Music
Bobby Mitchell, Try Rock and Roll (Jasmine)
An early proponent of the South Louisiana B-flat ballad, the tracks found on Bobby Mitchell’s Try Rock and Roll have been around the block several times on several formats. Consisting of […]
Smithfield Fair, In the Air: More Music from the Early Days: Volume 3, 1983-1984 (Stevenson Productions)
It’s always insightful to hear a group’s early recordings and get a sense of its journey after you’ve been listening to them for years. With its 33rd release, Baton Rouge’s […]
Alabama Slim, The Parlor (Cornelius Chapel Records/Music Maker Relief Foundation)
When I saw this CD’s primitive package and reading Alabama Slim’s bio, I thought someone was perpetrating hoax, creating the Sidd Finch [fictional baseball player] of the blues community. Come […]
Joe Dyson, Look Within (Independent)
New Orleans and world audiences have been listening to and watching the remarkable rise of drummer Joe Dyson for almost three decades. At age two, he began playing in church, […]
Merry Clayton, Beautiful Scars (Motown Gospel)
When Merry Clayton last played in her hometown of New Orleans, she did a triumphant June 2013 appearance at the Joy Theater during the local premiere of the documentary 20 […]
Kyle Roussel, Church of New Orleans (Independent)
Keyboardist, vocalist and composer Kyle Roussel immediately brightens the atmosphere with wonderful choir-like harmony of “Daylight,” the opening song of his album Church of New Orleans. As the title of […]
Mike Dillon, Shoot the Moon, Suitcase Man, 1918 (three albums) (Royal Potato Family)
The pandemic affects people in different ways, causing some to turn inward and relive their personal history; others to get politically engaged or just plain angry. And sometimes it prompts […]
Jamaican Me Breakfast Club featuring Susan Cowsill, “Close to You” (single), Soundcloud
(Soundcloud) The Club gets proudly romantic with considerable help from guest singer Susan Cowsill. You already know the song, one of Bacharach/David’s loveliest and the one that started the Carpenters’ […]
Irma Thomas, Love Is the Foundation (Newvelle Records)
It’s a good moment for Irma Thomas records. Last year Craft Records released a vinyl-only 2-LP remaster of Thomas’ iconic After the Rain album, and now Newvelle drops her first […]
Little Freddie King, Going Upstairs (Newvelle Records)
King is well known on the club circuit, especially in the Marigny and the Ninth Ward where he often plays until the wee wee hours. King is the epitome of […]
