August 2016
BackTalk
- Lawrence Cotton talks back
Pianist Lawrence Cotton rightfully calls his band, which will be performing at the Satchmo SummerFest on Saturday, August 5, the Legendary…
Cover Story
- The Last of the Sixth Ward: Treme Brass Band’s Benny Jones Sr. is what New Orleans is all about
Benny Jones Sr. no longer lives in his beloved Treme neighborhood, where he grew up with the sound of brass band…
Features
- Pops and Bing: Gary Giddins reminisces about New Orleans and Louis Armstrong
Gary Giddins, the jazz critic whose award-winning writing includes 31 years of Village Voice columns and books about Louis Armstrong, Bing… - The New Icons: Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has achieved a plateau of excellence that most artists never reach in a lifetime
A few months ago OffBeat publisher Jan Ramsey lamented the passing of a generation of New Orleans musical icons who have… - Frampton Comes Alive: Peter Frampton thanks The Advocate’s John Georges at Champions Square
Peter Frampton evolved from British teen idol to guitar hero to international pop star. During his 50-year-and-counting career, he also played… - Jazz of All Seasons: Victor Goines’ first appearance at Satchmo SummerFest
"Louis Armstrong influenced us all. The only people he didn’t influence are those who have yet to hear him,” declares clarinetist… - You Blows Who You Is: Louis Armstrong embodied the folksy sophistication that marks New Orleans
It is difficult to say something about Louis Armstrong that is original or new. He is one of the most analyzed… - Just Judy: Judy Hill, I Wanna Tell You About Ooh Poo Pah Doo
Taking its name from Jessie Hill’s 1960 hit, the Ooh Poo Pah Doo is a new bar with an old soul.… - Old Soul: Jonté Mayon’s pillars of sound
Of all the things to slice through New Orleans summer heat, the sweet sound of Jonté Mayon in vocal flight spilling…
Fresh
- Ten Louis Armstrong Landmarks
The Internet is full of Louis Armstrong top-ten lists, but we’ve noted that most of them seem to lean on the… - Donna's Revisited
Donna’s Bar & Grill, a North Rampart Street nightspot owned by Donna and Charlie Sims, was a special place. The club,… - My Music: Michael Paz
"Everything centers around music in my life. I’ve been blessed to work in this industry, to make a good living at… - Soundcheck: Five Questions with John Broven, author of Rhythm & Blues in New Orleans
John Broven has loved American music since he was a student at Bexhill Grammar School in Sussex, England. Broven’s distinguished writing…
In The Spirit
- Justin Gehrmann at Kingfish
“For this drink, I went with Buckwheat Zydeco. I love that front porch music. That sit-down, laid-back toe tapping. Naturally, I…
Letters
- August 2016 Letters to OffBeat
Tbone Seeing y’all play [Treme Funk: Corey Henry’s Universe, July 2016] in Missoula, Montana, was such a treat. I’ve picked up…
Mojo Mouth
- Dwindling Resources
It’s been a long time coming, but the handwriting is on the wall. For media, that is. Unless you have the…
Obituaries
- Obituary: Michael James Joseph (1967–2016)
New Orleans musician Michael James Joseph passed away Monday, July 11, at the age of 49. Joseph was known as the…
Dining Out
- Imperial Woodpecker Sno-Balls
Now widely believed to be extinct, the imperial woodpecker was once the largest woodpecker on the planet. It’s a mystery as…
Photo Op
- Ascona Jazz Festival
Held June-July in Ascona, Switzerland each year, the Ascona Jazz Festival aims to capture the music and culture of New Orleans…
The Spot
- Chris French hits the Spot
Of all the Vietnamese restaurants in New Orleans, why Pho Cam Ly? This is my first time here, actually. I’ve been…
Reviews
- Tasha Taylor, Honey for the Biscuit (Ruf)
Tasha Taylor is the daughter of Stax soul legend Johnnie Taylor, and far from shying away from her heritage she’s embraced… - In Business, Cop Show (Independent)
In Business consists of melodic guitar notes, smooth bass, a bluesy horn section, funky drum rhythms and female vocals. The band… - Matt Babineaux, A Place to Fall (Independent)
You’re allowed to take your time in Americana music, based as it is on old folk traditions; one of its main… - Morten Gunnar Larsen, Sorgenfri (Herman Records)
It is quite the paradox that the greatest ragtime player in the world, and one of the world’s best traditional jazz… - REWIND: C.C. Adcock, C.C. Adcock (Island Records)
Well, I met [Island Records’] Denny [Cordell] through his son Tarka, an English kid, who was a great friend of mine.… - Nutrio, Nutrio (Independent)
All original material fills this disc by Nutrio, an adventurous jazz trio with saxophonist and clarinetist Byron Asher, bassist Trey Boudreaux… - Dick Deluxe, Turning 61 on Highway 61 (Independent)
Go ahead and get those jokes out of your system now. Dick Deluxe (not his birth name, sorry) is a busker… - Smoke N Bones, Amplify (Independent)
Here’s another undoubtedly talented NOLA outfit that can take on just about any style of black music invented before Kurtis Blow… - Kris Tokarski, Classic Rags New Orleans Style (Solo Art)
Jelly Roll Morton is one of the two major pianists who took ragtime and turned it into jazz (the other being… - Thomas W. Jacobsen, The New Orleans Jazz Scene Today: A Guide to the Musicians, Live Jazz Venues, and More (Bluebird Publishing)
As the subtitle of Thomas Jacobsen’s latest book on jazz suggests, The New Orleans Jazz Scene Today stands as a “guide”… - DJ Yamin, Quickie Mart, Tony Skratchere, NOLA Bounce Breaks Volume 1 (Super Jock Records)
Intended as an homage to the pioneers of New Orleans bounce—T. T. Tucker, DJ Irv, DJ Jimi, Mannie Fresh, DJ Jubilee… - Cowboy Mouth, The Name of the Band Is... (Independent)
With their 25th anniversary in progress, Cowboy Mouth really deserve a definitive, career-spanning anthology—but since their catalogue is spread across a… - Swingin’ Melatauns, The Melatauns, (Independent)
If you saw the name of this four or five piece occasionally augmented by horns and thought you might be getting… - Wayne Toups, Wayne Toups (Malaco Music Group)
Longtime fans will notice an artistic shift on Wayne Toups’ first nontrad Americanaish outing since 2004’s Whoever Said It Was Easy.…
