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.

NolaFunk Lagniappe

HOTG SUMMER CONCERT SERIES, Part 1

DR. JOHN AND BAND GET "LIFE" LIVE

"Life" (Allen Toussaint)
Dr. John and the Rampart Street Sympathy Orchestra, 1973

LISTEN

Back in 1973, Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) was on tour in support of his new album, In The Right Place, which was doing very well for him on the basis of the radio hit singles taken from it, "Right Place, Wrong Time" and "Such A Night". Allen Toussaint produced the LP, geared it a bit more for the pop market, but recruited the Meters as the core rhythm section. The results were an exceptional mix of funk and quirky pop. As a result, Mac did some touring that year with the Meters, using them as a backing band a few times, and on other dates rolling as a New Orleans revue with his own band, plus the Meters and Professor Longhair on the bill, as well. In the case of this show, a live radio broadcast from a recording studio, with a small audience, it was Mac and his band alone, billed as Dr. John and the Rampart Street Sympathy Orchestra. For more details about the show, including a full set list and band line-up, check my earlier posts on two other songs from the night, "Let The Good Times Roll" and "Qualified". As might be expected, the sound quality and mix are excellent.

HOTG MID-YEAR REVIEWS: Everything Old Is New Again

The Lost Southlake Sessions, The Radiators, Radz Records, 2009 - I waited so long to talk about Wild & Free, this one came in - so I've doubled up. Although the Radiators have made, recorded and sold music on their own terms for the greater part of their 30 year history, when these session were done, they actually had a record deal with an entertainment conglomerate, music videos*, national commercial radio airplay, and the possibility of breaking big. Between 1987 and 1989, the Rads recorded two of three albums for Sony/Epic, Law Of The Fish and Zig-Zaggin' Through Ghostland, mainly using the relatively new Southlake Studios in Metairie, LA. There, at various points during the late 1980s, they also cut a number of demo sessions - original material, mostly written by keyboardist Ed Volker - that went missing along the way amidst the comings and goings of a regularly touring band. As Ed told me recently via email through their Radz label, "A lot of tapes were lost one way or another from Southlake over the years. . . . This [the recently found material on the new CD] is all from a cassette we took pains to master; and it was an exploratory demo session, never meant for release, but the years have been kind to it, so we decided others might like to hear it, too." Excellent decision, fellas.

Unexpected Moments in New Orleans with Tom McDermott

I love unexpected moments in New Orleans. The best thing about these moments is that they happen so often. New Orleans is often called "the biggest small town on earth." You just never know who you are going to meet or what you are going to see or hear, and that's exactly what happened on a recent balmy July night.

New Orleans street performer 'Grandpa' Elliott Small winning new fans

Street singer and blues harmonica player "Grandpa" Elliott Small is a familiar sight to any New Orleanian who has strolled the Royal Street pedestrian mall. In his red T-shirt, blue overalls and bushy white beard, the blind musician has anchored the corner of Royal and Toulouse for more than a decade -- sometimes solo, sometimes with a friend on keyboard or guitar. In the Quarter, he's an institution.

Michael P. Smith exhibit in New Orleans

The Historic New Orleans Collection (www.hnoc.org) offers a glimpse into the heart and soul of New Orleans’ music, culture and folkways, with its current exhibit, “In the Spirit: The Photography of Michael P. Smith”. A New Orleans native and award-winning photographer, Smith (1937 – 2008) captured the essence of New Orleans with every photo. He documented Jazz funerals, Mardi Gras traditions, and many of the Crescent City’s music legends, including Allen Toussaint and Mahalia Jackson.
The exhibit, which kicked off in March and finishes in September, is the inaugural public presentation of the Michael P. Smith Archive from The Historic New Orleans Collection. A second part of the HNOC exhibit, presented at the Contemporary Arts Center 900 Camp St (www.cacno.org) “Twenty-Five Jazz Fests”, recently wrapped up its run and featured Smith’s famous Jazz Fest photography.

Mother-In-Law Lounge Needs Your Help

Betty Fox has moved to New Orleans from Memphis to take over the ownership and operation of the legendary Mother-In-Law Lounge along with her fiancé, Carlos. The nightclub was originally her mother's labor of love, dedicated to the "Emperor of the Universe" Ernie K-Doe, whose most enduring R&B hit was "Mother In Law".

Although the club wasn't publicly open in the months after Antoinette K-Doe's passing (Mardi Gras day, 2009), Betty worked hard to get everything in order so she could carry on her parents' legacy and keep the club's doors open.

Honey Island Swamp Band steps up with new "Wishing Well"

In Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, Aaron Wilkinson and Chris Mule found themselves stranded in San Francisco with the rest of soul-blues guitarist Eric Lindell's band.

In need of additional work, they resolved to pool their respective songs and create a new band. At the Boom Boom Room, a home-away-from-home for Louisiana musicians, they encountered fellow New Orleanians Sam Price, a bassist, and Garland Paul, a drummer.

With that, the Honey Island Swamp Band was born.

Tuned in: Music aficionados see possibilities for city to build on jazz industry brand

Irvin Mayfield doesn’t see his role as cultural ambassador as just promoting New Orleans’ music, food, culture and architecture. His job, he believes, is to use those facets to strengthen the area’s economy.

Mayfield envisions New Orleans jazz as a thriving business as well as a brand the city can build. He believes the industry has not reached its capacity.

To do that, New Orleans needs to cast itself in a positive light to counter the negative attention it receives outside the city. Mayfield says jazz is the vehicle.

Yeah, You Right: Joe Krown

This week's guest is pianist/Hammond B-3 organist Joe Krown. Chances are, if you've seen live music in New Orleans, you've seen Joe. Whether it's one of his trio gigs with Walter "Wolfman" Washington and Russell Batiste, his Organ Combo, or his weekly solo piano shows at Le Bon Temps Roulé (with free oysters!), you know you're getting some of the funkiest keys in New Orleans.

Joe rose to fame in the band of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, where he held down the piano chair for over a dozen years until Brown's passing in 2005. He's shared the stage with the likes of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Ike Turner, Jimmy McGriff, Melvin Sparks, Dr. John, and George Porter, Jr., and that's just scratching the surface. He's also been a headliner at every Jazz Fest for the past 12 years.

Here's what Joe had to say in between criss-crossing town on his perpetual gigging tour of the Crescent City.

Q: Crystal or Louisiana Hot Sauce?
A: Crystal.

Q: Zapp’s or Tater Tots?
A: Zapp's.

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Home of the Groove's "In Pursuit of Bo-Consciousness"

Edwin J. Bocage, a/k/a Spider Bocage, Little Bo, and best known as Eddie Bo, a fascinating, often enigmatic figure on the New Orleans music scene for over half a century, passed away just over a week ago. During his career, he wore many musical hats (including turbans): pianist/organist, vocalist, bandleader, composer (over 200 songs), arranger and producer. His work appeared on a huge assortment of labels, including a few of his own.

By the time of his passing, while certainly not rich and famous, he was still a popular local performer and had a small but loyal following around the country and abroad. I guess you could say that he achieved an underground legendary status, revered by other musicians, record collectors, and serious New Orleans music fans alike - the Bo-cognoscenti, so to speak.

Wednesday at the Square - Soul Rebels, Bucktown Allstars

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event which showcases the finest in local music and art. We, along with a few thousand other spectators, in spite of the ominous clouds looming overhead, sought out the sounds of the Soul Rebels Brass Band and the Bucktown Allstars. The Soul Rebels, whose weekly all-night marathons at Le Bon Temps are a staple of the New Orleans music scene, opend the show with a set of tight grooves, fiery brass, and smoldering soul. The Bucktown Allstars, one of the Big Easy’s foremost party bands, closed out the event with a set of classic New Orleans anthems and goodtime jams. If yesterday was any indication of what’s to come, this weekly gathering is a must for anyone in and around the Crescent City. Go ahead, lie to your boss, duck of work early. You won't regret it.

Live Review- Will Bernard Band @ Highline Ballroom

I went to see Will Bernard and his insanely funky bandmates at the Highline Ballroom on Thursday. Simply put, it was hot shit! I wrote about Bernard's excellent new record, "Blue Plate Special," back in September. Here's what I said:

Kermit Ruffins: Jazz Fest/Album

Kermit Ruffins - Livin' a Treme' Life
Basin Street Records, April 28

Kermit Ruffins

Make no mistake, everything about Kermit Ruffins exemplifies New Orleans. Residing in the town of Treme´, former home of his predecessors Louis Prima and Louis Armstrong, he continues the big brass tradition the town is known for - Kermit plays a "sweet, sweet horn", as Michael J. Agovino of Newsweek notes. His musical stylings resemble the culture of New Orleans, a melting pot, with Jazz, funk, standards and hip-hop. His charisma, both onstage and on his recordings, reflects the spirit of his city.

New NO Mixtape

Jealous Monk’s Jermaine Quiz has a new mixtape online for download here. There’s a lot going on here and the source materials are pretty high profile, but it’s nice to hear the Meters/Nevilles and Lil’ Wayne meeting on equal footing in modern NO funk recordings.



On his new CD, pianist Tom McDermott is most effective when his fingers do the talking

Ted Jackson / The Times-Picayune

As one of the Crescent City's most fluent practitioners of the piano arts, Tom McDermott (hear selected tracks ) is on solid ground whenever he traverses the black and white keys.

"New Orleans Duets," McDermott's first release for Rabadash Records, pairs his piano with 21 singers and instrumentalists on tracks recorded across five years. The result is a decidedly mixed bag of tricks.

CD Review: Wynton Marsalis, He and She

As the most familiar brand name in jazz, Wynton Marsalis has carte blanche to put together any project he chooses.

So it’s no surprise to hear Marsalis apply his pen and his horn — still a thing of beauty, whether holding long tones, ripping through 32nd-note passages, or altered with a mute — to a set of mostly post-bop jazz intermingled with his playful spoken-word passages on the nature of young love.

Fats Domino tribute concert to feature Chuck Berry, Little Richard and more

Matthew Hinton / The Times-Picayune

Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ozomatli, Keb' Mo', Junior Brown and Taj Mahal are scheduled to perform at "The Domino Effect," a May 30 concert in honor of Fats Domino at the New Orleans Arena.

Promoters hope that Domino at least makes an "appearance" at the show, but don't necessarily expect him to perform. Even an appearance would be something of a coup, as the increasingly reclusive Domino declined to even attend a recent birthday party in his honor at Tipitina's.

Next Generation looks for its next gig

Ted Jackson / Times-Picayune

Carrying on in the tradition of legendary educator, arranger, producer and jazz saxophonist Harold Battiste, pianist Jesse McBride coordinates his Next Generation ensemble as a real world classroom for young jazz musicians. McBride stocks the Next Generation with a revolving cast of promising young players in their teens; when they go off to college, he recruits fresh faces.

Since early 2007, Jesse McBride and the Next Generation have performed most Tuesday nights at Snug Harbor. But that residency ends in April. McBride understands why Snug Harbor decided to make a change. "I can't say that we packed the house," he said. "If we did, they wouldn't have let us go

NolaFunk Lagniappe

Ernie K-Doe's "Here Come the Girls" resurrection

Against all odds, Ernie K-Doe is burning once again. During the 2007 Christmas season, the British drugstore chain Boots featured K-Doe's 1970 recording "Here Come the Girls" in a prominent TV ad campaign. In a popular commercial, dozens of female office workers start primping at their desks, then strut out en masse to K-Doe's chorus.

Thanks to the Boots exposure, "Here Come the Girls" rocketed to No. 3 on the United Kingdom single charts. "That's amazing, " said K-Doe's widow, Antoinette, "because Ernie's dead and the song came from the grave."

see also: Rocking In His Grave

see also: British commercial gives song new life




HBO plans TV drama about N.O. musicians

In a move that could boost the city's psyche and pump millions into its economy, cable giant HBO is developing a new TV drama to be set in the New Orleans music community. "Treme," named after the iconic New Orleans neighborhood where many musicians live, will marry one of television's most prestigious networks with creator David Simon, one of television's hottest series masterminds.

Simon, a frequent visitor to the city and a longtime New Orleans music fan, said this week that the stories told in "Treme" would reach beyond the music scene to explore political corruption, the public housing controversy, the crippled criminal-justice system, clashes between police and Mardi Gras Indians, and the struggle to regain the tourism industry after the storm.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

I recently got in touch with the Wire's music supervisor after hearing a number of New Orleans tracks playing in the final season of that show. Here's what he had to say...

David Simon (the creator of The Wire) and I are both long-time N'awlins music fans. After Katrina we made a conscious effort to use the music when appropriate as a small way of giving back to musicians down there. There are quite a few pieces of New Orleans music used in Season 4. My sister and mom lived in New Orleans for most of the 1990's and I spent a lot of time down there, and have been to Jazz Fest a bunch of times, most recently in 2007. My sister is an artist; she painted Uncle Lionel's drum in the Treme Brass Band, and the sign at Donna's Bar and Grill, among many other things. The Wire is finished, but David is developing a new series which will hopefully get approved for production sometime this year, which would take place entirely in New Orleans, in which the main characters are musicians. I hope that happens!

see also: More on David Simon's 'Treme'

"To research the script for the pilot, a prospective first episode of a drama based in the New Orleans music community, Simon consulted with Donald Harrison Jr., Kermit Ruffins & Davis Rogan."

Music Of My Mind: One Man Machine

You might not get Bernard Pearce’s sound — the narcotized haze of psychedelic textures, brass-band exuberance and unbridled funk/rock fun does take a spin or 10 — but it will hit you in a little while. The one man in One Man Machine, Pearce is the perfect mascot for this new age of New Orleans music: He’s both challenging and rewarding, gregarious and scarily intense.

Old-school bounce inspires rapper/comedian Ballzack's new CD

Jubilee "is definitely the inspiration, " Sharkey said. "This is my New Orleans record, an electronic-sounding, sparkly, synthetic record, our version of what we love. We grew up with and love bounce music. This is the record we've always intended to make."

The Meters - Doodle Up

In their 25-year history, The Meters have grooved their way around the globe. They have toured with such talents as The Rolling Stones, and have been the rhythm for such diverse artists as Dr. John, Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer and Patti Labelle. Considered by many to be the founding fathers of funk. Their trademark sound blends funk, blues, and dance grooves with a New Orleans vibe.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band/Blind Boys of Alabama in Montreal

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is as fine a concert group as a parade band and the audience at the Theatre Maisonneuve treated the front four of trumpeter Efram Towns, tenor saxophonist Kevin Harris, trombonist Keith "Wolf" Anderson and baritone saxophonist Roger Lewis like the jazz lions they've become. Lewis in particular was at the height of his power, blowing deep, carved wood notes as a striking counterweight in the brass arrangements. This is a different version of "Saints" that we've been hearing elsewhere. In the hands of the Dozen it's a musical corrolary to "Egalite" and the audience went from reverence to ecstasy, delivering one of several standing ovations.

Wonderful New Orleans R&B in spotlight

Modeled upon Smokey Joe’s Café, Joint’s Jumpin’, a new revue composed of dozens of New Orleans rhythm-and-blues favorites from the 1950s and ’60s, aspires to be a showcase for the city and its music.

Joint’s Jumpin’, featuring the music of Fats Domino, Shirley and Lee, Huey “Piano” Smith, Professor Longhair, Lloyd Price, Chris Kenner, the Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas and many more, begins a three-night run tonight at Harrah’s New Orleans.

Equal Opportunity Employment (E.O.E) Hits The Road

The band left on their first national tour the same week Hurricane Katrina struck their native New Orleans, and in the ensuing two years logged over 60,000 miles of touring despite residing in separate parts of the country. E.O.E officially moved back to New Orleans in the fall of 2007, announcing their return with a msgical homecoming show at the historic New Orleans nightclub Tipitina's. Since that time the band has been touted continuously in the Crescent City 's press

9th Ward - Weather The Storm

Unless you’ve sold 50,000 mixtapes out of the trunk of your car and have a huge fan base the chances of getting a record deal in today’s music industry are slim to none. Every once in a while though and when I say once in a while, I mean just that an artist comes a long and gets signed like it was 1995 again, with just a demo and a dream. New Orleans rapper 9th Ward is one of the chosen few. A series of events whether you want to call them fate, destiny, or just plain old luck led to him being Island/Def Jam’s latest signee.

Letters from New Orleans

Tom McDermott & Connie Jones Creole Nocturne (Arbors Records)
Tom McDermott All the Keys & Then Some (Parnassus Records)

New Orleans pianist Tom McDermott has to rank among the most fluid, inventive and technically robust pianists radiating the 88s today in the traditional syncopated musics of the Americas—from ragtime to choro to tango, from Jelly Roll Morton to James Booker—and he’s a beguiling composer besides.