May 2005

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Cover Story

The Meters Are Right On Time
“A lot of people don’t know who the Meters are, but they sure know the songs.”—Leo Nocentelli Saturday, April 23,… – John Swenson

BackTalk

Brian Wilson
It may seem odd, and rather unlikely to more than a few New Orleans Jazz Festival aficionados that Brian Wilson, the… – H. Andrew Schwartz

Features

Fest Focus: McCoy Tyner
– Geraldine Wyckoff
Fest Focus: James Singleton
– Bunny Matthews
Fest Focus: Glass House Reunion
– Geraldine Wyckoff
Fest Focus: Michael Murphy
– John Swenson
Fest Focus: Swamp Pop Summit
– Michael Hurtt
Fest Focus: Wilco
– Cree McCree
Fest Focus: Drums & Tuba
– James Bailey
Fest Focus: Maggie Warwick
– Michael Hurtt
Fest Focus: Teedy & Umami
– David Kunian
Fest Focus: Curtis Fuller
– Geraldine Wyckoff
Fest Focus: Shirley Caesar
– Geraldine Wyckoff
Fest Focus: Ozomatli
– Robert Fontenot
Fest Focus: Bernard Allison
– Robert Fontenot
Fest Focus: Goldman Thibodeaux
– Dan Willging
Fest Focus: Pfister Sisters
– Steve Steinberg
Fest Focus: Belton Richard
– Michael Hurtt
Fest Focus: Buddy Guy
Saturday, April 23, Sprint/Sanyo Stage, 3:40 p.m. “You put a record out and if don’t nobody buy it, you won’t… – Diane Gershuny Fleming
Fest Focus: Old Crow Medicine Show
– Christopher Blagg
Fest Focus: Nancy Ochsenschlager
– Geraldine Wyckoff
Fest Focus: The Boogie Kings
– Michael Hurtt
Fest Focus: Ike Turner
– Michael Hurtt
Fest Focus: Frederick "Toots" Hibbert
– Michael Jastroch
Fest Focus: Little Freddie King
– Robert Fontenot
Fest Focus: Clancy "Blues Boy" Lewis and Sheba Kimbrough
– Geraldine Wyckoff
Masters of Louisiana Music: Dave Bartholomew
Without Dave Bartholomew’s production, songs and band, Fats Domino would’ve never guaranteed New Orleans’ spot on the eternal map of rock… – Michael Hurtt

Jazzin'

Kidd's Kids
“I always wanted to do something that showcased everybody because we have so many people in my family who play on… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Bayou Boogie

Keith Frank Gets Fresh
A little five-year-old voice jumps out at the beginning of cut number five of Keith Frank’s new CD, Going To See… – Herman Fuselier

Bluesworthy

Spirit in the Steel
“Our music and sacred steel music has always been about the congregation, and right now the congregation is starting to be… – Marc Stone

Dis 'n' Dat

Marble Cake
“After putting out music and having your band fall apart, there’s something to be said for going somewhere different and starting… – Michael Jastroch

Feed Me Something, Mister

Serving Something To Talk About
It would be hard to prove that New Orleanians are naturally any friendlier than people elsewhere, but I do know for… – Ian McNulty

Hidden Charms

The Other Chili Peppers
If there’s a singular source of pioneering Pachuco artistry that laid the groundwork for every Latino rock ‘n’ roll band from… – Michael Hurtt

Alt NO

Cum On Feel the Noise
I've always jokingly typed “Jazz(zzz)fest.” But as my girlfriend commented while reading this year’s line-up, “Dave Matthews and Nelly? They should… – Michael Patrick Welch

Letters

Letters May 2005
A STRONG MUSIC COMMUNITY I just wanted to drop you a note from a grateful New Orleans band to say thank… – OffBeat Readers

Mojo Mouth

Pass the Curmudgeons
I may be old (never, in my mind, anyway), and I may be jaded, but I still love the Jazz Fest.… – Jan Ramsey

St. Rock

You Say Tomatoes
– Jeremy J. Deibel

Reviews

Al Allen, The Fabulous Guitar of Al Allen (Woodward)
Best known for his lead guitar work with rock ‘n’ roll legend Jack Scott, Allen frequently lent his talents to sessions… – Michael Hurtt
Arch Hall, Jr. and the Archers, Wild Guitar! (Norton)
I’ve only go three words for this release: Oh yeah, baby. Scheduled to make his first stage appearance in over 40… – Michael Hurtt
Nathan Abshire & the Pinegrove Boys, Nathan Abshire & the Pinegrove Boys (Fais Do Do Records)
It’s about time. If Swallow and Arhoolie are reissuing their prized legacy stuff, it only makes sense that Jay Miller’s Kajun… – Dan Willging
Tom McDermott, Choro do Norte (STR Digital Records)
Tom McDermott and his frequent partner Evan Christopher are two of the most creative and forward looking jazz musicians in New… – Steve Steinberg
Clifton Chenier, Louisiana Blues and Zydeco (Arhoolie)
Clifton Chenier first rose to national prominence in 1955 with his R&B hit “Ay Tete Fee.” Nearly a decade later the… – Dan Willging
Hunter Logan, Betty Jean (HLE Records)
First it was guitar-driven swamp pop, then it was a sequencer-stacked solo act. After a five-year recording hiatus, Hunter Logan returns… – Dan Willging
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, This Is the Dirty Dozen Brass Band Collection (Shout! Factory)
– Geraldine Wyckoff
James Blood Ulmer, Birthright (Hyena Records)
In the press release for this CD, Hyena rather puckishly refers to it as “James Blood Ulmer’s first solo album,” possibly… – Robert Fontenot
Drew Rice, Uncharted Waters (Independent)
The 13 songs on Drew Rice’s debut CD, Uncharted Waters, hints at his bayou upbringing, and though his heart maybe Cajun,… – Brenda Lee Kozuch
Paul Reddick, Villanelle (NorthernBlues Music)
Paul Reddick’s Villanelle is one of those records that just grows on you and keeps the listener interested on several levels.… – Michael Dominici
Various Artists, Funky Funky New Orleans: Vol. 5 (Funky Delicacies)
This latest in the series of rare funk releases on Tuff City’s Funky Delicacies imprint shows that the vast reserve of… – Robert Fontenot
George Porter's Joy Ride, Searching for a Joy Ride (Night Train)
It’s 1980, and George Porter, Jr., already one of the world’s most celebrated bassists and part architect of the famous Meters… – Robert Fontenot
Kevin Louis, Loved Ones (Independent)
Trumpeter Kevin Louis makes a strong opening statement on his recording debut as leader. The New Orleans native and New Orleans… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Pleasures of Zero, Pleasures of Zero (Nocturnal)
Pleasures Of Zero specialize in goth-metal, and while that sub-genre usually brings connotations of absolute doom and gloom, their debut EP… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Jimbo Mathus, Knockdown South (Knockdown South Records)
This white Clarksdale native uses the nebulous phrase “Mississippi Music” to answer that age-old interviewer question: what are your influences? It… – Robert Fontenot
Shotgun House, Shotgun House (Independent)
New Orleans doesn’t have much of a Delta blues tradition. That would be musically and geographically anomalous, not to mention weird.… – Robert Fontenot
The Band That Fell To Earth, Greetings from the Land of Carbon (Independent)
And I was expecting glam rock from a band that gets its name from a David Bowie movie! The Band That… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Tommy Emmanuel, Endless Road (Favored Nations Acoustic)
– Robert Fontenot
Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band, Going To See Keith Frank (Soulwood Records)
By now Keith Frank could belch on a CD and his devotees would faint in ecstasy. While, at this point, it’d… – Dan Willging
Fall From Eden, Fall From Eden (Nocturnal)
When a band releases its debut album as a two-CD set, it makes you wonder what high concept, message, or musical… – Jeremy J. Deibel
The Meters, Zony Mash (Sundazed)
“You don’t need to go to James Brown!” Art Neville, who’s just introduced himself as “Art The Grinder,” is leading the… – Michael Hurtt
Ellis Marsalis Quartet, An Evening with the Ellis Marsalis Quartet (ELM)
This recording of the Ellis Marsalis Quartet captured live at Snug Harbor represents a typical Friday night set at the Frenchmen… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Kirk Joseph's Backyard Groove, Sousafunk Ave. (Audible Vision)
Sousaphonist Kirk Joseph puts his solitary mark on the hard-driving opener, “Backyard Groove.” He and guest, saxophonist Donald Harrison, who lays… – Geraldine Wyckoff
The Blackfire Revelation, Gold and Guns on 51 (Southern Reconstruction Records)
You might call this pair of locals a power duo—Soundgarden using the White Stripes’ modus operandi, the kind of band that… – Robert Fontenot
Stover, Stover (Independent)
After years playing in some of this town’s more interesting roots-rock bands (Bad Mayo, Schatzy, and the Fessters), it makes sense… – Robert Fontenot
Troy "Trombone" Shorty Andrews & Orleans Avenue, Orleans & Claiborne (Treme Records)
– Geraldine Wyckoff
The Troy Andrews Quintet, The End of the Beginning (Treme Records)
When people would ask Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews what genre of music he wanted to play, his answer, he said in… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Supragroup, Rules (Foodchain)
The brothers Lee and company score again with another set of loud, raunchy anthems that celebrate rock ‘n’ roll and the… – Jeremy J. Deibel
Roland Guerin, Groove, Swing & Harmony II (Jazz Maniacs)
Bassist Roland Guerin’s second installment exploring Groove, Swing & Harmony gets off to a sunny start. Saxophonist Quamon Fowler sets the… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Dennis Stroughmatt & Creole Stomp, Creole Stranger (Maison de Soul)
Other than his Teutonic bloodlines and Midwest upbringing, Dennis Stroughmatt is as Creole as they come. While that’s a tongue-in-cheek remark… – Dan Willging
Corey Harris, Daily Bread (Rounder)
Most artists who take a spiritual journey back to their homeland usually return with a somewhat bowdlerized version of their ancestry—they… – Robert Fontenot
Mem Shannon & the Membership, I'm From Phunkville (NorthernBlues Music)
As most of you no doubt know by now, Mem spent many years a cab driver in the Quarter, and he… – Robert Fontenot
Kim Prevost & Billy Solley, Just In Time (Enthropya Records)
This is Kim Prevost and Bill Solley doing what they do best—a dazzling array of skillfully crafted, technically flawless vocal/guitar duets… – Steve Steinberg
Kermit Ruffins with the Rebirth Brass Band, Throwback (Basin Street Records)
Some albums might sound like a group is having a bunch of fun. With the meeting of Kermit Ruffins and his… – Geraldine Wyckoff