A rough guide to new New Orleans CDs

By Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune

The annual springtime avalanche of new New Orleans music did not disappoint this year, as artists hustled to release new products in time for the New Orleans Jazz Fest. The following is an alphabetical overview of notable new releases this season.

Theresa Andersson, Street Parade, Basin Street Records | Review
The New Orleans-by-way-of-Sweden singer, songwriter and violinist orchestrates another collection of lush, sometimes ethereal pop.

Glen David Andrews, Live at Three Muses, GDA Music Group
The charismatic trombonist and singer sought to capture the energy of his live shows by recording a typically eclectic, sweaty set of gospel/blues on Frenchmen Street.

Tab Benoit, Legacy: The Best of Tab Benoit, Telarc
Drawn from the south Louisiana guitarist's previous releases, this collection includes his takes on songs by Otis Redding, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Buddy Miller and his pals in Louisiana LeRoux.

Mia Borders, Wherever There Is, Independent
The blues/rock/soul singer, guitarist and songwriter considers "Wherever There Is" to be her first full-length, full-blown album.

John Boutte, All About Everything, Independent
The bantamweight gospel and jazz singer, best known for "Treme Song," covers classics by Leonard Cohen ("Hallelujah") and Billy Strayhorn ("Lush Life") alongside new or little-known compositions by Allen Toussaint, Alex McMurray and Paul Sanchez.

Evan Christopher, Clarinet Road Vol. III: In Sidney's Footsteps, STR Digital Records
The adventurous jazz clarinetist continues his "Clarinet Road" series with a set inspired by Sidney Bechet.

Jon Cleary, Occapella, Fhq Records | Review
The ever-tasteful funk and R&B keyboardist and singer reimagines songs from the Allen Toussaint catalog. Highlights include a spooky "Southern Nights," a solo piano "Fortune Teller" and the a cappella title track.

Debbie Davis, It's Not the Years, It's the Miles, Threadhead Records
The Pfister Sister and an extensive musical cast that includes her husband, bassist and sousaphonist Matt Perrine, cover songs by local tunesmiths Alex McMurray -- he wrote the title track -- and Paul Sanchez and recording engineer Mark Bingham. Davis and pianist Bobby Lounge tear up the 1920s-era blues "Trouble in Mind." She and Perrine also arrange covers of songs by Amy Winehouse ("You Know I'm No Good"), the Beatles ("Things We Said Today") and Irving Berlin ("You'd Be Surprised").

Kristin Diable, Kristin Diable & the City, Speakeasy Records
One of the city's stars-in-waiting, Diable deploys a sensuous, smoky voice on a crisply produced set of languid Americana music, all of it written by her.

Ani DiFranco, Which Side Are You On?, Righteous Babe Records
An adopted New Orleanian, DiFranco steps out on a typically engaged program informed by such locals as Cyril and Ivan Neville, Derrick Tabb, Mark Mullins, Matt Perrine and her husband/producer, Mike Napolitano.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Twenty Dozen, Savoy Jazz
The 35-years-young Dirty Dozen kicks brass on original compositions, Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" and such standards as "Paul Barbarin's Second Line," "E-Flat Blues" and "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Dr. John, Locked Down, Nonesuch | Review
Dr. John is reborn courtesy of "Locked Down" producer Dan Auerbach, best known as the Black Keys' guitarist. Auerbach assembled a simpatico young band and persuaded Dr. John to play only keyboards -- no piano. The result is the best Dr. John album in years.

Galactic, Carnivale Electricos, Anti- Records | Review
The forward-thinking nouveau funk band transports Carnival music from Brazil to New Orleans -- including guest Al Johnson's classic "Carnival Time" -- back to the future with loops, samples and other sound effects.

Gypsyphonic Disko, NOLAphonic Vol 2, Independent
The second release by Galactic saxophonist Ben Ellman's side project is another mash-up of Eastern European gypsy music and New Orleans bounce rap.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, Look Out Mama, Born to Win
The country/folk/Americana ensemble deploys acoustic guitars, fiddle, harmonica, piano, bass and drums in support of former street singer Alynda Lee Segarra's come-hither contralto. "What's Wrong With Me?" sounds like a lost slow dance beamed in from a 1962 prom.

The Iguanas, Sin to Sin, PFAM
The city's long-running Latin/rhythm & blues dance band breaks a multiyear recording hiatus to range from the nimble sax and cantina groove of "Oye Mi Cumbia" to the rocked-out electric guitars of "Waiting for My Gin to Hit Me."

Little Freddie King, Chasing Tha Blues, MadeWright Records
King's latest audio journal features tales of misadventure set to his rough-hewn style of electric blues guitar, with accompaniment from his road-tested band and guest guitarist Greg Schatz.

Joe Krown, Exposed, Independent
The keyboardist steps away from his trio for an album of solo piano. He covers the Big Three of New Orleans piano -- Professor Longhair, James Booker and Allen Toussaint -- but mostly ruminates on original material.

Eric Lindell, I Still Love You, Sparco Records
A brand-new collection from the prolific roots rock, blues 'n' boogie guitarist and songwriter, anchored by Marc Adams' piano and organ and Brad Walker's tenor saxophone.

Tom McDermott & Meschiya Lake, Live at Chickie Wah Wah, Independent
McDermott, a fluent and versatile pianist, and Lake, an equally versatile singer who can range well beyond her hot jazz base, capture their weekly duo gig on record.

Anders Osborne, Black Eye Galaxy, Alligator Records
Osborne's addiction and recovery continue to provide fodder for his amped-up guitar explorations, including the spacey, seven-plus minute "Mind of a Junkie."

Papa Grows Funk, Needle in the Groove, Independent
Allen Toussaint and Better Than Ezra bassist Tom Drummond split production duties on the dependably funky PGF's latest, and most consistent, original album.

Nicholas Payton, Bitches, In + Out Records
The jazz trumpeter abandons his signature sound and instrument to try singing R&B, with decidedly mixed results. The synthesizer, programmed beats and distorted voice of "By My Side" makes for a tough opening; Ne-Yo has nothing to fear. "Bitches" was originally available only as a download, but is now out on CD. Cassandra Wilson and Esperanza Spalding guest.

The Revivalists, City of Sound, Independent | Review
Galactic's Ben Ellman produced this poised and polished second album from the city's preeminent next-generation rock band.

Paul Sanchez & Colman DeKay, Nine Lives: A Musical Story of New Orleans, Threadhead/Mystery Street Records
Populated by scores of local musicians, the full 39-song, two-CD edition of the musical based on author Dan Baum's acclaimed New Orleans odyssey "Nine Lives" is now available.

Soul Rebels, Unlock Your Mind, Rounder Records

The Rebels are still a brass band at heart, but also rap or sing on several songs. They brass up originals and covers of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" and Lee Dorsey's "Night People." Cyril Neville and Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli guest.

Various artists, Treme: Music from the HBO Original Series, Vol.2, Rounder Records
Consisting of songs recorded live for the TV show, the second volume of "Treme" music features the Hot 8 and Rebirth brass bands, Jon Cleary, the Subdudes, the Radiators, the Iguanas, John Boutte, Tom McDermott, Kermit Ruffins, and Steve Riley paired with Steve Earle. Catch some of the cast and crew will be signing CDs and DVDs Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Book Tent.

Various artists, Ingrid Lucia Presents New Orleans Female Vocalists, American Brat Collaborations
Ingrid Lucia, Kristin Diable, Margie Perez, the Pfister Sisters, Linnzi Zaorski, Sarah Quintana, Trisha Boutte, Sophie Lee, Meschiya Lake, Vanessa "Gal Holiday" Niemann and Alexandra Scott, among others, contribute original recordings.

Dr. Michael White, Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Vol. 2, Basin Street Records
On his latest "Adventure," the traditional jazz clarinetist takes on such nontraditional fare as the Turtles' "Happy Together," Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee" and Hank Williams' "Jambalaya."

Kipori Woods, Blues Gone Wild, Louisiana Red Hot
Skip the cover of "Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On." The original material that follows better showcases the fireworks the local blues guitarist is capable of detonating.

NPR's Threadhead Records: A Musicians' Bank, Birthed On Message Boards

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Trumpeter Shamarr Allen, who has recorded both as a leader and sideman for Threadhead Records-funded projects, plays at the 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The Botanical Gardens in New Orleans City Park is a small jewel hidden behind a black iron fence. Statues of flutists and fauns stand beneath dripping Spanish moss, and walkways are lined with flowers in bloom.

On April 28, the doors to the Gardens were thrown open for Threadhead Thursday, a free concert on the night before this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The show featured some of Threadhead Records' top acts: Paul Sanchez, Shamarr Allen, the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, Ensemble Fatien and Alex McMurray. The event marked the arrival of the four-year-old company as one of the top record labels for New Orleans music today.

That arrival is all the more remarkable for being driven by a non-profit group of volunteers. They started as fans, basically — fans from all over the world who shared a love for New Orleans music and who met in the message boards on www.nojazzfest.com. As they sustained long online comment threads, they began to call themselves Threadheads, and made arrangements to meet in person at New Orleans' annual Jazz Fest.

But these were unusually proactive fans.

They weren't content to accept the shows that local promoters put together; they wanted to put on their own concerts. So in 2005, they hired the bands they wanted to hear and ordered the food they wanted to eat for the first annual Threadheads Party. After Katrina, the private party morphed into a fundraiser for the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic.

Having solved the problem of getting the shows they wanted to see, the Threadheads turned their attention to making the records they wanted to buy. At the 2007 party, after a knock-out set by Sanchez, a singer-songwriter, and jazz vocalist John Boutte, Threadhead Chris Joseph asked when the duo was going to release these songs on an album.

"It was an innocent question," Joseph said, chuckling at his own naiveté then about the record business. "Paul said, 'We would if we had the money.' This light bulb went off in my head, and I said, 'How much would it take?' I expected him to say $100,000, but when he said $10,000, I told him, 'I could raise that.' I knew all the Threadheads had been touched by the show, and I figured if they had enough money to go to Jazz Fest, which is not a cheap vacation, they would kick in some money for this."

It worked. The Threadheads raised enough money to make possible Boutte's Good Neighbor and Sanchez's Exit to Mystery Street, both released in 2008. Three years later, Threadhead Records has released 40 albums, including titles by Susan Cowsill (of the Continental Drifters and Cowsills), Glen David Andrews (of Trombone Shorty's Andrews family) and the Honey Island Swamp Band.

Read the rest of the story HERE.

Watch: Preview for Season 2 of Treme

Season 2 Preview

Download: "Nobody Knows Nothin'" (Proceeds Benefit GulfAid​.​org)

Featuring the Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Clint Maedgen and Threadhead Records artists John Boutté, Paul Sanchez, Susan Cowsill, Craig Klein, and Margie Perez

Written by: John Boutté, Bill Lynn and Paul Sanchez
Produced by: Ben Jaffe, Bill Lynn and Paul Sanchez


New Orleans, LA (July 8, 2010) – Coming off their successful collaboration with Mos Def and Lenny Kravitz that resulted in the popular Ain’t My Fault recording and video benefiting Gulf Aid, (gulfaid.org), Ben Jaffe, leader of the world famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Bill Lynn, professional fundraiser and master auctioneer, have teamed with singer/songwriters John Boutté and Paul Sanchez to write and produce another fundraising project through Threadhead Records called Nobody Knows Nothin’, also benefiting the organization Gulf Aid (gulfaid.org).

Along with a plethora of New Orleans talent including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Susan Cowsill, Craig Klein (Bonerama/New Orleans Nightcrawlers), Margie Perez (Ensemble Fatien), Gregory Menoher, and Mark McGrain, Jaffe, Lynn, Boutté and Sanchez gathered at the iconic Preservation Hall to record this musical response to the Gulf oil disaster. With Boutté (who is currently enjoying success from his wildly popular theme song from HBO’s Treme) handling the lead vocals, the song puts to music the frustration and despair surrounding the worst ecological disaster the country has known.

Says Bill Lynn, co-writer and co-producer of this effort:

"John, Paul, and I, all good neighborhood buddies, we’re hanging out watchin’ the news and “disaster talking” which we have all unfortunately mastered over the last almost 5 years. We know from experience that this talk leaves one angry, depressed, frozen, and confused and with an unhealthy dose of despair. It’s a peculiar thing, disaster talking. Once started, it almost takes on a hurricane like energy of its’ own. The conversation whirls about as everyone gushes and oozes out their emotions spinning wild projections of anger and the fear of the unknown. The three of us (and thousands of others) have all recently been there and done that almost (and in some cases) to death. Fortunately this time around we transferred this weird energy into a couple of I phone recording sessions. We played them for another good neighbor, Ben Jaffe. When asked if we could record this at Preservation Hall he immediately responded, “Only if I could play tuba!” Armed with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the sweet harmonies of the Rolling Threadhead Review, this is the result of our collective thoughts."

"To claim I am void of anger would be a bald face lie. However, this time around we have skipped the depressed, hopeless, frozen and confused part and have substituted it with the rock solid spirit and love that brought us back from the brink of Katrina’s almost total devastation. While there may be a whole bunch of people that proclaim or really don’t know nothing, without a doubt we do know our ability to not only survive but to thrive as well comes directly from the heart of the peo ple who love this place so very, very much."

To purchase the digital download of the song, and to help with the oil cleanup efforts, go to threadheadrecords.bandcamp.com. The song will also be available soon on iTunes.

About Gulf Aid: Gulf Aid (gulfaid.org) is a 501(c3) nonprofit corporation established in response to the biggest oil spill in US history just 50 miles off of the Louisiana Coast.

About Threadhead Records: Formed in 2007, Threadhead Records (THR) is an unprecedented fan-funded and volunteer-run record company formed out of the love for New Orleans and its music, and its musicians. Our mission is to help New Orleans musicians affected by the flooding that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of whom are still rebuilding today, and to expose the world to the amazing music that is being created in New Orleans.

Websites:
www.preservationhall.com/band
www.johnboutte.com
www.paulsanchez.com
www.margieperez.com
www.susancowsill.com
www.threadheadrecords.com
www.gulfaid.org

lyrics to John Boutte's Treme Song

c/o New Orleans Stuff

Lyrics to John Boutté - Treme Song

Theme song for the HBO show, Treme

Hangin' in the Treme
Watchin' people sashay
Past my steps
By my porch
In front of my door

Church bells are ringin'
Choirs are singing
While the preachers groan
And the sisters moan
In a blessed tone

Down in the Treme
Just me and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Down in the Treme
It's me and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Trumpet bells ringing
Bass drum is swinging
As the trombone groans
And the big horn moans
there's a saxophone

Down in the Treme
It's me and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Hangin' in the Treme
Watchin' people sashay
Past my steps
By my porch
In front of my door

Church bells are ringin'
Choirs are singing
While the preacher groans
And the sisters moan
In a blessed tone

Down in the Treme
It's and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Down in the Treme
It's and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Trumpet bells ringing
Bass drum is swinging
As the trombone groans
And the big horn moans
there's a saxophone

Down in the Treme
Just me and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Down in the Treme
Just me and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Down in the Treme
Just me and my baby
We're all going crazy
Buck jumping and having fun

Oooh

Slideshow: The Musicians 'Down in the Treme'

• 

Kermit Ruffins

Ruffins began playing the trumpet in the eighth grade, and he hasn't been able to put it down since. In the early 1980s, he co-founded the Rebirth Brass Band on the streets of the Treme neighborhood, where they eventually became the house band at the Glass House in New Orleans. Known for always cooking barbeque at his shows, Ruffins founded the Barbeque Swingers in 1993, a group that has played at popular bars all over the Big Easy. The show's creator, David Simon, consulted with Ruffins as he developed the series.

Preservation Hall presents MIDNIGHT PRESERVES 2010

PRESERVATION HALL CELEBRATES

JAZZ FEST 2010 WITH

SIXTH ANNUAL MIDNIGHT PRESERVES SERIES

April 23 - May 1, 2010, New Orleans:Preservation Hall is proud to announce the return of Midnight Preserves, the popular late-night Jazz Fest music series hosted by the world-renowned home of Traditional New Orleans Jazz. Now in its sixth year, Midnight Preserves offers music fans the opportunity to experience performances from emerging and legendary New Orleans artists in an intimate, small-venue setting. Tickets are now on sale viaticketweb.com. Performers include Luke Winslow-King, The Loose Marbles, Treme Brass Band, John Boutte, Paul Sanchez, and a very special performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band featuring the members of stadium-filling American rock band My Morning Jacket. Ticket sales will be limited for these intimate performances, so order in advance!

Friday, April 23, 11:30pm:

Luke Winslow-King (12:45am) plus Loose Marbles (11:45pm) /
$15 advance - $20 at door

Originally hailing from Cadillac Michigan, Luke Winslow-King is an emerging New Orleans singer, songsmith, and composer inspired by traditional jazz, rock, ragtime, impressionism, delta and country blues, folk, and classical music whose most recent album, “Old/New Baby” was recorded in the Hall!

Loose Marbles is a young, emerging, traditional New Orleans Jazz Band led by clarinetist Michael Magro. Described by the New Yorker as “ a sort of Amalgamated Jazz Corporation that creates subsidiaries around the city, to maximize tips and minimize boredom. The fifteen musicians play clarinet, trumpet, banjo, washboard, accordion, trombone, guitars, sousaphone, standup bass, and guitars, but you’re likely to see only seven or eight performers at any given gig. And since you rarely see the same configuration of instruments twice in a row, you rarely hear the same kind of jazz.” ~www.newyorker.com

Saturday, April 24, 11:30pm:

Preservation Hall Jazz Band with special guests My Morning Jacket /
$100 (very limited ticket sales)

Inspired by MMJ front-man Jim James’ collaboration with PHJB on their recently released PRESERVATION benefit album, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and My Morning Jacket will be touring together from April 20 through May 2. Please join these two amazing bands for a collaborative acoustic performance in the room where it all started. Portion of the proceeds will benefit The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program.

Friday, April 30, 11:30pm

Treme Brass Band featuring Benny Jones & Uncle Lionel Batiste

$15 advance - $20 at door

The Treme Brass Band is a marching brass band from New Orleans, Louisiana led by snare drummer Benny Jones, Sr. and featuring the face of the official 2010 Jazz Fest Congo Square poster, Lionel Batiste on bass drum. The band takes its name from New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood on the outskirts of the French Quarter, birthplace and home of many generations of New Orleans’ finest jazz musicians, and will soon be featured in the upcoming HBO series of the same name.

Saturday, May 1, 11:30pm

John Boutte and Paul Sanchez / $15 advance - $20 at door

Born in New Orleans on the same day in the same year, Boutte and Sanchez both have a deep love of the city, its people and traditions. Be it John Boutte’s vocal explorations of New Orleans jazz, soul, blues and gospel, or Paul Sanchez’s singer-songwriter explorations through such projects as his former band Cowboy Mouth, both artists’ songwriting has been deeply informed by the culture and traditions of their home town.

NolaFunk Audio Lagniappe

Burning Wood's "BOBBY CHARLES" : The Weekend Mix

Home of the Groove's Two More From Toussaint

Burning Wood's The Complete Booker/Neville Tape : "THE WEEKEND MIX"

Home of the Groove's James Rivers: It Ain't Over Yet

Offbeat Podcast: John Boutte




Burning Wood's (the original) The River In Reverse

Audio Archive – 12/08/09 – Simon Lott’s Another Day Will Happen



Offbeat Podcast: Big Rock Candy Mountain:

Galactic: A Typical Serving May Include Drums, Bass, Horns, Funk, Grease, And A Whole Lotta New Orleans Bounce

c/o Huffington Post

written by Sal Nunziato Music journalist, active blogger, New Orleans devotee, handsome cat

I know you can feel it. As a matter of fact, you can feel it from 37,000 feet up. Your heart's beating, your palms are sweating, your mind is racing. "What are we gonna do first?" Once that A 320 touches ground at Louis Armstrong International, you are no longer you. You are in New Orleans. Anything is possible, and no one knows this like Galactic. Galactic is New Orleans.

On February 9th, prepare to be "bounced" like you've never been "bounced" before. Prepare for some new possibilites. Galactic, known worldwide for their special blend of New Orleans funk, R&B, hip-hop and soul, adds some special ingredients to their serving of "Ya-Ka-May," the band's 6th studio release, and an album that breaks new ground in the Crescent City.

This is NOT your grandparents' New Orleans record, though the special guests will make your grandparents shout "Hoo-Na-Nay!"

New Orleans' legends Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas, along with some of the greatest musicians the city has to offer--John Boutte, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Trombone Shorty, Corey Henry & Big Chief Bo Dollis-- join Stanton Moore, Ben Ellman, Rich Vogel, Robert Mercurio, and Jeff Raines for "Ya-Ka-May," not the noodle soup you may have sucked down at Jazz Fest, but the new record which takes everything you love about New Orleans music and turns it on its ass!

Fasten your seatbelts and take a first look:

Threadhead Records Grants are under way

c/o Weekly Beat




When Paul Sanchez and John Boutte cut the first albums for Threadhead Records, their deal with the Threadheads was that they pay back the money raised for their albums within a year. That has been the deal until now, but the Threadhead Records Foundation is about to launch its first round of grant funding. They are now accepting applications through January 3, 2010, and they're intended to help musicians record music that promotes "the cultural heritage of New Orleans," the press release says. For more information, visit the Threadheads' Web site.

Galactic: Ya-Ka-May / NEW ALBUM HITS IN FEBRUARY

New Orleans is a city defined by its unique and colorful history. It's for that reason that most tend to view the place as something of a musical museum while ignoring the town's vibrant and innovative new music. In New Orleans, the hip hop at the heart of today's culture emerged from an energetic, highly eroticized and occasionally gender-bending music called "bounce." And the truth is, all the town's seemingly disparate styles - jazz, brass bands and funk as well as the newer "bounce" influenced hip hop, are all intrinsically linked. There is a particular inclusiveness about the place, which connects both its people and their music. And now, for the first time ever, all these sounds have been combined on one original record. With Ya-Ka-May, long time NOLA residents, Galactic have made an album that reflects the city as they see it - blending all the town's distinctive sounds in a way no band has before.


Ya-Ka-May is set to be released Feb 9, 2010 on Anti Records. The album features established legends such as the Rebirth Brass Band, Irma Thomas, Big Chief Bo Dollis, Allen Toussaint and Walter "Wolfman" Washington with younger artists like Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry, John Boutte, Josh Cohen and Scully, and Glen David Andrews, as well as groundbreaking new "Bounce" artists like Cheeky Blakk, Big Freedia, Katey Red, and Sissy Nobby. The end result is New Orleans like it's truly meant to be heard, and pure Galactic.

Ya-Ka-May Track Listing

Friends of Science - 1:17
Boe Money (featuring The Rebirth Brass Band) - 3:16
Double It (featuring Big Freedia) - 3:24
Heart of Steel (featuring Irma Thomas) - 3:28
Wild Man (featuring Big Chief Bo Dollis) - 2:08
Bacchus (featuring Allen Toussaint) - 2:54
Katey vs. Nobby (featuring Katey Red and Sissy Nobby) - 3:01
Cineramascope (featuring Trombone Shorty and Corey Henry) - 3:15
Dark Water (featuring John Boutte) - 3:11
Do It Again (featuring Cheeky Blakk) - 2:31
Liquor Pang (featuring Josh Cohen and Scully) - 3:23
Krewe d'etat - 0:34
You Don't know (featuring Glen David Andrews) - 4:04
Speaks His Mind (featuring Walter "Wolfman" Washington) - 3:51
Do It Again (again) (featuring Cheeky Blakk) - 1:08

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Buckwheat Zydeco: America's Party Band

Zydeco legend and pianist Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr. and his group Buckwheat Zydeco represent one of the few zydeco bands to cross over into the world of mainstream music.

Dural played piano as a child, and was heavily influenced by the R&B that was popular in his youth. He frequently sneaked out at night to play shows in his native Louisiana. His father was an accordion player who performed zydeco, a genre blending Afro-Caribbean music with blues, rock and country. At his father's request, Dural went to a performance by the zydeco master Clifton Chenier, and was amazed by the sound Chenier created with an accordion. Inspired, Dural joined Chenier on tour and learned to play the accordion himself.

Q&A with Ron "Ronnie Numbers" Rona

The artisitc director of The Bingo! Parlour tent at Voodoo Fest discusses the growth and success of his venture.

Cyril Neville On Mountain Stage

The youngest of New Orleans' first family of funk, Neville spent many years performing with his brothers before collaborating with a variety of popular artists. He recently released Brand New Blues, his fourth solo album.

Christian Scott: Live Last Night

Christian Scott, the young but seasoned New Orleans trumpeter who performed at the Kennedy Center's KC Jazz Club on Saturday night, invites comparisons with Miles Davis, especially when playing a muted horn in a minor blues or modal setting. But no one ever accused Davis of being a chatterbox onstage. During his quintet's opening set, Scott quizzed the audience on the Constitution, recalled why he left Prince's employment -- too much posturing, it seems -- and told several amusing anecdotes about his bandmates only to dismiss some later as untrue.

Live review: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis

If mainstream jazz has what could be considered an ambassador in 2009, it's Wynton Marsalis.

A member of jazz royalty practically from the moment he could hold a horn, Marsalis rolled into the sprawling Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on Saturday night with his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, a taut, 15-piece group he's directed since its inception in 1988. While this conjures images of the trumpeter leading from a conductor's podium, Marsalis instead led his charges through brightly swinging arrangements while seated among the orchestra. Positioned in the back near versatile drummer Ali Jackson, the trumpeter was an authoritative but democratic figure as his group flowed through tradition-rich jazz numbers like a wave.

Marcia Ball On Mountain Stage

A specialist in the jump blues, boogie-woogie and swamp funk of her native gulf region, the Louisiana-raised Marcia Ball makes her eighth visit to the program. She performs songs from her 2008 album, Peace, Love & BBQ.

Simply The Best: 50 Years of Irma Thomas

Last night, several thousand of Miss Irma Thomas's most devoted fans gathered in Lafayette Square for the second of 7 Thursday night concerts in September and October. The occasion is part of the on-going celebration this year of Irma's (unbelievable) 50 years as a professional singer. Despite the sultry heat and oppressive humidity and the threat of rain (when, oh when, will the weather break?? when will it be fall??), folks were glad to come out and show Irma some love.

John Boutte Appears on New Disc- Slide To Freedom II

The album Slide to Freedom II is being hailed as eclectic mix of blues, Indian music with a touch of bluesgrass. The two principal players are Doug Cox. He is a Canadian steeped in the various blues styles of the American South. He is deeply into playing the bottleneck blues on the Dobro. Salil Bhatt is from India and his family tree includes his father, Grammy Award Winner Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, who studied under the great Ravi Shankar

John Boutte adds his soulful voice to several of the songs. Of course, he needs know introduction here.

A Fall filled of festivals

“It had the feel of a family reunion,” Maria Mercedes enthusiastically says of last year's debut of the Gentilly Festival. The one-day event was founded to raise funds for and show appreciation to the local police and fire departments. “We had three generations of families out there,” continues Mercedes, who acts as the event's chairperson.

The fledgling festival boasted an impressive attendance of 8,000 people and both the public and the vendors urged the presenters to expand the neighborhood celebration from one to two days. The free 2009 edition will be held at Pontchartrain Park (corner of Press and Prentiss Drives) on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 complete with two new venues, a Gospel Tent and a Kid's Stage along with the Main Stage.

Longtime music teacher, artist and trumpet player Clyde Kerr Jr. puts his life onto his first original CD

Earlier this year, at 66, Clyde Kerr Jr. released his first CD of original compositions.

"The opportunity was there, because the Jazz Foundation of America was helping New Orleans musicians after the storm, " he says.

"I'd tell my students, 'What's done is done. What will come will come. This is now, ' " he says. "That's really what my concept of jazz is."

His students are a who's who of New Orleans musicians: the Marsalis brothers, Nicholas Payton, Troy "Trombone" Shorty, Christian Scott.

Young Men Olympian 125th Anniversary Second Line Parade






Wandering tribes of New Orleans work to save Musicians' Clinic

As far New Orleans houses go, the façade of Dan “Noomoon” Sheridan’s is rather plain. His home, a red brick shotgun, is in the Marigny. His dogs play as Sheridan, 41, stands tall in the gated front yard, a stoic Mid-westerner in the Big Easy. You would never know it at first glance but Sheridan leads one of the most eclectic tribes in America: the Land of Nod Experiment.

Inside his home Sheridan explains that he is a musician, performer, event promoter and producer. Presently he is promoting Saturday's Land of Nod Experiment, from noon to 9 p.m. in the French Market’s Dutch Alley.

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Allen Toussaint's Keys To New Orleans

Web-Only Concert Pick: Allen Toussaint Performs 'Freedom For The Stallion'

Allen Toussaint keeps the New Orleans jazz-piano tradition alive in a concert from the Kennedy Center. New Orleans is not only the cradle of jazz. It's also the birthplace of great jazz piano, dating back to the early 1900s, when Jelly Roll Morton tickled the ivories. Hear three pianists who are keeping upholding that great tradition — Allen Toussaint, Henry Butler and Jon Cleary — onstage at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with Keys to New Orleans.

Marva Wright: Sharing the Joy of the Blues

Marva Wright’s boisterous vocals have established her as the clearly acknowledged “Blues Queen of New Orleans.” Marva started singing in the church at the age of nine, with her mother providing the accompaniment. Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson was a friend of the family, and Marva put her talents on display primarily for the congregation for decades. It was in church that she learned an early lesson with regard to her singing that she has carried throughout her career.
“When I played my first solo, ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee,’ one of the deacons in the church was on the front bench,” she recalled. “He told me that I opened my mouth wide, but nothing was coming out of it. From that day, I vowed that I would always sing loudly.”

The Masterful Allen Toussaint & The Bright Mississippi

“Stately” is an adjective I rarely use to describe an album, but it fits Allen Toussaint’s new album, The Bright Mississippi, like a glove. The Bright Mississippi is a special album, demanding multiple listens to truly get the tapestry of American music – Ellington inspired jazz, r&b, Creole, ragtime – that it weaves with such effortless cool. It’s an album that contains the full experience that is life – its joys, sorrows, delights and hardships. That is to say, it's an album with soul.

Toussaint, of course, is an American Treasure; one of the masters of American R&B, a songwriter and producer who has worked with the likes of Dr. John, The Meters, Labelle, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, the Band and dozens of other greats. American R&B (and therefore, American music) is practically inconceivable without him.

This will be one of the best albums of the year – go out and get it. It’s not only that they don’t make albums like this anymore – it’s that no one before has ever made one quite like this.

see also: Allen Toussaint Set For Lincoln Center Out Of Doors 8/22



NY Daily News: Skirting the Treme: An insider's guide to New Orleans

Rampart Street, in some ways, is the fault line of New Orleans, separating the French Quarter, filled with well-heeled tourists and spring-breakers, from the Treme, a slightly more foreboding yet just as historic and memorable district.

Skirting the Treme, and further east the Seventh Ward, St. Roch and St. Claude neighborhoods, the adventurous visitor may experience the charm and flirt with the blithe unpredictability that permeates the real New Orleans that many tourists miss.

Community Tied By Strong Threads

The eclectic Threadhead roster features Continental Drifters alumnus Cowsill, jazz/pop/gospel singer John Boutté, singer/songwriters Paul Sanchez and Alex McMurray, genre-crossing trumpeter Shamarr Allen, jazz trombonist/vocalist Glen David Andrews, progressive brass band the New Orleans Nightcrawlers, trombonist Rick Trolsen, and bluesrocker Marc Stone. The company also recently published its first book, Pieces Of Me, collecting Sanchez's cathartically heart-wrenching, touching and funny blog entries about his rough yet rewarding journey back from the post-Hurricane Katrina trauma of losing his home and community.

Stew Called New Orleans”

Although I don’t listen to a whole lot of recorded music, when I find an album of music that I really like, I can get pretty obsessed, & right now I’ve found one that’s so good enough I have to write about it.

I should say the album “found me,” thanks to good blog friend Citizen K. who posted about it here—an excellent review that’s defintiely worth checking out— & then was kind enough to supply me with a copy. It’s called A Stew Called New Orleans (Threadhead Records), & it features the truly amazing vocals of John Boutté, along with vocals & rhythm guitar work by Paul Sanchez, trumpet by Leroy Jones, some exceptional electric guitar work by Todd Duke & bass by Peter Harris.

Michael Arnone's 20th Anniversary Crawfish Festival: New Orleans Comes to New Jersey

Each of the three stages had its own personality. The larger main stage hosted high energy acts that could play to the thousands who pulled up their lawn chairs to hear the powerful groups. A few of the ten bands on this stage included the High and Mighty Brass Band, with its Dirty Dozen/ Rebirth Brass Band stylings, and Papa Grow's Funk, which impressed the audience with its hard driving organ-fueled New Orleans sound. Day two featured Grammy-nominated blues guitarist Tab Benoit who drew thousands to stand and dance in the pit in front of the stage. The energy was palpable as Benoit moved across the stage playing flawless, high energy blues guitar.

BackTalk with James “Sugar Boy” Crawford

Whether you call it “Jock-A-Mo” or Chock-A-Mo” or “Iko-Iko,” it’s one of the greatest of all New Orleans Carnival songs. James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, who recorded the original version in 1953, rarely performs these days, preferring to bask in the glow of his incandescent grandson Davell. “The only place I sing is in church no,” Sugar Boy confesses.

“Jock-A-Mo,” one of a select handful of truly memorable Carnival songs, has had multiple personalities over the decades. Originally recorded in 1953 by James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, it was turned into an international hit over a decade later by a trio of New Orleans teenagers, the Dixie Cups, as “Iko Iko.” Since then, the song has been covered by Willie DeVille, Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, the Bell Stars [their version was in the Academy Award-winning movie Rain Man] and Cyndi Lauper, although none have approached the magnificence of Sugar Boy’s original.

Dr. John: Goin' Back to New Orleans

Rating: 98/100

Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John, is a walking, talking compendium of New Orleans music. As session cat, genial tickler of the ivories (organ keys and guitar strings too), gris-gris hoodoo-man, gargle-voiced blues shouter, worldwide rock star, and tireless proponent of all that's Easy—not to mention serious jazz pianist and master of Crescent City r&b—he has lived and largely defined the late 20th Century idea of New Orleans musician. His few solo piano albums are brilliant, and so too many of his slice-of-NOLA releases reinvigorating "funky butt" r&b. Still, in the end it's Mac at the piano that matters most as he takes the whole tradition into his hands every time he sits down at a keyboard.

Sister Gertrude Morgan

Sister Gertrude Morgan (1900-1980) was a preacher, missionary, artist, musician, and poet who worked in New Orleans in the 1960s and '70s, notable primarily for her folk art. She was born in 1900 in Lafayette, Alabama, and moved to Columbus, Georgia at the age of eighteen. She was married to Will Morgan in 1928, but at the age of 38 heard a voice from God telling her to become a street evangelist. She left her family and husband to move to New Orleans, where she organized an orphanage with two other missionaries. God told her to begin painting in 1956 and in 1957 heard a voice telling her that she was the Bride of Christ.

Christian Scott riding superlative horn wave

Like a lot of creative types, trumpeter Christian Scott is hard to stuff into a genre box. First, there's the clear sound of his horn, the one with the oddly angled bell. It's unmistakably part of a grand New Orleans tradition that reaches back to Louis Armstrong: a lone, expressive voice that projects its own personality as much as it does virtuosity. He could easily be playing gigs in the style of traditional New Orleans music or in the post- bop style practiced by another Crescent City hero, Wynton Marsalis.

But Scott prefers to push his trumpet up against walls of cinematic, rockish chords and instrumentation that reminds me more of the European trumpeter Michael Mantler than any of Scott's New Orleans brethren. Listening to his latest studio disc, "Anthem" or last year's "Live at Newport" set indicates that he absorbs a good deal of music and assimilates all of it into his own compositions and approach.

NOPV1 Reviewed by Alex Rawls in Offbeat Magazine!

"By now, it can’t be a surprise that there’s a lot that is subtly smart about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Like the best traditional jazz, little of what’s special about New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 is obvious, but a little contemplation reveals a lot. For instance, it’s not until you get to Walter Payton’s faux-Armstrong vocal on “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” that you hear the sort of voice you expect on the album. Otherwise, Clint Maedgen and Mark Braud’s vocals suggest that traditional jazz isn’t just music for tourists and older generations. The inclusion of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #9” and “Choko Mo Feel No Hey” (minus second line drums) says that traditional jazz is an approach to music, not a narrow library of antique texts. The inclusion of Maedgen’s original “Halloween” implies that the music can handle new songs as well. The pleasures of New Orleans Preservation, Vol. 1 aren’t solely conceptual. The ensemble playing is often wonderful, particularly in the ecstatic conclusion to “Tiger Rag,” where Braud’s trumpet and Charlie Gabriel’s clarinet keep threatening to break away from the band and each other, but never stray for good. On the Hall band’s first album since John Brunious’ passing, it also includes a second line of sorts for him, with “Westlawn Dirge” followed by a joyful “What a Friend” near the end of the album.