January 2017

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Cover Story

Lifetime Achievement in Music: Johnny Vidacovich
I’m just a lucky so and so.” Johnny Vidacovich considers himself a lucky guy. Touchstones of the brilliant drummer’s serendipitous musical… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Features

Marcus Roberts: New Orleans’ Adopted Son
“If you’re in any band and something goes wrong, you should assume that it’s your fault and try to fix it,”… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Author Alyn Shipton talks about working with Danny Barker
“The house was like a cardboard box full of paper,” Alyn Shipton says of his initial impression on stepping into the… – Geraldine Wyckoff
The 50 Best Albums of 2016
We’ve polled our writers and editorial staff and have gathered 50 of our most recommended albums of the year. We didn’t… – OffBeat Magazine
Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award: Darryl Young/Dancing Man 504
“I was asked one time: ‘Dancing Man, what is your signature move?’ “I told them, ‘A smile.’” Darryl Young, known (literally)… – Frank Etheridge
Lifetime Achievement in Music Business: Sonny Schneidau
In New Orleans, there are people who make the music and people who make the music happen. The people who make… – David Kunian
Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Bruce Boyd Raeburn
Dr. Bruce Boyd Raeburn’s work turning the Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane into a resource for students, researchers and fans of… – John Swenson
Party of the Year: The Best of the Beat Nominees
OffBeat’s annual Best of the Beat Awards started 22 years ago, in 1995. Better Than Ezra was the big winner and… – OffBeat Staff

Mojo Mouth

Happy Safe New Year!
New Orleans has experienced one of the more violent months in years. Of course, everyone in the hospitality industry hates when… – Jan Ramsey

Fresh

10 Songs We Need to Hear in 2017
Some of the songs on this month’s playlist are good ones we may have overlooked when released last year; others are… – Brett Milano
My Music with Valerie Sassyfras
"I've been going by the name Sassyfras since my husband [Johnny Donald] passed away, so that was in 2013. We travelled… – Frank Etheridge
Reinvigorating New Orleans' Carver Theater
The Carver Theater has announced its initial 2017 music programming schedule—which is based around a number of new weekly music series—and… – Jan Ramsey

BackTalk

Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award: Detroit Brooks
When Detroit Brooks walks through a door—of a church, a club, a coffeehouse—he’s greeted with smiles, hugs, handshakes and kisses. Though… – Geraldine Wyckoff

In The Spirit

In the Spirit: Jacob Cureton at Annunciation
“I just met George [Porter, Jr.] at Dos Jefes. I was sitting there with one of my good friends and he was… – Elsa Hahne

Dining Out

Dining Out: Station 6
The seafood joints of Bucktown and its across-the-canal neighbor West End are their own genre. Their hallmark is the overflowing platter… – Peter Thriffiley

The Spot

Paul Sanchez hits the Spot at Napoleon House
What are you getting? I’ve been on the road a lot this year, so I wanted to come someplace really New… – Elsa Hahne

Letters

Letters to the Editor
True Believer It feels good to be recognized and acknowledged by OffBeat, [True Believers by Laura DeFazio, November 2016] especially as… – OffBeat Staff

Obituaries

Herb Hardesty, 1925-2016
Herb Hardesty, one of the architects of the Fats Domino sound and a cornerstone of Domino’s fabulous band for nearly six… – Jeff Hannusch

Reviews

Michael Tisserand, "The Kingdom of Zydeco" (Arcade Publishing)
The Kingdom of Zydeco was reissued in paperback after being out of print for some time. Since it was the first… – Dan Willging
The Asylum Chorus, "Take A Piece" (Independent)
If this debut EP were only an excuse to create a supergroup out of organist Joe Krown, drummer Doug Belote, and… – Robert Fontenot
Michael Tisserand Krazy: "George Herriman, A Life in Black and White" (Harper)
On one of my first trips to New Orleans back in the twentieth century I was in a cab in the… – John Swenson
Hopalong Catastrophe, "Big Bad Wrong" (Four Cats / Radionic Records)
“Best kept secret” is a cliché, but like so many clichés, it’s one that appeared out of necessity. And for three… – Robert Fontenot
Terra Terra, "Terra Terra" (Independent)
The jazz-rock trio Terra Terra understands one very important element of science fiction: Be sure to stop every once in a… – Robert Fontenot
Alcide 'Slow Drag' Pavageau, "Drag’s Half Fast Band" (GHB Records)
Bassist Alcide “Slow Drag” Pavageau, a New Orleans native born in 1888, was best known as a sideman and for his… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, "Seeing Is Believing" (Severn)
Sugar Ray Norcia has been a fixture on the New England blues scene since the ’70s. This, his seventh album for… – Jeff Hannusch
Kettle Black, "4.28.16" (Independent)
Keith Burnstein, transplanted New Yorker and lead singer-songwriter of this smooth PBR&B jam band, sings a lot like Dr. John in… – Robert Fontenot
Louie Ludwig, "I Got Nothin to Say" (Zzi Music)
The song “Blame It on the Storm” was reviewed here not that long ago (by yours truly), but the rest of… – Robert Fontenot
James Martin, "Something’s Gotta Give" (Independent)
“It ain’t nothing you don’t already know,” singer/saxophonist James Martin declares at the start of this disc. And musically speaking, he’s… – Brett Milano

Plan A

A Guide to Holiday Events in the New Orleans Area
During the month of December, Christmas New Orleans Style events take place across the city, including Reveillon dinners, concerts, visits from… – OffBeat Magazine