There has never been a recording exactly like this: Charlie Miller and Freddy Staehle, native New Orleanians and both lifetime “podnahs” of Dr. John, conspire on, respectively, trumpet, flute and voice (Miller) and drums (Staehle). Actually, “drums” is not entirely accurate—Staehle plays what he calls the “Winger Tree,” an assemblage of drums, percussion instruments, tree branches and ostrich feathers that looks like it sprung from the imagination of Dr. Seuss. The duo—sans bass, keyboards or anything else that might clutter their mission—tackles a selection of traditional New Orleans pieces (“Saints Go Marching In,” “Careless Love,” “Didn’t He Ramble,” etc.) in a decidedly non-traditional manner. The only other music that comes close to this is perhaps something by Tom Waits—if Tom Waits were to cut “Just A Closer Walk With Thee,” which in the case of Miller and Staehle is transformed into two songs: “Just A Closer Strut With Thee” and “A Closer Romp With Thee.” The effect is extremely mellow—as if one were hearing the muffled sounds of a trumpet and drums from across a French Quarter patio, the music reverberating against peeling stucco and shredded banana leaves and chipped cups of café au lait and sunbathing green lizards and the bare bodies of sleeping girls. It’s the Zen of humidity, fonk with an “o.” Omnipotent!