May 2016

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BackTalk

Harold Brown
It’s been a long time since the very funky Lowrider Band, which takes the stage at the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo at… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Cover Story

Sound On Sound: Aurora Nealand Has Always Been a Bit of an Enigma
I have a vivid memory of Aurora Nealand from three Jazz Fests ago. She and her band, the Royal Roses, were playing… – Brett Milano

Features

Let It Go: Baton Rouge’s Minos the Saint's Musical Democracy
Minos the Saint pairs Peter Simon’s rule-breaking songwriting with upbeat, pop-orchestral arrangements. French horn, two trombones, violin, mandolin, accordion, keyboards and… – John Wirt
Independent Filmmaker Robert Mugge Is Flying High
It’s easy to see why filmmaker Robert Mugge is flying high these days. Five of his films, including The Kingdom of… – Dan Willging
Seoul Singer: Miss Sophie Lee Expands Her Palate as a Singer, Songwriter and Restaurateur
Miss Sophie Lee does a lot of dreaming nowadays—a lot of the songs on her new disc, Traverse This Universe, were… – Brett Milano
Ease On Down: It's Bayou Boogaloo Time
The Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo was launched after Hurricane Katrina. Like many others neighborhoods facing an uncertain future, Festival Director Jared Zeller… – OffBeat Staff
Out of the Norm: Johnny Vidacovich’s Fun Times with Nolatet
Reclining on the back seat of a van is apparently Johnny Vidacovich’s preferred position while on the road with Nolatet. That’s… – Geraldine Wyckoff

Fresh

Crawfish Tracks
Louisiana never seems to tire of crawfish songs, and there’s plenty of excuses to play them at this time of year,… – Brett Milano
My Music: Dave Easley
“I like doing everything from solo to playing with however many people show up. You are kind of all by yourself solo,… – Frank Etheridge
2016 Jazz Hero Award: Germaine Bazzle
The New Orleans chapter of the Jazz Journalists Association honored vocalist and veteran music educator Germaine Bazzle with the 2016 JJA… – OffBeat Magazine
Five Questions with Dennis Deboisblanc, Chair of the Fifth Annual Crawfish Mambo
How and why did you become involved for the past two years as chairman of the Crawfish Mambo? I got involved… – Frank Etheridge

In The Spirit

Chris McMillian at Revel
“I’ve always looked for music for the bars I’ve worked in. Stumbled across Nellie Lutcher and she was one of the… – Elsa Hahne

Letters

May 2016 Letters to OffBeat Magazine
CAPTURING INDIANS This letter is in response to Noé Cugny’s web post “LEH to host ‘Culture of Capture’” discussing fair usage… – OffBeat Readers

Mojo Mouth

Continuing OffBeat’s Legacy?
This is probably a weird time to talk about this, but in the last few months, so many people have passed… – Jan Ramsey

OffBeat Eats

Eat Street: The resurgence of Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard
When the St. Roch Market opened in 2015, Councilmember-at-Large Jason Williams heralded the Landrieu administration capital project for “providing a necessary… – Jennifer Odell

Dining Out

Coquette
Experienced restaurateurs will tell you that the three most important ingredients to a restaurant’s success are the same as the three… – Peter Thriffiley

The Spot

Dancing Man Hits the Spot
How often do you come here? I come here since the new ownership. It used to be La Peniche and I… – Elsa Hahne

Reviews

Leroy Jones, I’m Talkin’ Bout New Orleans (Independent)
The first and title cut of trumpeter Leroy Jones’ latest CD, I’m Talkin’ Bout New Orleans, immediately lifts one’s spirits with… – Geraldine Wyckoff
REWIND: Marcia Ball, Gatorhythms (Rounder)
Marcia Ball presses rewind on her 1989 album, Gatorhythms. "My songwriting seemed to coalesce on this album—it was the first one… – Brett Milano
Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses, Comeback Children (Independent)
It’s odd to hear master pianist/bandleader Duke Ellington’s “Jump for Joy” as a dirge. On Comeback Children’s first cut, it sounds… – Geraldine Wyckoff
Chick Corea and Béla Fleck, Two (Stretch Records)
This live double album by two of the music world’s biggest non-pop stars is a substantial follow-up to their 2007 disc… – Tom McDermott
Burnhouse, "Burnhouse" (Independent)
Bands that attempt to synthesize the past couple of decades of cock-rock, as these guys do, usually depend on either a… – Robert Fontenot
Jeff Chaz, Sounds Like the Blues to Me (JCP Records)
A French Quarter fixture known for marathon gigs, Jeff Chaz achieves a career milestone here that’s primarily due to having ample… – Dan Willging
Michael Juan Nunez, Rise (ParishLine)
It would be very easy to label Michael Juan Nunez’s Rise a blues album. After all, it was recorded over a… – Nick Pittman
Eric Lindell, Matters of the Heart (Red Parlor Records)
The period between 1969-1973 was the age of universal soul: authentic black gospel was in the Top 40, swamp-rock proved… – Robert Fontenot