Music
Roussel Maajon: Roussel Maajon (Independent)
The new release by Roussel Maajon is nearly anonymous but thinly veiled as pianist Kyle Roussel and saxophonist and vocalist Clint Maedgen.
Jon Sheckler: Highway 27 (Independent)
Jon Sheckler: Highway 27
PJ Morton: Watch the Sun Live: The Mansion Sessions (Morton Records)
Fans of performances captured live, of which there are many, will applaud vocalist, keyboardist, composer and producer PJ Morton’s Watch the Sun Live: The Mansion Sessions.
RJ Smith: Chuck Berry: An American Life (Hachette Books)
It tells a lot that the title of this biography of the late, legendary Chuck Berry doesn’t mention that he was considered an originator of rock ’n’ roll.
Harry Shapiro: John Campbell: Spirit of a Bluesman (The Crossroads Press)
John Campbell: Spirit of a Bluesman
Eddie Henderson: Witness to History (Smoke Sessions Records)
Trumpeter Eddie Henderson has been, as the title of his latest album declares, a Witness to History, a stunning release that celebrates the 50th anniversary of his debut recording as leader, 1973s Realization. At almost 83, he was on the scene with the ubiquitous “them all” and in 1949 even received an informal trumpet lesson from Louis Armstrong.
Jon Batiste: World Music Radio (Verve/Interscope)
Jon Batiste: World Music Radio
Leroy Jones: New Orleans Brass Band Music Vol. 2 (with Wendell Brunious) (Independent)
Fans of traditional New Orleans style brass bands are going to dig this album that pairs two of this city’s ace trumpeters in the genre, Leroy Jones and Wendell Brunious. The selections will be 99 percent familiar to lovers of classic material and for that matter most folks in Crescent City.
Seva Venet: No Grown-Ups Here (Independent)
As the title of this album suggests, No Grown-Ups Here is directed towards children lyrically, melodically and in spirit. Seva Venet, who’s best known as a guitarist and banjoist specializing in traditional jazz, uses those skills to back up his simply delivered vocals along with a variety of well-known New Orleans artists including bassists Peter Harris and Martin Masakowski, pianist, Larry Sieberth and drummers Simon Lott and Doug Belote.
The Flóki Sessions: Boots in Place (Floki Studios/Color Red)
Eddie Roberts, the guitarist for the New Mastersounds and the mastermind behind the innovative label Color Red, presents Boots in Place, the second in a series of albums recorded in Iceland.
