Music
Tom McDermott, All the Keys & Then Some (Parnassus)
What do Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Tom McDermott all have in common? They composed short pieces (preludes) of music in all 24 major and minor keys. Bach’s “Well-Tempered […]
Obituary: Dean Lutz (1974-2008)
Dean Lutz, the creator of the New Orleans band Patient Zero, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on June 10 in San Francisco, he was 34. A year after the catastrophic […]
The Brakes, The Tale of Two Cities (Hyena)
If you Google the Brakes, you will learn that the Brakes are a “jam band.” Jam band? I don’t like jam bands, but this quintet from Philadelphia defies the label. […]
The Best of the Beat
In 1996, OffBeat’s very first Best of the Beat Awards recognized the best in Louisiana music for 1995. The awards show, held at House of Blues, wasn’t called the “Best […]
Irma Honored
On September 7, the Recording Academy honored Irma Thomas along with Booker T. and the MGs, Willie Mitchell (producer and arranger for Al Green, Ann Peebles, and others) and Knox […]
Crosley Songwriter Recordable Turntable
When the Crosley Songwriter Recordable Turntable was delivered I wasn’t that eager to open the box. Figuring out how to make things work, reading and re-reading the manual is not […]
Jay Weigel/The Saint Louis Cathedral Orchestra and Choir, The Mass of Pope John Paul II (Manchester Craftsmen ‘s Guild)
New Orleans composer and musician Jay Weigel’s The Mass of Pope John Paul II The Great was commissioned by St. Louis Cathedral to commemorate the anniversary of the Pope’s inauguration […]
Black 47, Bittersweet 16 (Gadfly)
If Larry Kirwan hadn’t been a rock ‘n’ roller, he’d probably be a great Irish American author. Wait a minute, he’s one of those too, with several plays and two […]
Pilate, Caught By the River (Wrangled)
The Canadians played an unusually strong hand at this year’s SXSW, highlighted by several showcases from the dramatically hard rocking quartet Pilate. Lead singer Todd Clark’s pleading, tortured vocals recall […]
Jay Weigel, The River May Cry (Independent)
The oratorio “The River May Cry” was commissioned for the opening of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in August 2003. Although referred to in the liner notes as both […]
