Issue Articles
Your Very Own Dream: Clay Parker and Jodi James go electric
Clay Parker and Jodi James are making their third Jazz Fest appearance this year. The Baton Rouge singer-songwriters first performed at the Festival in 2018, a memorable debut for the musical duo that’s a couple in real life.
Susanne Ortner: From Germany to New Orleans to Brazil
Susanne Ortner, a clarinetist from Germany who’s lived in New Orleans since 2017, makes her Jazz Fest debut. She’s performing with Susanne Ortner’s Macumba, a small ensemble that plays Brazilian choro music. A distinctive musical style that emerged from Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, choro is considered the father of samba and grandfather of bossa nova.
A Tribute to Allen Toussaint’s Legacy: New Orleans Ballet Association presents Whirlaway
On May 10, 2014, Parsons Dance and the Allen Toussaint Orchestra will premiere Whirlaway. Commissioned by the New Orleans Ballet Association, the work paired David Parsons’ contemporary dance choreography with music by the beloved New Orleans songwriter, pianist and producer Allen Toussaint.
Ledisi Talks Back
Ledisi’s Good Life tour is bringing her home to New Orleans. Even though the Grammy-winning singing star and actress was just 10 years old when she moved to Oakland, California, she carries the city of her birth with her everywhere she goes.
Guitar Gumbo: The New Orleans International Guitar Festival
With the theme “Guitar Gumbo,” the 2024 New Orleans International Guitar Festival takes place March 5 through March 8. This year’s eclectic array of international artists includes Cuarteto de Guitarras de la Ciudad de Mexico, Jose Angel Perez Puentes, Geovane Santos, Alexis “Papo” Guevarra, Rafael Padron and the NOLA String Kings. The festival includes the Elias Barreiro Young Artists Competition, named in honor of the 93-year-old founder of Tulane’s guitar department.
2024 Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival: A conversation with featured artist Corey Harris
Corey Harris, the blues and beyond singer-guitarist who lived in New Orleans in the 1990s, is returning to the city for an appearance at the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival. A Virginia resident since 1997, Harris and his band will also perform March 8 at Snug Harbor.
Pat Metheny talks back
The always exploring jazz guitarist and composer Pat Metheny is bringing his first solo tour to New Orleans. The international Dream Box tour, which reaches the Orpheum Theater on March 16, follows last year’s release of Metheny’s Grammy-nominated solo album of the same name.
The 100th anniversary of Slim Harpo: Baton Rouge’s most successful blues recording artist
This year is the 100th anniversary year of Slim Harpo’s birth. Although 1924 is the agreed upon year of his birth, the month of his birth is widely misreported. This identical disagreement—regarding the month a famous Louisiana musician was born—has also existed for Mac Rebennack, a.k.a. Dr. John, and Louis Armstrong.
Yo La Tengo’s James McNew Talks Back
A shining, surviving example of 1980s indie-rock, the New Jersey-spawned Yo La Tengo is 40 years into its continuously creative existence—singer and guitarist Ira Kaplan and his wife, singer and drummer Georgia Hubley, co-founded their shared life’s work in 1984. Bassist James McNew joined the couple in 1991, coming aboard in time to record 1992’s May I Sing With Me and write as well as play for the album cited as the trio’s first masterpiece, 1993’s Pain.
The Return of the Dew Drop Inn
More than fifty years after the Dew Drop Inn’s reign as “the swankiest spot in the South,” the resurrection of the fabled nightclub, restaurant and hotel is at hand. Although the meticulously refurbished Dew Drop complex at 2836 LaSalle Street in New Orleans hasn’t set a grand opening date yet, hotel rooms are available beginning January 19.
