Issue Articles — Features
Mystic Shredding: Mikey Coltun of Mdou Moctar – We’re just a loud rock band.
Mdou Moctar, the man, grew up in a rural Niger religious household dead set against his playing music, which led to him discreetly making his first guitar. Mdou Moctar, the band, features a hypnotic hybrid of churning core and his ripping on electric guitar. Mikey Coltun has the key roles of bassist and producer/recording engineer with the band. They had just returned from an Australian tour when he sat down to talk about this most unique of bands.
A Woman Out On Her Own: Maggie Koerner craves authentic connection
Maggie Koerner came screaming into the world louder than any baby her mother had ever heard. This will surprise no one who’s seen the Shreveport native perform live, especially during her stint fronting the wall of sound produced by local funk-jam stars Galactic. Part soul chanteuse, part banshee, Koerner sings story-driven lyrics bleeding with the emotional vulnerability of a wronged shieldmaiden—an exhilarating combination Jazz Fest is smartly featuring on its biggest stage this year.
The Timekeeper: Keeping up with Doug Garrison
Doug Garrison nearly missed his Jazz Fest debut in 1989. That was the year the career drummer was backing rock legend Alex Chilton of Big Star fame… and NOPD wouldn’t let the band into the Fair Grounds because they didn’t have a valid parking pass.
All The Crunchberries: Something Else! is infectious soul-jazz with a powerhouse lineup
Vincent Herring goes off on a surprising tangent when trying to describe soul jazz, the sub-genre given tribute by the group Something Else!, a stars-filled ensemble which the saxophonist created a few years back and still leads.
Music is Literally in His Blood: RAM from Haiti is now a local New Orleans band
Richard A. Morse, the founder and co-lead vocalist, along with his wife, Lunise, for the Haitian band RAM, likes to tell audiences that his band began in 1791. That was year that the Haitian revolution started and was also the beginning of Haiti as an independent nation. It was the only successful slave revolt in the Western hemisphere.
Eclectic Jam Band: The Quickening will tear it up at the Fair Grounds
The Quickening, Thursday May 4 at 5:30 p.m., Lagniappe Stage Blake Quick, the guitarist, songwriter and founder of the Quickening, had his first inkling he might someday grace the stages […]
Mississippi Rising: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is sitting on top of the blues world
He’s sitting on top of the blues world. Christened “the next explosion of the blues” by Buddy Guy, 24-year-old Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has already won his first Grammy Award. He’s also topped Billboard’s blues chart; won nine Blues Music Awards; and, moving beyond the usual blues outlets, has been profiled by NPR’s Morning Edition, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and The Washington Post.
Celebrating Puerto Rico: Jazz Fest features everything Puerto Rican from music to food
After Puerto Rico was devastated by both Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, plans were made for the island’s rich heritage to be showcased as the Cultural Exchange for the […]
Give Me The Power: Luther Kent puts his heart and soul into music
After 60 years on the bandstand, Luther Kent doesn’t often rehearse. Not even for his annual spot at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. When Kent, a.k.a. “Big” Luther Kent, and his 13-piece band, Trick Bag, play on Jazz Fest’s opening day, he’ll pick the songs he’s singing while he’s on stage performing. “Whatever feels right for the audience,” the blues, jazz and rhythm-and-blues singer said.
A Fascinating Background: Catherine Russell will have a good time at Jazz Fest
Catherine Russell may be making her Jazz Fest debut in 2023, but her New Orleans roots run deep. Her dad, Luis Russell, recorded with Louis Armstrong in 1929 and 1930 and served as Armstrong’s musical director from 1935 to 1940. She also contributed to Wynton Marsalis’s soundtrack for the 2019 docudrama “Bolden,” which explored the near-mythic life of Buddy Bolden, considered by many (including Armstrong) to be first person to play jazz.
