To a certain extent, it’s true: New Orleans food doesn’t taste quite the same outside New Orleans, and New Orleans music doesn’t have quite the same sound when removed from its water-laden confines in the Crescent City.
All of which makes this live, high-spirited recording from the Cafe Bopa in Copenhagen that much more remarkable: pianist and vocalist Esben Just, bassist S.P., and drummer Soren Frost (augmented by an admirable horn section) kick ass like they’ve been chowing down on red beans and rice all their lives.
Doubt it? Just take a listen to the band’s extended take on ‘Iko Iko” complete with an interlude of “My Big Chief Wears a Golden Crown,” or their rippling treatment at Fats Domino’s unjustly neglected “One for the Highway,” or even the fiercely syncopated “Hey Pocky Way” that closes the set. They’ve even got the choice of cover tunes right, bringing Chuck Berry’s Louisiana tribute “You Never Can Tell” into the fold, including the most up-to-date hits with James Andrews’ recent “New Love Thing,” and justly linking James Taylor’s “Bartender’s Blues” to the genre. Of course, the three didn’t simply manufacture this affinity from the thin Nordic air.
Drummer Frost has become a frequent sideman for New Orleans songstress Lillian Boutte on her regular European tours (what a shame we hardly ever get to hear her in her hometown) and on his extended trips to the city has been warmly welcomed into the circle of homie musicians, even receiving the Mardi Gras Indian nickname ‘Blackfoot.’
Pianist Esben Just also has been spending long sojourns here, showing up at a variety of gigs all around town, and last year helped bring an admirable contingent of New Orleans musicians (Astral Project, Henry Butler, Jon Cleary, Tom McDermott) to Copenhagen for a week-long Crescent City symposium.
New Orleans purists surely will discern a decidedly Danish tilt to Just’s vocals, but given the band’s supercharged momentum and the delirious party atmosphere pervading the proceedings, he does a fine job of leading the band through the lyrical content.
Vocals aside, what these boys get right, the intangibles, is what most often separates the real deal from the wannabes. Close your eyes and this spirited celebration will transport you to the heart of the New Orleans street-beat scene, even if you already live here.
