Spike Perkins is a journeyman bass player and has remained active on the scene in New Orleans for decades. He is adept in a variety of styles and showcases several of them on his new recording, Up in Carrollton.

Over the years, one of his longest associations was with the legendary but locally under- recognized saxophonist Jerry Jumonville. The album, which is dedicated to Jumonville and Perkins’ longtime partner, Martha “Marty” Eler, is a requiem of sorts for a musician who left a huge mark on the national music scene. I mean huge! Go ahead and Google him.

Jumonville passed away in December 2019, but his fingerprints are all over this album. He composed the music and arranged the horns on the first cut, “Dr. Deadbolt,” a wryly humorous song with lyrics by Perkins: Dr. Deadbolt, you think you’re mighty smart \ the way you lock me out of your heart is tearing me apart.

Jumonville displays his mighty tenor on a rollicking solo on the cut, which is sung like three other cuts on the disc, by the effervescent vocalist Meryl Zimmerman. Amasa Miller, another great journeyman player in the city, takes a stellar piano solo and Perkins follows him with a woody excursion up the neck of the bass.

Perkins composed the words and music on the next three cuts on the album and takes the lead vocal on the title cut. It features the most personal lyrics on the album, delineating the life of a musician living in the Carrollton neighborhood. It will ring true to the denizens of the Maple Leaf Bar.
The final cut will cue the memories of some of those denizens of an older pedigree. It was written by guitarist Red Priest and was a standout in the repertoire of the sorely missed band, the Songdogs. He plays guitar on the cut, and it also features Alison Young from the band on backing vocals.

While short enough to be considered an EP, Perkins has crafted a perfect vehicle to connect his musical passions, his musical friends and the bittersweet world of a lifer musician in New Orleans.