Issue Articles
Farewell Tour: Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Jazz Fest debut
When you’ve been a band for 58 years and played a key role in country-rock history, you’re entitled to a long goodbye. So it is that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is playing Jazz Fest toward the start of its farewell tour, but they don’t intend to wrap it up right away.
A Whole Lot of Funk: Tower of Power returns to Jazz Fest
Fifty-six years makes for a whole lot of funk. And in Tower of Power’s case, a whole lot of people as well. More than 60 bandmembers have passed through the ranks in that time, but the soulful essence of the band has been consistent.
Kevin Ray Clark talks about Al Hirt “Jumbo”
By all rights Al Hirt should be remembered as one of the New Orleans musical giants. He had the trifecta of serious jazz chops, mainstream pop success, and a larger-than-life personality.
Lights On: Kristin Diable always had a pulse in the real world
“I cannot believe it’s been nine years,” Kristin Diable says with a sigh and a laugh. “Honestly, after being in the business of music this long, and even teaching the craft and business of songwriting at Loyola, it’s as mysterious to me as it ever was. But that’s all right, I’m all for the long game.”
Cyril Neville Preserves Neighborhood Culture
If you see Cyril Neville perform this year, you’ll probably hear a song called “Don’t Wait ’Till I’m Gone.” It’s a typically fiery bit of funk, with lyrics that say what a lot of well-traveled musicians are probably thinking: “Give me my flowers while I can still smell them, hear my stories while I can still tell them. Give me my medals while I can still wear them. Don’t wait till I’m gone!”
Father Ron & Friends: Forever the Seasons (Louisiana Red Hot Records)
Father Ron Clingenpeel is both a genuine clergyman (a retired Episcopal priest) and a genuine scholar of folk music; he hosts a folk show on WWOZ and here presents an album of original and borrowed songs steeped in the classic influences of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.
Let’s Go Smoke Some Pot: 4/20 With Dash Rip Rock
In boggles the mind that a city that celebrates everything else would not have a music festival on 4/20. Dash Rip Rock leader Bill Davis noticed that as well and put together a bash at NOLA Brewing last year. The mini-fest, now dubbed “Everybody Solo,” returns to the venue this year—on April 20 of course.
New World Rising: After two decades Brian Stoltz is back!
This may come as a shock to anyone who’s ever seen him play, but Brian Stoltz doesn’t think of himself as a hotshot guitar player. There’s no doubt that Stoltz can solo with the best of them—and he literally did solo with the best of them, as a longtime Neville Brothers and funky Meters member, and as a studio player for Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt and others. But for him, the real action happens when you sit down and put pen to paper.
Lynn Drury: High Tide (Independent)
With her last album Dancin’ in the Kitchen, Lynn Drury showed how to write an uplifting album about life during shutdown. Appropriately her new one is largely about getting back into the world and features an outgoing sound to match.
Zoomst: Aboard the Good Ship (Independent)
Here’s a good argument that you can make any existing form of music more interesting by New Orleans-izing it. Zoomst is very much a prog band, with obvious influences that go back to the best of progressive rock’s ’70s heyday.
