Issue Articles
The Hackberry Ramblers: Fest Focus
Luderin Darbone and Edwin Duhon still remember the night in 1934 when the Hackberry Ramblers went electric. The problem until that time, explains Darbone, the 80-year-old fiddler and co-founder of […]
Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans: Fest Focus
It was an anonymous audience member who once described Paul Cebar as “Art Carney with a good voice.” That’s a start. Cebar has a pair of Doonesbury eyes, a Thelonious […]
Brownie Ford: Fest Focus
When Thomas Edison “Brownie” Ford makes his Jazz Fest appearance on Saturday, May 1, he’ll have time to turn just a few pages of his encyclopedic song repertoire. But the […]
Zydeco and Cajun Forces Storm Jazz Fest; Clifton Chenier Celebrated
In honor of the hard-working Cajun and zydeco musicians making the long drive to New Orleans this month, Ten West should temporarily change its name to Ten East. And since […]
Down in Congo Square
Smiley Ricks needed to find a place for Indian practice. The Dr. John percussionist, brass band veteran and Big Chief of the Wild Renegade Hunters had gotten into something like […]
Ella Fitzgerald, The Ella Fitzgerald 75th Birthday Celebration: The Original Decca Recordings (MCA Records)
Ella Fitzgerald was only twenty when she recorded her 1938 Decca smash, “A-Tisket, A-Tasket.” Within a year she was listed at the top of national magazines’ readers’ polls. Now, on […]
Octogenarian Octa Clark Gets Busy; Cajun and Zydeco in Austin
Good news in the recording studios for fans of traditional Cajun music: just in time for his 89th birthday, accordionist Octa Clark is laying tracks for a new album of […]
Iguanas of the Night
It’s the weather, says the Iguanas’ Derek Huston. “The climate is our secret weapon,” says the sax player. “We play those sleazy medium and slow tempos — it wear anybody […]
Inside the Tribes
“Big Chief wants to see you.” During a recent Sunday practice, an order to summon the visitor was passed through the ranks of the Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians […]
