Music
Patrick Cooper, Gris Gris in Your Face (Independent)
With story songs that reference local history, as in “Holly Beach,” and jovially friendly love songs, such as “Courtesy of Valerie,” it’s easy to see what has made singer-songwriter and […]
BackTalk: Shemekia Copeland,
In the Groove
Shemekia Copeland has a voice like a force of nature. Now a blues belter in the style of Koko Taylor or Etta James, a shy Shemekia first took the stage […]
Kristina Morales and the Bayou Shufflers, Louisiana Fairytale (Independent)
Kristina Morales and the Bayou Shufflers keep it sweet and lowdown on the band’s debut CD, which takes its cue—as well as its title—from a Fats Waller tune. Digging in […]
Tom McDermott, Bamboula (Minky Records)
Everyone knows Fess and Booker, but New Orleans piano goes deeper, and Tom McDermott understands this. On this new collection of mostly previously recorded material, the longtime New Orleans resident […]
Hurray for the Riff Raff, My Dearest Darkest Neighbor (Mod Mobilian Records / This Is American Music)
Call it the deep breath before the plunge. As Hurray for the Riff Raff prepares to dive into the major label pool with ATO (home of Alabama Shakes), the alt-country […]
Ruby Moon, Vicarious Pleasures (Jumping Man Records)
Ruby Moon keeps the tradition of the red-hot mamas alive, applying her deep, sultry voice and occasional wide vibrato to an array of bluesy standards and ought-to-be standards for an […]
Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Russell Batiste, Soul Understanding (Independent)
On their third outing, the trio of Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and Russell Batiste, Jr. continue their tradition of solid, if somewhat generic, funk played with an easy authority. […]
BackTalk: Charlie Wilson Can’t Be Stopped (Interview)
Charlie Wilson just can’t be stopped. In the ’70s and ’80s, the Tulsa, Oklahoma, native helped to define classic house-party funk with the Gap Band. Along with his brothers Robert […]
Fi-Yi-Yi and the Mandingo Warriors: Fi-Yi-Yi and the Mandingo Warriors (Independent)
Percussion rules, at least downtown, in this stripped-down, old-school offering from Fi -Yi-Yi and the Mandingo Warriors, here represented by the trio of Big Chief Victor Harris along with Jack […]
Al “Carnival Time” Johnson
Finally Returns to the Studio
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? At 73, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson is a master of old school R&B. He wrote and recorded his biggest hit—which […]
