Issue Articles — Cover Story
Fifteen Years of OffBeat: 1988-2002
A trip through OffBeat’s back pages, or as Louis Armstrong once sang: “All that meat and no potatoes!” For those readers with scant knowledge of New Orleans music and Louisiana […]
Lionel Batiste: Everybody’s Favorite Uncle
As Lionel Batiste, Sr., walks around the Tremé neighborhood where he’s spent his life, people wave from their front stoops and car windows shouting, “Hey Unk!” He knows everyone and […]
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Gregory Davis distinctly remembers a comment made to him 25 years ago when the Dirty Dozen Brass Band was in its infancy. On hearing the unconventional take the ensemble applied […]
Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen: More Hipper Than What You Got
There are few things more intimidating than opening a door and facing the giant bulk of Derwin “Big D” Perkins. I find myself contemplating this reality as I enter the […]
Ann Savoy: Cajun Music’s Cultural Ambassador
Ann Savoy’s Cajun odyssey has taken her from the Presbyterian coffeehouses of Virginia to the museums of Paris to her husband Marc’s ancestral home in Prairie Faiguitaique, eight miles east […]
Stanton Moore-New Orleans’ Sexiest Drummer?
There is one instrument that immediately conjures up images of New Orleans-the drum . Yes, the piano has produced some of the city’s brightest artists including Jelly Roll, Champion Jack […]
For Pete’s Sake
During his lifetime, Peter Dewey Fountain, Jr., born in New Orleans on July 3, 1930, has played the clarinet for Presidents, the Pope, and every Mardi Gras, accompanied by his […]
There’s Something About Harry
Harry Connick, Jr., is beginning to sound a bit like fellow New Orleans jazz superstar Wynton Marsalis. No, not in his approach to the music—the pianist’s and trumpeter’s styles widely differ. Nor does Connick share Marsalis’ propensity for spouting encyclopedic knowledge and the philosophy of jazz (which, by the way, Connick imitated so hilariously during last summer’s tribute concert to Ellis Marsalis). It is that Connick and Marsalis are such workhorses, involving themselves in a multitude of diverse projects seemingly simultaneously.
Irene Sage: Devil or Angel?
“Stop!” she laughed, flopping down on the bench in Vic’s Kangaroo Café. “I get to interview you next!” Irene Sage found the interview process stressful, and when she sat back […]
Chris Thomas King: “Why I Don’t Sing the Blues”
Chris Thomas King has all the credentials to be the new face of Louisiana blues. A skilled singer, guitarist and songwriter, he has the lineage as the son of genuine […]
