Long before his trademark howl echoed in the Crescent City’s streets, Walter “Wolfman” Washington was a hungry, young guitarist cutting his teeth on the Dew Drop Inn stage. In the mid-Sixties, he fell in line with New Orleans soul-funk pioneer Lee Dorsey and found his strut, stirring “Ride Your Pony’s” slinky groove with his stinging strum. Following his stint with Dorsey, Washington would go on to run with the Soul Queen of New Orleans. But it wasn’t until his tenure with soulman Johnny Adams that the Wolfman honed his chops. At the height of his prowess, Washington reeled off five solo albums between 1986 and 1991, fronting his longstanding outfit the Roadmasters along the way. Following Hurricane Katrina, Washington joined forces with B-3 bluesman Joe Krown and funky drummer Russell Batiste.

Since, the seasoned trio’s ongoing Sunday-night gig at the Maple Leaf has established itself among the city’s finest. For Washington, the impromptu collaboration’s maturation into a formidable partnership harks back to the lessons of his youth. “To me he (Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown) was the shepherd I needed to understand why I chose [to play the] guitar,” he says describing his rationale for taking up Krown’s — the late Brown’s longtime keyboardist — offer to jam with him and Batiste. Of the group’s fiery blend of urban soul, Big Easy funk and spicy R&B, Washington notes, “It brought me back to the time when I was playing at the Dew Drop way back in the Sixties.” With a new album with Krown and Batiste released this week, two more in the works and three Jazz Fest shows this weekend (with Irene Sage on Friday, Krown and Batiste on Saturday, and the Roadmasters on Sunday), the 70-year-old New Orleans icon is still on the prowl. Tune in below to hear his tale…