April 2000
BackTalk
- Terence Blanchard
His father wanted him to be an opera singer, but Terence Blanchard became a jazz trumpeter instead, one whose enveloping sound…
Bluesworthy
- Portrait of a Maniac: Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins dead at 70. Death comes for everyone, even a man who spent much of his life jumping out…
Chassez De Faim
Cover Story
- Henry Butler and Corey Harris
The key word here is "inscrutable." When folk-blues scholars three or four generations down the line queue up the music on…
Dis 'n' Dat
- Coco A Paris
Couturiere Coco Chanel was once the toast of Paris. These days, she's been replaced by bluesman Coco Robicheaux, who will spend…
Features
- 10 Years Ago in OffBeat: April
- Tim Green: Inside Out
Saxophonist Tim Green does not have a new record out. In fact, he doesn’t even lead a band, so you’re not… - Egg Yolk Jubilee: Over Easy
In Search of Egg Yolk Jubilee Saturday, February 19th: I’m sipping my Corona in this smoky crow’s nest called the… - French Quarter Festival 2000
- Soul Remedy: Barefoot Musical Cure
The first time I attended a Soul Remedy show, I noticed two things. First, that the group had a very diverse…
Feedback
- Feedback: Direct from the Underground: Rotary Downs
It’s only April, but the best local CD of the year might already have been released. There’s only one problem. You…
Know What It Means
Letters
- Letters April 2000
THE THREE P'S It's been four years now since I moved here, and my recent attendance at the [OffBeat Best of…
Straight, No Chaser
- Tim Green: Inside Out
Saxophonist Tim Green does not have a new record out. In fact, he doesn’t even lead a band, so you’re not…
Talkin' 'bout New Orleans
Reviews
- Betsy Braud, Do You Want to Be Healed? (OWO)
On first glance, after noting the instruments being played on this album, I anticipated that I was going to like it.… - Various Artists, Swamp Gold Volume 6 (Jin)
Considering this is the sixth volume in the Swamp Gold series (the first two made OffBeat's “Essential 100” list), Jin might… - Delta Roux, Dirty Shoes (B-Slide Records)
Well, they’re from Austin, but you would think they were from New Orleans with all the soul they have. Steel and… - Countdown Quartet, Countdown Quartet (Yep Roc)
The debut release from the Countdown Quartet was accompanied by two yellow sheets of promotional materials from Yep Roc records, which… - Gino Washington, Out of This World (Norton)
Nathaniel Mayer. Nolan Strong & the Diablos. The Falcons. The list is endless. Household names they may not be, yet absolute… - Jazzhole, Blackburst (Beave Music)
Blackburst is a music and video term that describes digital silence. It is used when there is a need to record… - Schel Reaux, Schel Reaux (Independent)
Remember in the ’90s when guitar rock was somehow tragic, sometimes to the point of overdose, when the reason for an… - Barbara Lane, Someone (Independent)
Barbara Lane would make a fine concert pianist or a piano teacher. The French Quarter denizen plays with a style that… - Long John Hunter, Ooh Wee Pretty Baby! (Norton)
Art imitates life, life imitates art. Apter words can’t be chosen when speaking of the blues guitar whammy of Long John… - Bryan Sutton, Ready to Go (Sugar Hill)
Most of the 14 tracks on this CD are straight out of Hootin’ Holler and, from the get-go, you’re ready to… - The Romeos, When in Rome (BooRay Music)
“It’s nice to be important, but it’s also important to be nice. So let it be written, so let it be… - Don Rich, I Want You to Know (Jin)
When the term swamp pop is bantered about, it’s often associated with its original stars still hanging on today. For the… - Larry, Julian and Murali Coryell, The Coryells (Chesky)
Larry Coryell is one of the all-time greats of modern jazz guitar. He exploded onto the scene in the late ’60s… - Kenneth Thibodeaux and the Cajun Dance Band, Pour Les Danseur (Acadiana Records)
Sometimes being too laid back is a good thing. In the case of Kenneth Thibodeaux and the Cajun Dance Band (CDB),… - Various Artists, Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler: Volume I (Acadiana Records)
These days it seems like Cajun compilations are a bumper crop; every label’s got ’em. Same artists, different tracks, not a… - McCoy Tyner, McCoy Tyner with Stanley Clarke and Al Foster (Telarc)
Maybe my expectations were too high. After all, this is McCoy Tyner, the former Coltrane sideman whose oceanic grace and surging… - Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys, Pour la Premiere Fois (Swallow)
Three years ago Cajun accordionist Kevin Naquin and the Ossun Playboys debuted with a cassette-only release on the tiny Acadiana Sounds… - Luther Allison, Live in Chicago (Alligator)
Lots of blues artists like to pretend like they’re on a mission when they’re playing, but this, the latest and probably… - Dee Dee Bridgewater, Live at Yoshi's (Verve)
In the “jazz vocal renaissance” of the last decade, the 49 year-old Bridgewater has emerged as one of the greatest living… - Creole Zydeco Farmers, Zydeco Y2K (J&S Records)
Check it out, it’s a fact. Many of the recent crisp sounding Maison de Soul and Swallow releases (Rosie Ledet, Thomas… - Henry Gray and the Cats, Blues Won't Let Me Take My Rest (Lucky Cat)
For someone who’s been to Czechoslovakia and Switzerland, played with Howlin’ Wolf and for Mick Jagger, it sure has taken a… - Gov't Mule, Life Before Insanity (Capricorn)
I will say that this was my first “real” listen to Gov’t Mule, and I must say I am disappointed at… - Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Left Hook, Right Cross (32 Jazz)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk (1936-1977) could play a variety of wind instruments simultaneously (including the tenor sax, flute, clarinet, and his modified… - Sonny Landreth, Prodigal Son-The Collection (Music Club)
Prodigal, hell—don’t be bothered by the liner notes to this CD when they say, “If you’re seeking an album of Louisiana,… - Dave Holland Quintet, Prime Directive (ECM)
In the world of jazz, Dave Holland has been around the block a few time. The 53 year-old English-born bassist has… - Norrie Cox & His New Orleans Stompers, Dance Hall Days (Delmark)
I’ve been given something approaching a score of compact discs for review in the last six months and none of that… - Jackie McLean, Nature Boy (Blue Note Records)
At 19 Jackie McLean recorded with Miles Davis, later performing with Charles Mingus and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. As frontman of… - Chucky "C", Another Sleepless Night (Tipitina's Endangered Species)
Chucky “C” is a talented New Orleans saxophonist who just doesn’t quite make it as a singer. As a vocalist Chucky… - Sax Gordon, You Knock Me Out (Bullseye)
- Doug Kershaw, Two Step Fever (Susie Q)
For years, there hasn’t been a lot of new Kershaw on the market. Oh sure, there have been plenty of recycled… - The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Sam's Big Rooster (Arhoolie)
Like many groups formed from the magic of jam sessions, it’s a feat when they endure beyond their wildest expectations. Such… - R.L. Burnside, My Black Name A-Ringin' (Adelphi/Genes)
You all know that Fat Possum is the Sun records of the early 20th Century—an insane asylum of purely batshit geniuses… - Coco Montoya, Suspicion (Alligator)
Everybody likes Coco Montoya. Albert Collins liked him so much, he invited him to be his drummer and then turned him… - David Roe with the Royal Rounders and Friends, Angel of New Orleans (Royal Rags)
David Roe is lucky to be alive. On March 15, 1999 he and his wife Laura were passengers on the “City… - Bob Dorough, Too Much Coffee Man (Blue Note)
If you’re of a certain age and you watched Saturday morning television on ABC as a youngster, you’re familiar with Bob… - Timothea, No Nonsense (Blue Soul)
Fixing it in the mix is a concept that gets derided quite a bit in this business, mainly because it’s usually… - Galactic, Late for the Future (Capricorn)
Since straight-through-till-dawn-length CDs aren’t economically feasible, we will have to settle for less than an hour of Galactic magic with this… - Lil' Brian and the Zydeco Travelers, Funky Nation (Tomorrow Recordings)
If you think of Nathan Williams and Geno Delafose being on the zydeco right, then Lil’ Brian and the Zydeco Travelers… - Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, Let's Go! (Rounder)
He’s not the baddest, the maddest or the fad-est zydeco artist around. He doesn’t rant about ruling the turfdom between Houston… - Otis Spann, Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)
John Hammond Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) Charlie Musselwhite Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) James Cotton Best of the… - James Cotton, Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)
John Hammond Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) Charlie Musselwhite Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) James Cotton Best of the… - Charlie Musselwhite, Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)
John Hammond Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) Charlie Musselwhite Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) James Cotton Best of the… - John Hammond, Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)
John Hammond Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) Charlie Musselwhite Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard) James Cotton Best of the…
