddler Al Berard left this world all too soon in 2014, his legacy lives on, in part, thanks… - Cowboy Mouth, Open Wide (Independent)
Since the classic Sanchez/Savoy lineup splintered a dozen years ago, Cowboy Mouth have seemed a bit unsure of how to present… - Deltaphonic, The Funk, the Soul & the Holy Groove (Independent)
Where the 2017 release from Deltaphonic See Red leaned on psychedelic-tinged treatments of the skillful introspections and nuanced arrangements from front… - Don Vappie and Jazz Créole, The Blue Book of Storyville (Lejazzetal Records)
Don Vappie is one of the best practitioners of traditional Creole banjo playing and his mind holds a vast repository of… - Dave Easley, Easley Rider (Independent)
Pedal steel guitarist Dave Easley has dozens of sideman credits. In the studio, he’s worked with New Orleans’ Mem Shannon, Lynn… - Dukes of Dixieland featuring the Victory Belles, Live at French Quarter Fest (Leisure Jazz)
On The Dukes of Dixieland’s new album, Live at French Quarter Fest, the band demonstrates their repertoire is not limited to… - Slugger, Milky Way (Independent)
Slugger is a side project of Naughty Professor’s bassist Noah Young, Tank and the Bangas’ keyboardist Joe Johnson and George Porter,… - Quarx, Quarx (EP) (Independent)
Since breaking onto the Louisiana music scene in 2017, Baton Rouge rockers Quarx have made a name for themselves as a…
