Irvin Mayfield

Walking up to Irvin Mayfield’s apartment building, passing the flourishing art galleries, upscale restaurants and other urbane features of the New Orleans Warehouse District, I couldn’t help but marvel at […]

Various Artists, Keep It Rollin: The Blues Piano Collection (Rounder Heritage)

Tabla Temptations

In March, the New Orleans jazz scene usually reflects a post-Mardi Gras, pre-Jazz Fest Lenten lull. Not so this year. The rich array of options, from major national talent like […]

Donald Harrison, Jr. Presents The New Orleans Legacy Ensemble, Spirits of Congo Square (Candid)

This recent release from New Orleans-bred sax master Donald Harrison has received relatively little attention, probably because it’s on a European label (as opposed to Harrison’s recent “Nouveau Swing” work […]

Victor Goines, Sunrise to Midnight (Rosemary Joseph)

Chief Smiley Ricks & Donald Harrison, Jr.: The Mardi Gras Indian Connection

First came the drums and tambourines. A hot, dense, exquisitely layered syncopation, rumbling from the back of the upstairs bar at Tipitina’s Uptown. Then came the shouts and chants: “Hi-yo!” […]

Sonny Stitt, Just the Way It Was “Live” at the Left Bank

Irvin Mayfield, How Passion Falls (Basin Street)

It’s a good thing this record sounds so fine. Otherwise, I might be tempted to turn into a catty movie critic and say simply, “How Passion Fails,” and call it […]

Stan Getz, My Foolish Heart “Live” at the Left Bank (Label M)

Gregory Boyd, Rich in a Troubled Time (World Groove)