Every era in New Orleans seems to produce at least one person who by looks, style, and general demeanor comes to represent to the world just what New Orleans jazz is all about. For our generation, Uncle Lionel Baptiste has come to be that person.

Slender, soulful, and dapper, there are probably more souvenir snapshots of Uncle Lionel kicking around in photo albums from Brazil to Botswana to Bulgaria than just about anyone else on the New Orleans scene—even including Andrew Jackson AND his horse. What an inspired idea this CD is—two wonderful reed players, Evan Christopher and Tom Fisher, two terrific guitars, Steve Blailock and Lars Edegran, and the just right bass accompaniment of Mark Brooks. No drums or even keyboards here—nothing else to take our attention away from the lovely lilting voice of Uncle Lionel himself. You may have heard just a bit of Lionel under less than ideal conditions—like when it’s his voice acoustically up against the entire Tremé Brass Band—so if you’ve ever wondered if the man can really sing, wonder no more. It’s all here in a lovely collection of laid back offbeat tunes ranging from jazz standards to swing classics to Stephen Foster.