Music
The Imagination Movers: Blue Skies (Independent)
Gather ’round children, and I will spin you a gruesome tale of horror and subversion. Your parents have been conspiring to make you listen to their OLD music. For example, on this new Imagination Movers recording Blue Skies, your parents will play it for you, and you will be sucked into these tunes that stay in your head all day with lyrics that sound like you wrote them about real events like going on a road trip or eating an ice cream sandwich or even dreams you have about flying around with jet packs.
Soul Project: Live From Norway (Independent)
One of the more difficult aspects of witnessing this current period of New Orleans cultural life is to watch so many of the rhythm and blues inventors transition to the great Dew Drop Inn in the sky. One consolation is that there are many musicians who have learned from and taken the lessons from those who are gone and are applying it and innovating it on stages and records. Christian Duque and his band Soul Project are one shining example.
Johnette Downing: Jumpin’ Jitters It’s Halloween (Wiggle Worm Records)
Right in time for October 31, Johnette Downing has a Halloween record out that will entertain both kids and adults.
Malevitus, Malevitus (Houma Records)
For a four-piece rock ’n’ roll band, there is a lot going on in this album. Originally released as an independent CD in 2020, the band’s eponymous debut was picked […]
The Geraniums, Hope Is Not For The Weak (Udderly Records)
The Geraniums’ music is a peculiar pairing. The music on this album, recorded between 2011 and 2016, is a great take on rock ‘n’ roll with crisp guitars, solid bass, […]
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Bloodstains and Teardrops (Whiskey Bayou Records)
At the turn of the 21st century, Memphis pianist, producer, and all-out cool music man Jim Dickinson proclaimed, “World Boogie is coming.” Well, if it has not arrived with this […]
Matt Booth and Palindromes, Mythomania (Ears and Eyes Records)
Bassist Matt Booth is another ubiquitous player on the New Orleans scene. He is an anchor for the Extended Trio as well as having made numerous appearances with Aurora Nealand […]
Jeff Coffin & Helen Gillet, Let it Shine (Ear Up Records)
Jeff Coffin and Helen Gillet’s new cello/reeds duet record is both head-bopping in its meditative moments and thoughtful even when it hits a groove. Coffin, best known for his work […]
Best of the Beat: Positive Vibrations Heartbeat Award – Cherice Harrison-Nelson
As Ellis Marsalis is often quoted (but never enough, really), “In other places culture comes down from on high. In New Orleans, it bubbles up from the streets.” And on […]
Bookmark: Bryan Wagner, The Wild Tchoupitoulas (Bloomsbury Academic – 33 1/3 Series)
Bloomsbury Academic has been publishing short books that analyze classic albums from different perspectives. The subjects of these books range from Rolling Stones to Bob Mould to Prince to Celine […]
