December 2009
BackTalk
- Harry Shearer
It’s easy for New Orleanians to be skeptical under the best of circumstances, and even more so where celebrities are concerned,…
Bookmark
- Thomas L. Morgan, Historic Photos of New Orleans Jazz (Turner Publishing)
As New Orleans continues to remind itself why it matters after Katrina, here is a photo history to abet the process.…
Cover Story
- What Will Santa Say?
The adults are sitting around a table on the back porch, some with beer, some with coffee. They’re swapping wisecracks and…
Features
- Music from Thin Air
Playing the theremin transforms Bobby Skinner’s entire body into an instrument. “I am part of an electronic bubble,” he says, “pulling… - What's in the Bag, Santa?
Christmas music is so purpose-driven that it’s easy to dismiss it, but many artists are inspired by the holiday. At their… - A Homegrown Christmas
New Orleans and Louisiana have produced more Christmas music than people realize. Here are the highlights, all of which are available… - Keys to the City: OffBeat's Top 40 CDs of 2009
This has been a resurgent year for New Orleans indie rock, which is as strong as it has been in a…
Fresh
- Back to the Country
Radiators guitarist Camile Baudoin is revisiting his musical childhood in preparation for a show he’ll put on at Snug Harbor December… - Con the Con
“URGENT: PLEASE OPEN TO CLAIM YOUR PRISE!!!” Delete emails like that several times a day without even opening them? It seems… - Simien, the Mouse and the Frog
There’s no surprise Walt Disney Studios selected zydeco musician Terrance Simien to perform on the soundtrack for its new animated film,… - We Write the Songs
“We give people an opportunity to hear the stories behind the song,” says Bud Tower, a professional songwriter and the founder… - What Hall?
In recent months, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame has been active, inducting Allen Toussaint, Benny Spellman and Ernie K-Doe at… - First HAMP Knowledge
Howlin’ Wolf will host the first annual HAMP—HIV Awareness Music Project—on December 1 from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. On World…
Letters
- December 2009 Letters
NOLA BIBLE My wife and I live in Baltimore and have been coming to Jazz Fest since ’93. Absolutely love it…
Mojo Mouth
- Vote for Culture
About a year ago, Sherri McConnell, who runs the Louisiana Economic Development’s Entertainment Office, convened a small group for a “charette”…
OffBeat Eats
- Rik Slave Hits the Spot at Herbsaint
Herbsaint 701 St. Charles Ave. (504) 524-4114 Didn’t you use to work here? I did. In January, I went over to… - The Maestro: Patrick Van Hoorebeek, Maitre d' of Restaurant August
In the last 15 years, chefs have undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. Back in the day, a cook and a waiter would… - Dining Out: Lakeview Harbor
Tucked away in a strip mall along Harrison Avenue is the kind of no-frills, cold beer, stiff drink, good food hangout…
Dining Out
- The Maestro: Patrick Van Hoorebeek, Maitre d' of Restaurant August
In the last 15 years, chefs have undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. Back in the day, a cook and a waiter would… - Dining Out: Lakeview Harbor
Tucked away in a strip mall along Harrison Avenue is the kind of no-frills, cold beer, stiff drink, good food hangout…
The Spot
- Rik Slave Hits the Spot at Herbsaint
Herbsaint 701 St. Charles Ave. (504) 524-4114 Didn’t you use to work here? I did. In January, I went over to…
Reviews
- Lindsay Mendez, Reaching Out (Rabadash)
Reaching Out by Lindsay Mendez is full of good songs, good singing and good playing. At the same time, it's hard… - Carla Bley: "Carla's Christmas Carols"
Jazz composer Carla Bley's spent a career examining American vernacular music, so it's just as weirdly inevitable that she'd eventually get… - Various Artists, A Very Threadhead Holiday (Threadhead)
The artists that cut or are cutting albums for Threadhead Records came together to record A Very Threadhead Holiday, a charming,… - Bonerama, Hard Times (High Steppin’)
Hard Times is Bonerama’s first studio recording after three live albums, and moving the band to the studio poses a number… - Garage a Trois, Power Patriot (Royal Potato Family)
Part of what has set Garage a Trois apart from other jam/jazz/ funk aggregations is its intelligence and ability to follow… - Paul Sanchez, Farewell to Storyville (Threadhead)
The Threadhead Records phenomenon has reshaped the profile of the local recording industry, allowing veteran musicians to make albums that might… - Neil Diamond, A Cherry Cherry Christmas (Columbia)
For the title cut of Neil Diamond’s third Christmas album, he worked the titles of songs from his catalogue into the… - Various Artists, A Very Threadhead Holiday (Threadhead)
The artists that cut or are cutting albums for Threadhead Records came together to record A Very Threadhead Holiday, a charming,… - Sugarland, Gold and Green (Mercury)
Christmas albums are often about the artist as much as the season. They’re exercises in image maintenance/creation, and sometimes it’s more… - Ray Charles, The Spirit of Christmas (Concord)
Originally released in 1985, The Spirit of Christmas is one of the great Christmas albums. It’s adult—a rarity—and musically sophisticated. Where… - Fred Anderson, 21st Century Chase (Live at Anderson’s 80th Birthday Bash at the Velvet Lounge) (Delmark)
Saxophonist Fred Anderson is one of the great elder statesmen of improvised music. He has been playing, teaching, or sponsoring it… - Kristin Diable, Extended Play (Speakeasy)
With a look and a sound that is far beyond her years, Kristin Diable tells her story in the purest of… - Various Artists, Fire in My Bones: Raw, Rare and Other-Worldly African-American Gospel 1944-2007 (Tompkins Square)
“A portion of benefits from this compilation will benefit the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund,” it says right in the liner… - Mia Borders, Southern Fried Soul (Independent)
Don’t be fooled by Mia Borders’ shy and soft singing style. On “Don’t Say Forever” the soul-jazz singer attacks the words… - Wayne Toups, Live 2009 (Swallow)
After an involuntary government- imposed hiatus (read: incarceration), Wayne Toups emerges more popular than ever, as evidenced by the zealous response… - Kermit Ruffins, Have a Crazy Cool Christmas (Basin Street)
Kermit Ruffins Have a Crazy Cool Christmas (Basin Street) Kermit Ruffins’ role as the Bard of Good Times in New Orleans… - Onward Brass Band, The Tradition Continues (OBB)
Before you dismiss this as “Just another traditional brass band album,” understand that the Onward Brass Band was performing at functions… - Various Artists, A Family Christmas (Putumayo)
Putumayo’s most recent Christmas collection this year is supposedly fun for the whole family. Evidently, the whole family loves acoustic, stringed… - Charlie Miller, Christmas in New Orleans (Independent)
Christmas on an ice floe is more like it. Charlie Miller has recorded an album of solo trumpet versions of Christmas… - Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart (Columbia)
This album has been the source of a lot of easy mocking, but Bob Dylan has rarely been as transparent as… - David Greely, Sud de Sud (Give and Go)
The Mamou Playboys’ David Greely reminds us of the fiddle’s forgotten legacy in Cajun music with this off-the-beaten-path collection of fiddle… - Mike Zito, Pearl River (Electro Groove)
Mike Zito is a rare find: a rough- and-tumble bluesman with a knack for wearing his heart on his sleeve and… - I, Octopus, I’d Rather Be a Lightning Rod Than a Seismograph (Independent)
There’s something to be said about a band that waits nine years to release its first full-length album. Whether the motives… - Various Artists, Christmas with Sinatra and Friends (Concord)
A disappointment, not because it’s bad, but I was hoping for a Sinatra Christmas album I hadn’t heard. Instead, it’s a… - Corey Ledet, A Matter of Time (Independent)
Even before he crossed the Sabine and homesteaded his music career in Acadiana, Corey Ledet was already a force to be… - Chuck Carbo, Life’s Ups and Downs (504)
Several people with well-regarded opinions will, without prodding, tell you that the most distinct voice of the classic period of New… - Ben Maygarden, Come On, If You’re Coming (Shortstack)
If you’ve got a hankering for some blues to go along with your bottle, this is worth checking out. Working man-about-town… - Shane Theriot, Dirty Power (Shose)
It takes a special player to put out a record of guitar and band instrumentals and make it memorable. Guitarist Shane…
