August 2013
BackTalk
- BackTalk: Merry Clayton, Carrying the Chorus (Interview)
Merry Clayton is living proof that you can have a glorious career without becoming a household name. In fact, her name…
Bookmark
- Inside the Music: The Life of Idris Muhammad, Idris Muhammad (Book Review)
In the heyday of New Orleans rhythm and blues, it was rare that sidemen on a recording session were credited. Yet…
Cover Story
- Leroy Jones: Blowing Up a Storm
More often than not, when he’s playing at home in New Orleans, Leroy Jones throws his horn over his shoulders, tosses…
Features
- Louis Armstrong:
Born on the Fourth of July?
Unbeknownst to some, a large elephant turns up at the party when New Orleans celebrates the birthday of its native son,… - All About Her: Robin Barnes
Like many local performers before her, songstress Robin Barnes keeps music as a family affair. She is a cousin to legend… - Wycliffe Gordon brings life-long
Louis Armstrong inspiration
to Satchmo SummerFest
"Unlike a lot of my contemporaries who came into jazz through bebop,” Gordon tells me from New York (where he teaches… - Satchmo SummerFest 2013
A - Z Schedule and Guide
Satchmo SummerFest is of course a celebration of Louis Armstrong, but above all it’s a celebration of jazz, the music that… - Playlist: 5 Songs You Probably Didn't Know Louis Armstrong Recorded
Louis Armstrong recorded a vast amount of material between the mid-’20s and the dawn of the ’70s, and much of that…
Fresh
- 5 Questions with Local Hip-hop Legend Ricky B
Why did you choose to release a reissues CD [B is for Bounce: New Orleans Rap Classics 1994-1995], rather than new… - My Music: Sarah McCoy
"I started at the piano with classical music, but it was Fiona Apple that set me singing—I’ve sung ‘Criminal’ so many… - OffBeat's Big Night at 2013 New Orleans Press Club Awards
It was a big night for OffBeat at the Press Club of New Orleans awards, held July 20 at the Harrah’s… - Dr. John Bandleader Vs. OffBeat
THE GRUDGE MATCH: Before the Dr. John show at the Montreal International Jazz Festival began, the crowd was stirring with anticipation.… - New Orleans R&B Nugget "Direct from the Ghetto" Nets $2000 on eBay
Would you pay $200 for this New Orleans record? We didn’t think so. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop an eBay bidder from… - Hurray for the Riff Raff Sings to ATO Records
The much admired alternative-country act Hurray for the Riff Raff may make its national breakthrough sooner than later. This month, the…
Letters
- August 2013 Letters to OffBeat
WELCOMING ALL TYPES This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s Blog post “Live In The City. Or Not?” which questions the…
Mojo Mouth
- Mojo Mouth: A Word About Clubs
Before OffBeat was started, I was definitely a habitué of music clubs; in fact, they inspired me to do something tangible…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Bobby "Blue" Bland (January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013)
Bobby “Blue” Bland, the greatest blues singer of the last three generations, died peacefully at his home in Memphis surrounded by…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Angelo Brocato's (Restaurant Review)
Sicilian influence in New Orleans’ culinary canon is most prominently noted in the smooth, sweet tomato sauce known locally as “red… - Stephanie Nilles Hits the Spot at Borracho
How often do you come here? I come here a lot. A friend of mine and I decided there should be…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Angelo Brocato's (Restaurant Review)
Sicilian influence in New Orleans’ culinary canon is most prominently noted in the smooth, sweet tomato sauce known locally as “red… - August 2013 Letters to OffBeat
WELCOMING ALL TYPES This is in response to Jan Ramsey’s Blog post “Live In The City. Or Not?” which questions the…
Photo Op
- Photo Op: Skip Bolen Snaps 102-Year-Old Lionel Ferbos
Every year as the weather starts warming and March turns into April, I start to get excited about Jazz Fest. As…
The Spot
- Stephanie Nilles Hits the Spot at Borracho
How often do you come here? I come here a lot. A friend of mine and I decided there should be…
Reviews
- Meschiya Lake & the Little Big Horns, Foolers’ Gold (Independent)
“Everybody knows I’m hot,” Meschiya Lake sings here on a version of Louis Prima’s “It’s the Rhythm in Me.” Well, yes:… - Farewell 2 Fear, New Blood (Independent)
Farewell 2 Fear are a hard-rock quintet based partly in NOLA and partly in Florida, one who claim to worship musical… - Ray Abshire, All Night Long (Swallow Records)
Ray Abshire’s third effort in a decade is his most dancehall-centric yet, due to a fuller band sound with sons Brent… - Hurray for the Riff Raff, My Dearest Darkest Neighbor (Mod Mobilian Records / This Is American Music)
Call it the deep breath before the plunge. As Hurray for the Riff Raff prepares to dive into the major label… - Tin Men, Avocado Woo Woo (Threadhead Records)
Set aside for a moment the fact that the guitar is amplified, also that the plucky instigator who wields said axe… - Star & Dagger, Tomorrowland Blues (Cauldron 333)
It’s hard not to have expectations around the first full release (following a limited EP) from Star & Dagger—the new band… - Aaron Lopez-Barrantes, ALB. (Independent)
Unequal parts adult-alternative singer-songwriter, twee folkie, and amateur acoustic bluesman, Aaron Lopez-Barrantes could have been just another sensitive college kid from… - Joshua Polk, Beauty School Dropouts (Exploding God Heads)
First cut straight out of the gate, I’m thinking, “My God, this is where Calvin Johnson escaped to!” ’Cause that first… - Creole George Guesnon, Plays Sings & Reminisces (American Music)
Guesnon was best known for his powerful banjo playing in the best bands of classic New Orleans jazz: Papa Celestine’s Tuxedo… - Ben Bell and the Stardust Boys, The Matador (Independent)
As the band’s very name indicates, Ben Bell and the Stardust Boys features a cowboy outfit backing a wry singer-songwriter, one… - Billy Iuso, Naked (Independent)
Brooklyn-born Billy Iuso, like so many musicians of his generation, moved to New Orleans in search of a musical grail. A… - The Rides, Can’t Get Enough (429 Records)
You expect to see Stephen Stills as part of a trio, but not this trio: The Rides are Stills, Barry Goldberg… - George Lewis, The Best of George Lewis 1943 - 1965 (GHB Records)
George Lewis was working as a stevedore when he was plucked from obscurity in 1942 to back trumpeter Bunk Johnson. Johnson’s… - Wiggs-Burke, Big 4 (American Music)
This two-disc collection of recordings from 1952-1957 offers many pleasant surprises. The context in which the music is presented (in the… - Kelcy Mae, The Fire (Independent)
Though Kelcy Mae established herself in 2011 as a viable singer-songwriter with her self-produced, acoustic release Pennies in Hand, here she… - Louie Ludwig, Mixed Messages (Independent)
Few cities are as kind to the iconoclast as New Orleans, and Louie Ludwig’s series of homemade and independently produced albums… - Ruby Moon, Vicarious Pleasures (Jumping Man Records)
Ruby Moon keeps the tradition of the red-hot mamas alive, applying her deep, sultry voice and occasional wide vibrato to an… - Wyland Blues Planet Band Project, Blues Planet III (Independent)
Here is the final installment of one of the more quixotic recording projects undertaken in recent years. In 2011, ocean explorer/environmentalist/artist… - Hot 8 Brass Band, Tombstone (TruThoughts)
A sense of sincerity prevails in the Hot 8’s latest release. The lyrics come from the heart, the rhythm from the… - Swingadelic, Toussaintville (Zoho)
Allen Toussaint’s music, which has been performed by everyone from Irma Thomas to Little Feat, is all about feeling. When done… - The Upstarts, Live In New Orleans (Independent)
Someone must answer the call. So many headaches, heartaches, backaches, cracked hearts, turned-down raises, unanswered messages—someone somewhere must agree to undertake… - Kiné McKay, I’m So New Orleans (Independent)
Kiné McKay has a gruffly soulful voice, and this EP is a nice mix of social commentary and personal statement that… - Gitlo Lee, Comin’ Out the Hole (Independent)
Contrary to popular opinion, a great backstory isn’t a foolproof indicator a of a bluesman’s authenticity, much less his vision. But… - Nick Sanders Trio, Nameless Neighbors (Sunnyside Records)
Pianist Nick Sanders’ classical training is evident on Nameless Neighbors, his debut album on the prestigious Sunnyside Records label. Sanders and… - Various Artists, Let Me Play This For You: Rare Cajun Recordings (Tompkins Square Records)
Gotta sing high, if you want to sing out over those accordions. Conventional wisdom. But some people are unconventional, one way… - Strange Roux, Boogieman (Total Riot Records)
The boogieman, Wikipedia tells us, exists in various forms around the world, known as Sack Man, El Coco, Babau, Butzemann, Bala,…
