Issue Articles
AFO Records: All for Fifty
In 2011, African-American-owned record labels are not news. Motown is the best-known example, and New Orleans has had No Limit and Cash Money Records. In 1961, the notion of African-Americans […]
Tab Benoit, Medicine (Telarc Records)
Almost nobody can beat Tab Benoit for playing raw, dirty-sounding roadhouse blues. There is something about when he gets to rocking that gets everybody going in the way the best […]
Marcia Ball, Roadside Attractions (Alligator Records)
Marcia Ball’s new record is a tribute to her consistency. It shows off what she does best, swinging uptempo grooves, boogie dance numbers, and a fantastic variety of piano playing […]
The Wild Magnolias and a Magic Handa Wanda
New Orleans is one of the musical catalysts of the planet. In the almost three centuries that history has recorded at this crescent in the Mississippi River, events have occurred […]
Nicholas Payton, Bitches (mixtape)
Those of you expecting Nicholas Payton’s new record to sound like his great records Dear Louis or Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton will be very surprised. Bitches takes the sound […]
Various Artists, Hear Me Howling!—Blues, Ballads, and Beyond (Arhoolie Records)
For the last half-century, Arhoolie Records has recorded and released an astounding assortment of folk, blues, Tejano, brass, string band, Cajun, zydeco, sacred steel, and any other type of non-pop […]
Kidd Jordan and Joel Futterman, Interaction (Independent)
One of the factors that determines whether improvised music works or not is how well the players know and listen to each other. If players can anticipate what and the […]
The Jazz Passengers, Reunited (Justin Time Records)
Given that jazz can easily slip into the realm of the too serious, the return of the Jazz Passengers with their gonzo attitude and slightly off-kilter tunes is to be […]
Joe Lovano’s Us Five: Jazz Fest Focus
Joe Lovano is an old school jazzman. He came up in New York City in the 1970s paying his dues with everyone from Woody Herman to Chet Baker to the […]
Midnite Disturbers: Jazz Fest Focus
The idea for the Midnite Disturbers came at drummer Stanton Moore’s kitchen table. He and fellow drummer Kevin O’Day had been tossing around the idea of forming an all-star brass […]
