June 2005

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BackTalk

Buckwheat Zydeco
“I’m music-crazy. I learned by ear, so what I hear, I play. If it’s complicated to me, I know how to… – Herman Fuselier

Bluesworthy

No Borders for Vasti
“I don’t smoke crack, I don’t get high, I ain’t into sports. Music is what I do. The core of it… – Marc Stone

Bookmark

Django: The Life and Music of a Gypsy Legend
Although France may have only produced two jazz musicians of real genius, those two musicians alone give France pretty respectable bragging… – John Radanovich

Cover Story

Around the Clock with Kermit Ruffins
“I have to light up the rainy day grill,” observes Kermit Ruffins on a cool, wet Wednesday morning in early April.… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Dis 'n' Dat

The Big Con
“The real danger of [sound engineering] is that it just becomes focused on the equipment and the gear. It’s like having… – Michael Jastroch

Features

Holy Trinity: Paul Prudhomme
CHEF PAUL PRUDHOMME Without a doubt, Chef Paul Prudhomme is the most famous Cajun cook in the world—scratch that, the most… – Bunny Matthews
Holy Trinity: Susan Spicer
Since beginning her cooking career as an apprentice to Chef Daniel Bonnot at the Louis XVI Restaurant in 1979, Susan Spicer… – Bunny Matthews
Ponderosa Stomp Redux
– OffBeat Staff
2005 Jazz Fest Redux
The 36th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was blessed with six days of unbelievably perfect weather, with only one… – OffBeat Staff

Jazzin'

Miller's a Team Player
Two nights’ worth of sets by pianist Mulgrew Miller with his trio, bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Karriem Riggins, were recorded… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Letters

Letters June 2005
KIDS’ WORK Thank you for including Michael Welch’s article about working with the children enrolled in the My House Center for… – OffBeat Readers

Live Wire

B-3 Organ Summit
For a moment during Mo’ Fest’s B-3 Organ Summit, one could imagine that they were onboard the Riverboat President partying down… – Geraldine Wyckoff
The Black Keys
Straight out of Akron, Ohio, the Black Keys brought their road tested stage show to TwiRoPa as a sort of wind-down… – David Kunian
The Plowboys and the Bush Hogs
The Bush Hogs are such an unbelievably great band that it’s absolutely heartbreaking that A) They don’t play more often than… – Michael Hurtt

Mojo Mouth

The Power of Music
The staff at OffBeat works hard to get all our publications to you; sometimes we’re here ’til late at night, very… – Jan Ramsey

Obituaries

Obituary: John Fred
– OffBeat Staff

OffBeat Eats

Bone Apetit (New Orleans Barbecue)
– Ian McNulty

Reviews

Terence Blanchard, Flow (Blue Note)
Attendees of Terence Blanchard’s Jazz Fest set got a preview of this outstanding effort by the trumpeter and his solid band.… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Spencer Bohren
With recent releases from Dan Treanor, Frankie Lee and Corey Harris, the exploratory theme of the New World-to-Africa blues odyssey is… – Dan Willging
Brian Stoltz: Masters of War
The record review section is no place for political discourse. And, some would argue, neither is the record bin. Former… – Robert Fontenot
Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners
Rarely is the race issue explored in zydeco. Terrance Simien and Horace Trahan broached the topic with “There’s Room For All,”… – Dan Willging
Big Red & the Zydeco Playmakers
If ya think zydeco never changes its stripes, check again. Big Red doesn’t have 17 generations of Creole ancestry behind him… – Dan Willging
Warren Battiste
The first sweet notes struck by guitarist Warren Battiste set the tone and mood of Just Friends. The tune is Erroll… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Corrosion of Conformity
The difference between Stanton Moore, drummer for funk-rock band Galactic, and Stanton Moore, drummer for heavy metal band Corrosion of Conformity,… – Bunny Matthews
Suplecs
The art of the great hard rock guitar riff seems to have gone the way of the buffalo. Most metal bands… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Chef Menteur
All-instrumental locals Chef Menteur remind me of what the Flaming Lips or Radiohead would sound like if they silenced their plaintive… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Paul Soniat
As the title and the title track would indicate, this CD is a paean to the artist’s hometown. With such additional… – Dean M. Shapiro
John Rankin
John Rankin employs seven different guitars, harmonica and vocals to evoke and pay homage to artists who have filled his—and our—life… – Geraldine Wyckoff
The Bradford Truby Trio
Some very good straight ahead modern jazz from a trio of young musicians who obviously know what they’re doing. The opening… – Steve Steinberg
Buckwheat Zydeco
In 1997, Buckwheat Zydeco nailed one of his best recordings ever and for what? Maybe it was the disc’s ominously christened… – Dan Willging
Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes
Pain, Pleasure, Fear, and Opera, the latest recording from local band Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, is a conceptual leap… – David Kunian
Tin Men
Only in New Orleans could an album featuring jazz guitar, washboard, and tuba—and those instruments only, save for an occasional short-order… – Robert Fontenot
Little Freddie King
He plays hypnotic, repetitive, sometimes atonal blues on a pawnshop guitar. His songs are simple, loose, unstructured, cantankerous, and happily unenlightened… – Robert Fontenot
Red Stick Ramblers, Right Key Wrong Keyhole
When you’re a rambler,” Lost Bayou Ramblers’ Louie Michot once noted, “You’ve got to ramble.” Such a prophetic adage also holds… – Dan Willging
C-Murder, The Truest $%#@! Ever Said (Koch)
This is, of course, the CD that’s been grabbing all the headlines, the one that convicted murderer (and, oh yeah, rapper)… – Robert Fontenot