October 2021
Cover Story
- 'Irma: My Life In Music' documentary honors Soul Queen of New Orleans
On a summer morning a few weeks after Hurricane Ida tore through southeast Louisiana, Irma Thomas talked about her life, music…
Features
- 'Hey, Can You Play Us A Song?': Louis Michot Connects the Past with the Present
Fiddling frontman Louis Michot has made a career of excavating the hallowed foundation of Cajun-Creole music with his bands Lost Bayou… - Party Spirit: Dash Rip Rock continues to evolve
In a perfect world, Dash Rip Rock would now be getting ready to play its big set at French Quarter Fest,… - 'Not the first qualified': A history of opera by Black composers
When Terence Blanchard learned that his opera Fire Shut Up In My Bones would be the first-ever opera by a Black… - 'I Dare You': Terence Blanchard expands the language of jazz and explores opera
When Terence Blanchard found himself needing to write something quickly to round out his new album, Absence, he thought about a…
BackTalk
- Kurt Elling and Adonis Rose talk back
Grammy-winning vocalist Kurt Elling, one of the most acclaimed jazz vocalists in the world, will release his latest album, SuperBlue on…
Fresh
- My Music with Charlie Halloran
Charlie Halloran is a well-known figure in the neo-trad jazz scene that thrives on Frenchmen Street. Halloran’s band, The Tropicales, is… - Music Quest: Vintage vinyl treasures are out there for the scoring (Episode 7)
While the recent Music Quest column from August featured albums with a New Orleans connection, followed by the September edition and… - Frenchmen Street Hideaway: Saxophonist Clint Maedgen’s multimedia performance radiates through cyberspace
The climate of chaos has wrought many changes, and seemingly even opened up new doors for entrepreneurs as dusty, worn pathways… - 'Southern Nights' becomes new Louisiana state cultural song after lobbying by Terrance and Cynthia Simiens
Fifteen years ago, Terrance Simien was headed to the Louisiana State Capitol with a smile as wide as the 34-story building… - Irma Thomas documentary anchors a month of music programming at WYES
Filmmakers Michael Murphy and Cilista Eberle faced a tight deadline for Irma: My Life in Music. Premiering October 4 at 8…
Obituaries
- In Memoriam: George Wein (1925-2021)
George Wein, the visionary credited with creating the concept of the contemporary music festival, died on September 13 at his apartment… - In Memoriam: Bennie Pete (1976-2021)
Bennie Pete, a sousaphone player and founding member of the Hot 8 Brass Band, died on September 6 at New Orleans… - In Memoriam: Carol Fran (1933–2021)
Carol Fran, the sassy singer, pianist and songwriter who performed for more than 70 years, died September 1 in Lafayette. A… - In Memoriam: Gary Edwards (1941–2021)
Gary Edwards, a prominent businessman in the New Orleans music industry whose Sound of New Orleans label recorded many regional bands… - In Memoriam: Warren Storm (1937–2021)
Warren Storm, the singing drummer known as the “Godfather of Swamp Pop,” died September 7 in Lafayette. In the weeks before… - In Memoriam: Courtney Granger (1982–2021)
Courtney Granger, fiddler, singer and a member of both the Pine Leaf Boys and Balfa Toujours, died on September 18 of…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: The Courtyard Brewery
Since Hurricane Ida swept across southeast Louisiana on August 29, devastating the bayou parishes located outside of the levee protection system,…
Reviews
- Boma Bango, Étranger (Valcour Records)
It’s not hard to imagine an only slightly alternate world in which a brand of rumba took root and flourished in… - Joe Tullos, Vessels (Big Sun)
You didn’t have to know Joe Tullos personally to be moved by this, his final set of recordings. Tullos was a… - Ben E. Hunter, Soul Avenger (Independent)
While the reggae scene in New Orleans has ebbed and flowed over several decades, guitarist and singer/songwriter Ben E. Hunter has… - Weedie Braimah, The Hands of Time (Stretch Music)
During the first cut of The Hands of Time, on a selection titled “Full Circle,” the musical experience is aptly introduced… - Tiffany Pollack & Co., Bayou Liberty (NOLA Blue Records)
Vocalist Tiffany Pollack reached a broader audience with her 2019 debut of Blues in My Blood, recorded with her blues-rockin’ first… - The Cookers, Look Out! (Gearbox Records)
Following a string of stunning releases, The Cookers have again served up a batch of supreme hard-hitting jazz on Look Out!… - Pell, Floating While Dreaming II (Independent)
You come home to the place that raised you at some point in your life, whether it be a city, a… - Shakespeare & the Blues, e.g. Rhapsodic (Nouveau Electric Records)
With the Tin Men, who bill themselves as “the world’s only guitar-sousaphone-washboard trio,” you can get a pretty good idea of… - NOLA String Kings, Dream Palace (Independent)
String bands have a long history in New Orleans going back to the days before jazz was even a thing. The… - The Convenience, Accelerator (Winspear)
With the charm of a mild David Byrne and the funky grooves of a millennial Prince, The Convenience brings disco back… - Paasky, In Times Like These (Independent)
It’s always nice to hear New Orleans talent drop quality work from home. It warms the heart and shows natives that… - Bobby Rush and Herb Powell, I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya: My American Blues Story (Hachette Books)
In his autobiography, Louisiana-born blues artist Bobby Rush tells a story of decades-long perseverance. Born in 1936 in northwest Louisiana, Rush…
