August 2014
BackTalk
- Backtalk: Henry Butler and Steven Bernstein
Piano virtuoso and vocalist Henry Butler agrees that the music on his and trumpeter/arranger Steven Bernstein’s album, Viper’s Drag, represents the…
Cover Story
- Evan Christopher Brings a Modern Edge to the Creole Clarinet
Thunder rumbles off the bayou and wind-whipped palm fronds rattle outside Evan Christopher’s Mid-City home. It’s a gray afternoon in June…
Features
- Wynton Marsalis on Louis Armstrong, New Orleans, and America
When Louis Armstrong was only age 21 at the dawn of the Jazz Age, he left his hometown of New Orleans… - The Shotgun Jazz Band Moves on Up
After three albums, myriad roster changes, and the steady transformation from a ragtag street band to dependable club and festival performers,… - New Mosaic Records Box Set Redefines Louis Armstrong’s Legacy
Forty-three years after his death, Louis Armstrong’s later career is undergoing a serious reevaluation. Historians are re-examining the critical consensus… - Tim Laughlin's Open Letter to Pete Fountain
Dear Pete, when you announced your retirement a few months ago, the bitter-sweetness of such a difficult decision weighed on so… - Louis Ford Plays Old-Time New Orleans Jazz
Louis Ford has spent his entire life around some of New Orleans’ finest musicians—first and foremost his father, the late, great… - Preservation Hall Drummer Joe Lastie Has Music in his Genes
It's not a stretch to say that music—and especially drumming—is in Joe Lastie’s genes. As a child, he heard his maternal… - Drummer Lawrence Batiste Recalls Growing up in Louis Armstrong's Neighborhood
Not unlike many New Orleanians, 75-year-old drummer Lawrence Batiste had pre-birth experiences with the music of the Crescent City. Sitting in… - "Quiet Storm" Warren Battiste has Inspired Generations
One of the most tasteful guitarists around is the remarkable Warren Battiste. Still swinging at the age of 88 (he’ll be…
Fresh
- Satchmo on his Life as a Pot Loving "Viper"
In the 1971 Louis Armstrong biography Louis: The Louis Armstrong Story, 1900-1971 by Max Jones and John Chilton, Satchmo expounds at… - James Burton International Guitar Festival Celebrates the "Master of the Telecaster"
Living in Louisiana, it’s easy to be spoiled by the world-class live music that wafts from juke joints and local clubs… - Soundcheck: John Michael Bradford Takes 5
So you have won the “Seeking Satchmo” contest at Satchmo SummerFest twice—once in middle school and again in the high school… - My Music: Blake Amos
Saudade means longing, melancholy. Like, I have saudade for those old days on Frenchmen Street, back when it was this mixed,… - Top 10 Versions of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"
Love it or not, “What a Wonderful World” is fated to be Louis Armstrong’s best-known recording, and there’s bound to… - Philadelphia Gets a Dose of Zydeco Through the "Zydeco Crossroads" Program
Philadelphia, a city known for ’70s soul and other classic sounds, is now welcoming a groove from where crawfish got soul—zydeco.…
In The Spirit
- In the Spirit: Rhiannon Enlil of Cure
I like playing with weird ingredients. I’m a huge fan of taking simple, classic and elegant drinks and flipping them inside…
Letters
- August 2014 Letters to OffBeat Magazine
BUFFA’S This is in response to the web post “Lawsuit Seeks to Silence Buffa’s Bar and Restaurant.” So sad to see…
Mojo Mouth
- Louis Armstrong Will Always be Important to Jazz
We're happy to present our annual August “Satchmo SummerFest” issue. It focuses, in large part, on New Orleans’ traditional jazz community…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Lionel Ferbos 1911-2014
Lionel Ferbos reportedly woke up on July 17, 2014, his 103rd birthday, and said, “What time is the party?” The “party”…
OffBeat Eats
- Dining Out: Sucré
Comfort and guilt. According to Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna, indulging in a sweet treat satisfies those two basic human emotions like… - In the Spirit: Rhiannon Enlil of Cure
I like playing with weird ingredients. I’m a huge fan of taking simple, classic and elegant drinks and flipping them inside…
Dining Out
- Dining Out: Sucré
Comfort and guilt. According to Pastry Chef Tariq Hanna, indulging in a sweet treat satisfies those two basic human emotions like… - Tom Stevenson Hits the Spot at Wayfare
What do you like about Wayfare? I like the attention to detail and the understated style. They have a fine dining… - Evan Christopher Brings a Modern Edge to the Creole Clarinet
Thunder rumbles off the bayou and wind-whipped palm fronds rattle outside Evan Christopher’s Mid-City home. It’s a gray afternoon in June…
The Spot
- Tom Stevenson Hits the Spot at Wayfare
What do you like about Wayfare? I like the attention to detail and the understated style. They have a fine dining…
Reviews
- Dr. John, Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch (Proper/Concord)
During his keynote address at last year’s Satchmo SummerFest, Wycliffe Gordon opined that nobody but Louis Armstrong could possibly bring off… - Marc Broussard, A Life Worth Living (Vanguard)
Marc Broussard’s voice is an inspiring instrument. Broussard can sing with subtle shadings, calibrated emotion, and sheer energy, all of which… - Kim Carson, Enough Heart Left to Break (Independent)
Whenever I’ve seen Kim Carson in the past, it’s been the bawdy songs that grabbed me first. She’s always had a… - Cowboy Mouth, Go! (Elm City Music)
The tenth studio album from Cowboy Mouth finds the band in familiar territory, but the CD does offer a couple of… - Fo’ Reel, Heavy Water (Independent)
Calling themselves a New Orleans “supergroup” may be a bit of a misnomer: Fo’ Reel’s four main members are veterans of… - Truckstop Honeymoon, The Madness of Happiness (Squirrel Records)
Rock stars are famous for epic life styles and devastating personal losses, such as divorce and family separation. Despite mixing Byrds-esque… - Jane Harvey Brown, Live from New Orleans at the Old U.S. Mint (Independent)
Jane Harvey Brown puts together a veteran band to back her on a set of mostly jazz and New Orleans standards… - Hill Country Hounds, HCH (Independent)
The self-titled debut from the Hill Country Hounds mixes both traditional and modern country while eschewing the current pop/rock/country movement of… - Dexter Lee & the Prophets, We Are (Reverb Nation)
The part of me that grew up on Grand Funk Railroad is digging this Baton Rouge power trio’s debut, particularly the… - Yvette Landry, Me & T-Coe’s Country (Soko Music)
Steel-guitar shaman Richard Comeaux has been part of Yvette Landry’s country aggregation for a few years, but when Landry needed a… - Brother Dege, Scorched Earth Policy (Independent)
Typically a mix tape is a grab bag of sounds, songs and artists. Always atypical, Brother Dege’s Scorched Earth Policy is… - Misled, Injection (Independent)
This trio dropped a punk-rock debut on the local scene about a decade ago, then stepped back and translated their ethos… - Kevin Clark & Tom McDermott, Smiles: Cornet/Piano duets in the New Orleans Style (Independent)
Somewhere in both Tom McDermott and Kevin Clark’s early report cards, there must be comments that say, “Plays well with others.”… - Ben E. Hunter, The Nature of Things (Independent)
Acoustic albums, even reggae ones, don’t usually open with a swell of fake horns, strings and female vocals that make you… - Mahayla, Electricspaceagesweetheart (Serial Lover Records)
All throughout this new record by the recently reconstituted Mahayla, there is an air of regret. David Fera’s first effort under… - Jo-El Sonnier, The Legacy (Takau Records)
Jo-El Sonnier wrote and recorded his first song “Tes Yeux Bleu,” now an immortal classic, as a precocious 11-year-old. Only now… - Bonsoir, Catin, Light the Stars (Valcour Records)
As evidenced by these seven songs written/co-written by Bonsoir, Catin’s Kristi Guillory, her writing isn’t confined to any particular style but… - The Revelers, The Revelers Play the Swamp Pop Classics Vol. I (Independent)
On this four-track, vinyl-only EP, the Revelers maneuver through a diverse set of arrangements with an atypical swamp-pop arsenal that includes… - Lee Benoit, Pour les Générations à Venir (Bradley Records)
Lee Benoit’s Pour les Générations à Venir is not explicitly Cajun music for kids. He’s not the Cajun Raffi; instead, he… - Seth Walker, Sky Still Blue (Royal Potato Family)
Guitarist and songwriter Seth Walker cultivates an ominous and sexy sound on his latest recording, Sky Still Blue. Bassists Steve Mackey… - Smithfield Fair, Companions (Stevenson Productions)
Over the course of 41 years as Charmer and its successor Smithfield Fair, the Brothers Smith (Dudley-Brian, Bob and Joel) have… - Various Artists, All My Friends: Celebrating the Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman (Rounder Records)
In putting together all these songs with performers as varied as John Hiatt, Keb Mo, Jackson Browne, and Martina McBride, among…
