OffBeat Magazine December 2017 by OffBeat Magazine

Dear Fats Love letters from Louisiana and beyond

The Revivalists

LOUISIANA MUSIC, FOOD & CULTURE—DECEMBER 2017 Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 3.50

New beginnings with three New Year's shows at the Orpheum Theater

George Clinton • Soul Rebels • Michael Cerveris

PHoto: elsa hahne

Hot Like the Sun

BLAST FROM THE PAST "Seven Decades of Fats Domino" By Rick Coleman February 1998

The Revivalists celebrate at home. Page 30

LETTERS

OFFBEAT EATS

MOJO MOUTH

Kelcy Mae is In the Spot at Parkway Bakery & Tavern and Peter Thriffiley reviews Herbsaint.

FRESH

REVIEWS

Five Questions with singer-songwriter Jake Bugg; Celebrating 30 Years: Earl King; My Music with Keiko Komaki; Echoes of Laurel Canyon with Susan Cowsill; Five Questions with New Orleans Photo Alliance Executive Director Amy Dailey Williams; Papa Grows Funk movie and more.

OBITUARY

14 19

Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr.

TRICKY REPERTOIRE

The Soul Rebels step out of the box.

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER

A Louisiana Christmas with Loose Cattle.

IN THE SPIRIT Sam Perez mixes up If Time Would Stand Still for Irma Thomas.

www.OFFBEAT.com

Brass-A-Holics, Jamaican Me Breakfast Club, Saràyah, Mykia Jovan, The Saint Roch Syncopators, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Paul and the Pontiacs, Chris Thomas King, Delfeayo Marsalis, Uncle Nephew and more.

Wendell Albert Eugene

OBITUARY

LISTINGS

BACKTALK with George Clinton

"When I first got to Jersey, ‘Blueberry Hill’ and all those records, that was when I first knew what hit records were. Later I saw Fats Domino in Las Vegas with his piano swimming pool." —George Clinton

>> ONLINE ONLY • Doin’ Something Different: Ivan Neville’s Nola Nites • Remembering Fats by David Lind

“Walking To New Orleans“ is as good a Crescent City anthem as any. “Right now when I go away, I still got home on my mind,” says Fats. “New Orleans is a good place for everything and anything.” To read more, this issue can be purchased at www.offbeat.com/issues/ february-1998/. D ECEMBER 2017

Letters

“Loved it! $130 for three full days of music is a steal. Good food. Fun attractions. We will be back next year.” —Lori Vendinello Turoff, Brooklyn, New York

Louisiana Music, Food & Culture

December 2017 Volume 30, Number 13 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com Managing Editor Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com Consulting Editor John Swenson

Voodoo Fest The following letters are in response to Rory Callais’ November 2017 feature, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience: Is It Losing Its New Orleans Identity?” Voodoo has limited market appeal. I went a few years back because the Foo Fighters were headlining following Trombone Shorty. It was an awesome set, as was Shorty’s. I am 62 years old. At Jazz Fest the audience is at least 25% my age or older. Not so at Voodoo. I was 30 years older than everyone there. —Tim Triplett, Lake Sherwood, California Went last night for the first time. Loved it! Can’t wait to see the Foo Fighters tonight. $130 for three full days of music is a steal. Good food. Fun attractions. Sound system was amazing. Heard some new acts and enjoyed being introduced to them. And we are easily twice the age of most the kids there. So many bitter people commenting. Don’t like it—don’t go. We will be back next year. —Lori Vendinello Turoff, Brooklyn, New York

Little Freddie King The following letter is in response to Amanda Mester’s news post, “Little Freddie King Seriously Injured After Bicycle Accident.” Please get better Freddie! You are the highlight of my New Orleans visits. I hope you don’t need the surgery but please consider it seriously if the feeling doesn’t come back. Best wishes and healing thoughts headed your way. Hope you’re back at BJ’s in no time. —Mary Groebner, Olympia, Washington

Fats Domino The following letter is in response to Amanda Mester’s news post, “The Incomparable Fats Domino Dead at 89.” Thanks for all the great music Fats! All the gigs too in London mostly but one time in New Orleans—you lit up my boring childhood; will never forget you! Rock on! I’m sure right now you are gently pushing the piano in front of you as you slowly leave the stage to thunderous applause. —Patrick Stroudley, Epsom, United Kingdom

The essence of New Orleans music thrives in every aspect of culture around the world; the hypnotic sounds of the deep rooted rhythms that ring familiar and true around the world, has definitely captivated musicians and music lovers from near and far. What does the legacy of Fats Domino contribute to the culture and legacy of New Orleans? From “Ain’t That a Shame,” to “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday,” to “I’m Ready” Fats Domino has left an everlasting impact on all genres of music. He is the epitome of extravagance in music. The crowned king of the ivories was superbly animated from pushing the grand piano at Jazz Fest with his stomach to his Liberace-similar encrusted diamond rings and watches that also added to the flair of the man, the music mogul and the master musician—but he is more than that to New Orleans natives and transplants. Hearing of his passing was just what I thought it would be, in countless news headlines that bombarded the news channels, radio shows and just people saddened by his passing. It was a very important notice to appreciate our amazing musical treasures and the legacies that they share with us, their fans and the world. The last time we saw Fats Domino was at a show at Tipitina’s in the French Quarter, where all of the musicians, known and unknown, gave great memorable performances. They shared their own renditions and impressionable versions of Fats Domino songs while Fats sat there proudly admiring the performers. Every piano player playing in New Orleans just had to perform some of Fats’ material to make their music set authentic. Fats Domino is New Orleans and will continue to leave an impressionable mark on everyone and everything he encountered. You would definitely recognize his music being played in airports and on airwaves worldwide. Rest in Power, Fats Domino. —Gaynielle H. Neville, New Orleans, Louisiana

OffBeat welcomes letters from its readers—both comments and criticisms. To be considered for publication, all letters must be signed and contain the current address and phone number of the writer. Letters to the editor are subject to editing for length or content deemed objectionable to OffBeat readers. Please send letters to Editor, OffBeat Publications, 421 Frenchmen St., Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116.

DECEMBER 2017

Food Editor Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Listings Editor Katie Walenter, listings@offbeat.com Contributors Nick Benoit, Stacey Leigh Bridewell, Rick Coleman, Frank Etheridge, Elsa Hahne, Jeff Hannusch, George Ingmire, Ivory Jones, David Kunian, Amanda Mester, Brett Milano, John Swenson, Peter Thriffiley, Christopher Weddle, John Wirt, Geraldine Wyckoff Cover Elsa Hahne (The Revivalists were photographed at The Drifter Hotel assisted by stylist Christine M. Hamilton; Fats Domino photo by Erika Goldring) Art Director/Food Editor Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Web Editor Amanda Mester, amanda@offbeat.com Copy Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, theo@offbeat.com Advertising Sales/Promotions Coordinator Camille A. Ramsey, camille@offbeat.com Advertising Design PressWorks, 504-944-4300 Business Manager Joseph L. Irrera Interns Emily Carmichael, Anne Elise Hastings, Raphael Helfand, Ivory Jones Distribution Patti Carrigan, Doug Jackson OffBeat (ISSN# 1090-0810) is published monthly in New Orleans by OffBeat, Inc., 421 Frenchmen St., Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116 (504) 944-4300 • fax (504) 944-4306 e-mail: offbeat@offbeat.com, web site: www.offbeat.com facebook.com/offbeatmagazine twitter.com/offbeatmagazine Copyright © 2017, OffBeat, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. OffBeat is a registered trademark of OffBeat, Inc. First class subscriptions to OffBeat in the U.S. are available for $45 per year ($52 Canada, $105 foreign airmail). Back issues are available for $10, except for the May issue for $16 (for foreign delivery add $6, except for the May issue add $4). Submission of photos and articles on Louisiana artists are welcomed, but unfortunately material cannot be returned.

MOJO MOUTH

Where’s the Petition?

hat Louis Armstrong was to jazz, Fats Domino was to all of New Orleans music. He leaves an everlasting mark. Mr. Domino deserves more than just the obligatory second line in his memory. Our airport and a city park are named for Louis Armstrong. Shouldn’t Fats be honored in a similar way? Wasn’t he beloved by everyone in this city? And by people all over the world? I truly can’t see any reason why our musical culture—known and loved worldwide (probably not as fervently in the city that produced it)—shouldn’t be put in the forefront of monuments and street renamings. How hard would that be?

www.OFFBEAT.com

I received a letter from one of OffBeat’s writers who summed up his feelings, and while I won’t identify him (as per his wishes) I’m going to excerpt parts of that email, which exactly delineates my sentiments: Since Fats’ passing, the silence has been absolutely deafening from the cultural institutions of our city. My question has been why we haven’t recognized this titan of New Orleans music in a very big, very public, institutionally supported outpouring of grief, love and joy. While Louis Armstrong left the city, Fats was our local ambassador to the whole world.

By Jan Ramsey His voice, his piano styling, his modesty, his incredible big band but perhaps most of all, his smile touched people everywhere. Fats is—in a direct way—the reason I moved to New Orleans. There would be no swamp-pop without the Fat Man. If Allen Toussaint were alive, he would be shouting the importance of Fats Domino. Finally, I want to express my great fear. I wonder if I need to mourn a loss even greater than Fats Domino. New Orleans has a history of recognizing and celebrating the lives of its musical icons… especially in their moment of passing. This is key to the music of this city. It is key to a much bigger cultural fabric of this city, how we treat death. I am

mourning the very real possibility that we have not only lost Fats, but our soul. I was stunned the day after Fats’ death when WWOZ continued its fund drive with chatter about the traffic after Katrina and how good the sandwiches were that someone donated. Please let me know that you will do whatever you can to try and bring folks together and create an appropriate public celebration of the great, great Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr. Tricentennial Circle? I don’t think so. That would be such a travesty, and such a wasted opportunity. Where’s the petition? I’ll sign it.

D ECEMBER 2017

FRESH

Five Questions with Amy Dailey Williams, Executive Director, New Orleans Photo Alliance/PhotoNOLA

OffBeat.com

SWEET TWEETS

hat is the mission of PhotoNOLA? PhotoNOLA is a program of the New Orleans Photo Alliance and its mission is to encourage the understanding and appreciation of photography through exhibitions, opportunities and educational programs. PhotoNOLA offers 50-plus exhibitions, a portfolioreview that’s totally open, first-come, first-served, as well as workshops, lectures and other educational programming held throughout the city. How would you describe the response to exhibits and events? We truly believe that photography is the universal medium and has the ability to touch people directly—to tell a story with an image. PhotoNOLA is now in its 12th year. How has it evolved? One thing I’m really proud of is that PhotoNOLA is an artist-driven, volunteer-run organization. As the art of photography has evolved, the volunteer photographers have used PhotoNOLA as a showcase for showing the world how photography is growing and changing. Are there certain parameters for featured photographers? Yes, absolutely. To have an exhibition in PhotoNOLA, we ask that your show is at least 60 percent photography, with framed works on the walls, and that it be open to the public. Our keynote speaker is Xavier Simmons. We chose her because she is a world-class artist and is pushing the boundaries of photography. She works in mixed media, video, installation and straight photography. We wanted to show the world that photography is expanding as the world expands—image-makers today aren’t doing just still, flat photographs. She embodies that. What should people look for during this year’s PhotoNOLA? Our opening celebration is Thursday, December 7 at the New Orleans Museum of Art. We have a band, food, open bar. It’s $35—we try to keep it accessible for people to come and meet New Orleans image-makers. On Friday night, December 8, after we open the spectacular CURRENTS show, we invite the public to come upstairs at the Ogden and do the Photo Walk, where photographers from around the world open up their portfolio. —Frank Etheridge PhotoNOLA 2017 takes place December 7–10 at multiple venues.

Photo: willow haley

Bibi Bourelly at Voodoo Fest

SOUNDCHECK

DECEMBER 2017

@mpatrickwelch Should I take on an xtra job to pay for health insurance? Or should I quit one of my current jobs so I’ll be eligible for the ACA? @BantamFoxes @PalsLounge has the best jukebox in all of the land. Don’t @ me. @T_Blanchard Congratulations @quianalynell_ for winning the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Awards. A well deserved win for an incredible artist whose future is very bright. @GreggAllman Rest In Peace Fats. Much love to his family. @SamuelLJackson I found my thrill on “Blueberry Hill”! RIP Fats Domino. @llcoolj Rest in paradise to Fats Domino. He paved the way for so many. I remember listening to his music as a little boy. @DCMonteverde Fats Domino mural in St. Roch.

www.OFFBEAT.com

FRESH

DO U WANT IT?

Papa Grows Funk history explored

ull disclosure: I’m interviewed in this documentary. And it’s impossible for me to be objective about Papa Grows Funk. I watched this band from its inception and was a fan (I don’t mind saying it) of keyboardist/vocalist John Gros, guitarist June Yamagishi and drummer Russell Batiste long before the group got started. They were immediately a New Orleans supergroup, with connections from the Meters (Gros with George Porter Jr’s band, Batiste with the funky Meters), the Wild Magnolias (June) and Galactic (saxophonist Jason Mingledorff). Their Monday night shows at the Old Point Bar did not at first break any new musical ground but they consolidated an existent style and brought it forward into a new generation. PGF were the harbingers of a lot of the young funk/jam bands that emerged in the new century.

In Do U Want It? filmmakers Josh Freund and Sam Radutzky do a solid job of telling the band’s story through interviews, live performances and animated sequences, showcasing its live strengths from a fan’s perspective. They also track the band’s growth into something more of a jam band—a group with two remarkably good songwriters in Gros and Batiste. Eventually Batiste left and was replaced with another giant on the New Orleans drumming scene, Jeffery “Jellybean” Alexander. The band shifted its Monday date to the Maple Leaf and Gros continued to flourish as a writer, along with Mingledorff, whose presence became more and more important as time wore on. Again, the filmmakers offer live-action proof from Maple Leaf gigs and Jazz Fest footage. The band’s fifth album, Needle in the Groove, marked a quantum leap in production values (with Allen Toussaint and Better Than Ezra’s Tom Drummond splitting duties). But internal pressures were splitting them apart. Tours were arduous and not very rewarding financially, and work on the album was often tedious for the players despite the excellent results. In the end they went their own ways. Yamagishi remains one of the most respected guitarists in the city. Mingledorff has a high-profile gig with the touring band St. Paul and the Broken Bones and a funky Monday gig when he’s in town with King James & the Special Men. Gros has flourished as a solo act and subbed for his inspiration, Art Neville, in the funky Meters while staying in demand around town in a variety of gigs. Did the PGF breakup leave a hole in the New Orleans music scene? No. The musicians are all still contributing, and Do U Want It? ensures that PGF will be remembered for a very long time. —John Swenson www.OFFBEAT.com

D ECEMBER 2017

CELEBRATING

FRESH

February 2000 SOUNDCHECK

Five Questions with singer-songwriter Jake Bugg

“Backtalk with Earl King”

1988-2018

ffBeat Magazine is celebrating 30 years and reached that milestone with our November 2017 issue. To mark the anniversary, OffBeat will re-publish excerpts from features and interviews from the past 30 years. In our second installment, Jeff Hannusch interviews songwriter Earl King. For four decades, Earl King (born Earl Silas Johnson, February 6, 1934) has been the reigning monarch of New Orleans rhythm and blues. King’s career is linked with those of Guitar Slim, Fats Domino, Jimi Hendrix, Allen Toussaint, the Meters, Dr. John and Robert Palmer, all giants in their domains.

DECEMBER 2017

“I always tell new writers, ‘Don’t be afraid to tear a song down because you think you created something perfect.’ You can always find something else to make it better.” —Earl King

ILLUSTRATION: BUNNY MATTHEWS

n early 2012, then eighteen-year-old Jake Bugg released his first United Kingdom hit, the folky, buoyant “Lightning Bolt.” Later that year, his debut album reached number one in the U.K. Five years on, Bugg has released four albums, toured the world and been a Brit Awards and Mercury Prize nominee and New Musical Express and Q Awards winner. A native of Nottingham, England, Bugg journeyed to Nashville to make his new album, Hearts That Strain. It’s an achingly lovely collection influenced by 1960s and ’70s pop. Bugg’s collaborators include Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and Noah Cyrus. Miley Cyrus’ sound-alike little sister Noah duets with Bugg for the Memphis soul–styled ballad, “Waiting.” Grammy-winner David Ferguson, whose studio clients include Auerbach, Sturgill Simpson, Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer and Loretta Lynn, co-produced Hearts That Strain. Veteran studio musicians Gene Chrisman and Bobby Wood (Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and Dusty Springfield’s Dusty In Memphis) put the icing on the cake. Bugg will play the final date of his North American solo acoustic tour December 17 at Tipitina’s. Why record your new album in Nashville? I met the producer, David Ferguson, a couple of years previously at one of those things they call a picking party. I grew up with the music [from Nashville]. To actually be in Nashville and see a picking party was cool. So a natural next step? It was a no-brainer, really. Just to go over there and see what it sounded like. If it sounded terrible, we didn’t have to continue. What did Ferguson contribute to the album? Out of all the records I’ve done, David got the best vocal sound. That’s something quite a few producers have found difficult to do. I’m not the best singer in the world. David brought a lot of warmth and great musicianship as well. It was his call to get Gene Chrisman and Bobby Wood in. It was great to get to play my songs with those guys. How did your co-writing with Dan Auerbach develop? I’d toured with the Black Keys. My friend Matt Sweeney (the album’s co-producer) knew Dan. I always find it a bit difficult writing with new people, because they have their ways of working, but it was worth it. Your songs can be so heartfelt. Music is how I project how I’m feeling. Otherwise, I’m quite reserved. I don’t like to let anyone in, really. Music is my way of expressing myself. Many artists are inhibited in life, but free in their art. —John Wirt

What’s the ideal way for you to compose music? Well, if I can I start working on a piece of music until I burn out. I don’t deal with nothing but that. I eat, sleep, and in between work on music. Writing for me used to be like being on an eight-hour shift. My break was going to the K&B counter for lunch. It’s time-consuming, but I enjoyed doing it. I always tell new writers, ‘Don’t be afraid to tear a song down because you think you created something perfect.’ You can always find something else to make it better. Like one time I was writing a song for Dr. John, ‘Let’s Make A Better World.’ I lost the song and had to write it again. Dr. John cut it and six months later I found the original tune. Well, I’m glad I lost the song because it wasn’t as good as the second version. Tell the story behind the song “Barefootin’?” I had just finished [writing] Johnny Adams’ ‘Part of Me’ and Fess’ ‘Big Chief.’ I called Robert [Parker] and played ‘Barefootin’’ for him on the piano. Chief [Joe Assunto, who co-owned Watch Records] wanted to do the song but he said he had to wait because he was trying to get Johnny’s record exposed in New York and he wanted to get Fess’ record out. He told Robert, ‘Gimme about a month.’ Well Robert left there, took my basic thing and changed the word structure and went with NOLA [Records]. At the time I thought about going to court but Alvin Batiste stopped me. Fess’ record was making a little noise, the Dixie Cups [‘People Say’] were up there, and Willie Tee’s [‘Teasin’ You’] was in the charts. Alvin said, ‘Earl, you don’t need the money.’ Read more at http://www.offbeat.com/articles/earl-king-2/. www.OFFBEAT.com

FRESH

MY MUSIC

photo: frank etheridge

Keiko Komaki

“P

iano was my first instrument. I started to play when I was five years old; my mom wanted my older sister and I to learn. We grew up listening to classical music and I remember my mom, she loved ‘The Nutcracker.’ When I saw ‘The Nutcracker’ ballet in New York for the first time, two years ago, I knew all the songs. I grew up in Kagoshima, Japan. When I graduated from classical studies, I decided to be a keyboard player. My dad always wanted me to work a real job, not a musician, but I was like, ‘No, I want to be a keyboardist.’ Started a part-time job, joined a band and started doing gigs in Tokyo. Then I met a guy who loves New Orleans music. He started his own band I was in doing New Orleans funk, like the Neville Brothers, the Meters, Papa Grows Funk. In 2004, the Wild Magnolias and Papa Grows Funk came to Japan. That blew my mind. I thought, ‘Wow! This is so much fun.’ At that time, we decided to visit New Orleans and came to the Jazz Fest in 2005. I knew I had to move here; I knew I had to come here to learn this music. I was preparing to move here when Katrina happened. My mom, dad and sister all were, ‘No! Not New Orleans.’ But at that time, I felt, ‘If I don’t do it now, it will never happen.’ I was 29 years old and it was the turning point in my life. The most beautiful part of New Orleans music culture is that it is a part of life. At night, people want to go out and listen to music and dance and have a little drink and have a good time with the music. How I grew up in Japan, music was something I listened to. Sitting in a club or theater, just listening to music. Nothing like here, everyone enjoying the music together. Participating in it. That is the great part. The first person who let me play here was Marva Wright; she and her bass player, Benny Turner, taught me how to play blues. I used to go Monday nights to the Maple Leaf, the first place I played when I moved here, to sit in with Papa Grows Funk. Being it’s New Orleans, I learned jazz. Now I mostly tour with Playing for Change, which has taken me to Europe, South America, Australia. Here, I play with Marc Stone, Yakamein, was in the Brass-A-Holics for five years. Sometimes Johnny [Vidacovich] calls me to play in his trio. I started Pink Magnolias, an all-female, all-Japanese blues band. When I moved here, I couldn’t speak English at all. But I knew the Meters or Papa Grows Funk tunes. So when I sat in, at the beginning, they were like, ‘What is this Asian woman doing? Wow!’ Music is the best communication tool. It is the universal language. Now I travel the world and share the music and know that we can enjoy the music together and we can be friends after the show.” —Frank Etheridge www.OFFBEAT.com

DECEMBER 2 017

FRESH

ECHOES OF LAUREL CANYON

Susan Cowsill's new series

DECEMBER 2017

www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: Susan Cowsill in 1975-76. courtesy of warner bros.

usan Cowsill is usually associated with two cities: Newport, Rhode Island, the original home of her singing family, and New Orleans, her home for the past two decades. But some of the time between was spent in Los Angeles, where she moved with the rest of the Cowsills in the late ’60s. She was there as a young teenager when the fabled Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter scene was heating up, and it’s informed her own music ever since. She’ll return to that era in a new series, “Echoes of Laurel Canyon,” that launches at the International House Hotel on November 30 and will continue on the last Thursday of every month. Cowsill is no stranger to doing other peoples’ material: She’s performed dozens of classic albums straight through, often with magical results, in her “Covered in Vinyl” series (currently on hiatus). These shows, however, will be unplugged and up-close, saluting a particular songwriter with a guest artist each month. The guests get to choose their favorite Canyon-related artist, then she and the guest pick favorite songs and share vocals. Alex McMurray opens the series doing Neil Young; set for coming months are Alexis Marceaux doing Carole King in December and John Boutté doing James Taylor in January. As a child of the ’60s, she grew up with the usual reference points and pre-teen crushes. “I grew up being a Cowsill and a Monkees fan—I was of course going to marry Davy and that was that. So that was my adolescence, but my teenage time was spent in the Canyon. I got to be a fly on the wall while it was going on—I knew the artists, the drug dealers, you name it.” By 1975 she lived on Wonderland in the Canyon, and even had the honor of nearly being arrested. “There was a photo booth that was robbed at gunpoint, and I got mistaken for one of the suspects. There were five cop cars in Laurel Canyon, and as they’re writing me up I see Marlon Brando walk by. So I came out with a lot of tales to tell.” Her enduring love for that era’s music should be no surprise to anyone who’s followed her solo albums or the Covered in Vinyl series. “It really seemed that these girls and guys were telling our whole life story—that introspective outfit expressing all of our happy-sad, madglad angst. Just give me Sweet Baby James and I’m off and running.” Cowsill expects to be plenty busy in the coming year: She and husband/musical partner Russ Broussard are now laying down tracks for her long-overdue third solo album. The Cowsills have also signed on to do the Happy Together tour for the fourth time next year. —Brett Milano

IN MEMORIAM

Wendell Albert Eugene (1923 – 2017)

hen Wendell Eugene was 13 years old, his brother, Homer, gave him his first trombone. By the time he was 15, he was a member of the musicians’ union. For close to 80 years, Eugene kept blowin’ the trombone with everyone from Louis Armstrong to Kermit Ruffins. New Orleans native Wendell Albert Eugene died on Tuesday, November 7 at the age of 94. “He never forgot how to play that horn,” says trumpeter/vocalist Gregg Stafford, who early on worked with Eugene in trumpeter Teddy Riley’s brass band. In recent years, the trombonist played with Stafford’s Young Tuxedo Brass Band and up until 2016, Eugene was aboard drummer Barry Martyn’s band at its annual appearances at Mandeville’s Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall. “He was the ideal guy to have in a band because he could play anything that you wanted to play,” says Martyn. “If you gave him the music he’d just play it straight up or he could do it by ear. He had a great ease at picking up numbers.” Stafford describes Eugene as being the last of the second generation of traditional jazz trombonists who came up under early pioneers such as Jim Robinson and Louis Nelson. Wendell Brunious’ history with Eugene dates back to the trumpeter’s birth. “Wendell asked my daddy [John Brunious Sr.], ‘What are you going to name this baby?’” Brunious says. ‘I don’t know, I have so many children.’ ‘Well name him Wendell after me.’ Every time I would see him he’d say, ‘Boy, you better be glad your father named you after somebody so good looking.’”

DECEMBER 2017

“He was a wonderful guy. He was a wonderful father. He walked with a mail bag for 30 years to take care of his family. That’s a man, that’s a father.” Eugene served in the U.S. Navy and was recruited into its marching and concert bands. It was during his stint that he had the opportunity to play with the legendary Louis Armstrong at a USO show. While Eugene worked for the U.S. Post Office, he played on weekends and would schedule his vacations around tours with ensembles like the Olympia and Onward brass bands. In New Orleans, Eugene’s trombone enhanced numerous ensembles, including those led by clarinetists George Lewis and Dr. Michael White and banjoist Papa French. Kermit Ruffins called in Eugene to record “Basin Street Blues” on his 2002 album Big Easy. The trumpeter first played with the trombonist on the street when Eugene was with the Olympia. “I would chase behind those guys just soaking that stuff up like a sponge,” Ruffins remembers. “He played that old, old trombone style and man, those high notes that he used to do. He was a total gentleman that’s for sure—dressed nice, looked good and his horn was always nice and clean.” “He was a powerful, strong trombonist,” declares Freddie Lonzo, the keeper of the flame of the tailgate style. “I couldn’t figure out where he got his sound—he was a little guy.” “He had a lot of wind,” Martyn agrees. “A lot of people followed behind him and tried to play like him but none of them could.” —Geraldine Wyckoff www.OFFBEAT.com

IN MEMORIAM

M RIA EMO M IN

Antoine “Fats” Domino Jr. February 26, 1928—October 24, 2017

Photo: greg miles

ats Domino, arguably the greatest ambassador of New Orleans music, one of the founders of rhythm and blues, as well as rock ’n’ roll, died peacefully while in hospice care at his home in Harvey, Louisiana on October 24. He was 89. Domino, whose last performance was in 2006, had been in failing health for several years. Upon delayed word of his passing, tributes from New Orleanians and people from around the world poured in rapidly. Along with Dave Bartholomew, Domino helped shape popular music for more than a decade. He has sold 65 million records and been awarded 23 gold records. His more than three dozen Top 40 hits include “I’m Walkin’,” “Ain’t That a Shame,” “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday,” “Three Nights a Week,” “Walkin’ to New Orleans,” “My Girl Josephine,” and of course “Blueberry Hill.” Over the years, Domino’s accolades piled up. Among them, in 1986 he was named one of the original inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was awarded a National Medal of the Arts in 1999. In 2006, Domino was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by this magazine. “Fats Domino’s place in the birth of black music/rhythm and blues/rock ’n’ roll is in my opinion that he’s at the head of the class,” said Lloyd Price, a contemporary of Domino and fellow inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “If Fats Domino was not born with the gift of playing the piano, there never would have been a New Orleans sound. “I was very fortunate that when he walked in Cosimo’s [J&M] Studio that day and played on ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’ because music has never been the same. The sound on those records changed the way the public heard music and revolutionized the world. www.OFFBEAT.com

It brought freedom to how people socially listened to music. No one has ever been able to copy his music.” Price also stressed that despite his global popularity, Domino remained a humble man. “Fame and fortune was never his reason for being even though he had a lot of both. It wasn’t his reason for being. I don’t think it meant anything to him because he loved playing the piano. I had a deal in the U.K. for him for five million dollars and he told me ‘No.’ He wanted to stay home and cook. His greatness and longevity came from the grain in his DNA. It was natural. He never took anything seriously.” Obviously the piano was the cornerstone of Domino’s sound. During OffBeat’s 2007 tribute, several New Orleans pianists described the foundation of Domino’s style. “He’s a guy that kept the boogie-woogie piano tradition going,” said Tom McDermott. “The straight ahead old time tradition of Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons and Jimmy Yancey. On songs like ‘Swanee River Hop’ he kept that tradition alive.” “When he [Domino] came out he showed how effective simplicity could be,” added Henry Butler. “There were a lot of great musicians in New Orleans, but they weren’t able to focus on that ability into a message of simplicity. His ability to do that is probably why he sold so many records. The thing what one probably remembers is his use of triplets and trills as he did on ‘Blueberry Hill.’ But he used that on other songs as well.” Antoine Domino Jr. was born February 28, 1928, the youngest of nine children. Domino’s family lived in the then-rural Lower Ninth Ward and his father supported the family working at the Fair Grounds Race Track. The family inherited a used piano when Domino

turned 10 that became the center of the boy’s attention. Domino’s musical inspiration originally came from his brother-in-law Harrison Verret, a veteran Dixieland musician. Verret wrote the name of the keys on the piano keys and taught him chords and scales. “He’s the one that taught me the foundations,” said Domino in 1991, referring to Verret. “Once he showed me the chords, I could play with any band.” Domino didn’t advance past the fourth grade, eventually taking jobs hauling ice, laboring in a lumberyard and a bed spring plant and working with his father at the Fair Grounds. Playing the piano, though, eventually provided an escape from a life of labor: In 1947 he was invited to join Billy Diamond’s group, the Solid Senders. It was Diamond who first encouraged Domino to sing as well as play, and he quickly became the center of attention on gigs. Diamond was also the first person to refer to Domino as “Fats,” which at first irked Domino. But at 5’ 5”, 220 pounds, the name naturally fit. By 1949, the Solid Senders were a regular attraction at the tiny Hideaway Club on Desire Street in the Lower Ninth Ward. On a tip one evening Imperial Records owner Lew Chudd and his newly hired A&R man Dave Bartholomew wandered in to the rough-andtumble Hideaway to find out what all the fuss was about down on Desire Street. “It was a Friday night and I wasn’t working, so Lew and I went down there,” said Bartholomew in 1982. “That was the first time we heard Fats. (The timing has been questioned on occasion by Bartholomew’s band mates.) He was singing this tune ‘The Junker’s Blues,’ and Lew really liked it. So at intermission Fats was introducedto Lew Chudd, and that’s how everything got started.” DECEMBER 2 017

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The Fats Domino Starter Mix Domino was offered an Imperial recording contract by Chudd when Domino’s brotherin-law interceded. It was Verret who suggested to Domino that he not sell his songs outright, but rather opt to earn steady royalties on the music he would record. The rest is history. Domino’s first recording at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio was an adaptation of a traditional New Orleans barrelhouse song, “The Junker Blues.” Bartholomew adapted the old standby, changing

By 1955, Domino was an established star in black America. However, the rock ’n’ roll firecracker was about to explode and he was poised to be part of the fireworks. That same year, another Bartholomew-produced “Ain’t That a Shame” became his second record to top the R&B charts. It also briefly climbed the pop charts to the Hot 100, a first for Domino. The record undoubtedly would have sold more, though, had it not been covered by pop-star pretty boy Pat Boone.

the lyrics, the tempo and the title. The boogie-woogie driven “The Fat Man” became Domino’s calling card and reached number six in the R&B charts. Domino wasn’t exactly off to the races, but the door had opened. Two years later, he scored his first number one R&B record with the chilling blues “Goin’ Home.” Ironically, “Goin’ Home” might well have stayed at the top of the chart longer (one week) if not for Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”—which Domino played on—that also went to number one, for seven weeks.

The following year, Domino struck gold in a big way. Three of his Imperial singles made the top ten in the pop charts, including “I’m In Love Again” and his signature “Blueberry Hill.” While Domino continued to record straight-ahead, New Orleans rhythm and blues, he was becoming better known as a rock ’n’ roll artist, a fact that perplexed Domino. “Everybody started calling my music rock ’n’ roll,” said Domino. “But it wasn’t anything but the same rhythm and blues I’d been playing down in New Orleans. I

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Nobody should have to settle for ten Fats Domino songs, since the man left us such an embarrassment of riches (and the last we checked, the hundred-song Imperial box could still be had for cheap). So consider this something of a starter mix, mostly Imperial essentials but with a few later gems thrown in. “The Fat Man” (1950): One of the two records most often cited—along with the Ike Turner-produced “Rocket 88,” from 1951— as the first rock ’n’ roll record. Contrarians say it was really more of a jump-blues record, but the easy-rolling Domino style needed only a few tweaks to be undoubtedly R&R. “Ain’t That a Shame” (1955): Time to give a cheer for Dave Bartholomew, who co-wrote this and many other Domino touchstones. Note how well a song like this was tailored to Domino’s upbeat personality: It’s a breakup song where the singer already sounds halfway over it. “I’m in Love Again” (1956): Everybody’s got to have a favorite and this one’s mine, crystallizing all of the Domino joie de vivre in two tidy minutes. “Baby, don’t you let your dog bite me”—perfect. “Blueberry Hill” (1956): One of the few songs around that had two definitive versions, by Fats and Louis Armstrong, and Fats only needed to add a stronger backbeat to make it a rock ’n’ roll ballad. Proof of how quintessentially New Orleans he was, if you needed any. “Blue Monday” (1956): The beautiful simplicity of Fats’ and Bartholomew’s lyrics is always worth noting, but this song ranks as one of the first rock classics to employ working-class themes—and to do it in a universal way. “Got to get my rest, ’cause Monday is a mess”— Who can’t relate to that? “Walking to New Orleans” (1960): His pronunciation of “New Orlin” is one of the many wonderful things about this record. Writer Bobby Charles also pitched Fats “See You Later Alligator,” which he turned down because he didn’t like alligators. “Dance With Mr. Domino” (1962): Sometimes called “Domino Twist,” this minor hit was among the most frantic of his vintage singles. It was a real treat to hear him revive it at later Jazz Fest appearances, especially with the great Herb Hardesty still around to do the sax honors. “Packin’ Up” (1964): One of the unsung gems from the postImperial ABC/Paramount era, when Fats was working with Chris Kenner and going for a more produced soul sound; the horns and backup vocals on this one make it sound more like a Ray Charles record. Elvis Costello collectors may recognize this song as covered on his early demos. “Lady Madonna” (1968): It was probably inevitable that Fats would cover the Beatles hit written in his style—the first of three consecutive Beatle-cover singles, by the way—and he doesn’t have to change anything to make it work. He turned the piano chair over to James Booker for this one, making it more a pity there’s no solo. “Whiskey Heaven” (1980): A moment of glory from the later years—from a Clint Eastwood soundtrack, of all things—and proof that Fats could have followed Jerry Lee into the country charts if he’d had more songs on this level. —Brett Milano www.OFFBEAT.com

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Cats on Fats think Alan Freed was the first one to call it rock ’n’ roll.” Bartholomew explained the formula for their records during that era. “We were actually searching for a sound in those days. I never wanted to make things too complicated. It had to be a kind of thing that a seven-year-old could start whistlin’. I just kept it simple. “I always felt Fats was a country singer because he didn’t sing from the bottom. Fats played triplets on the piano—he got that from a guy called Little Willie Littlefield. That was Fats’ style. Once he started it he couldn’t leave it, because that’s what people wanted to hear.” The rock ’n’ roll boom of the 1950s was not lost on Hollywood.

Domino appeared in several of these big screen epics, including Shake, Rattle & Rock!, The Big Beat and The Girl Can’t Help It. Domino and his band also toured relentlessly, often headlining rock ’n’ roll extravaganzas. Indeed, they once played 79 dates with only 2 nights off in one stretch. The Domino hit parade continued through the late 1950s into the early 1960s as he continued touring and selling records in the pop and R&B charts. In 1962, Domino made his first trip to Europe, even meeting the Beatles in a Hamburg club. In 1963, he left Imperial and went on record for ABC, and later Mercury, Broadmoor and Reprise. This move, combined with the “British

In April 2015 OffBeat writer David Kunian asked New Orleans piano players three questions: What is your favorite Fats Domino tune and why? What does Fats Domino and his music mean to you personally? What does Fats Domino and his music mean to New Orleans, the United States, and the Universe? Jon Cleary There are a few Fats songs in my repertoire. “Blueberry Hill,” obviously, and I think “Blue Monday,” just what happens when you’re playing hard with a band and you get to that bridge where the whole band is playing triplets and it builds and builds and builds and it’s a great pressure cooker. That’s one of my favorites. Fats Domino provided material that you could replicate fairly quickly. It’s very simple in its structure. What he did with it was add a whole lot of soul to it, and that’s magical. But the form—triplet form with the Jimmy Yancey bassline—that was relatively simple and that was the key that could unlock the door and you could start delving more deeply into Toussaint and others.

There’s a lot I like about Fats. “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday,” it has a certain appeal to me. I knew Antoine for a long time. After a period of time, I developed a respect for his ability to present his music. I think Fats means a lot more to New Orleans than any other parts of America. See, the thing about him and his music is that it came from the culture of this town, and over the years he used musicians who were either from here or had been here for a long time. Like Lee Allen, he lived here but he came from somewhere else. They were able to grasp the concept of Fats. And consequently if he went to Vegas or wherever he went, what he brought to people was the culture of New Orleans. He brought them New Orleans. Fats had 23 gold records. And when he would come to Al Hirt’s, sometimes his road man Raymond, it would take Raymond forever to get him on the bandstand. But once he got on the bandstand, he wasn’t going to get down until the people in that club had heard all 19 of those records. There were not that many people who would understand the tradition here that reached the level where people would know them through the music or have heard the name. The point is that he was the consummate showman.

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Photo: greg miles

Ellis Marsalis

Photo: SYNDEY BYRD

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Tom McDermott “I’m Walking”—I’ve always liked the contrapuntal line the sax plays, and counterpoint in general. Ray Charles and Fats may have been the two earliest to crossover to white pop audiences. I think New Orleans loves him because he stayed in his original hood until he was flooded out—and because he is such a wonderful singer and cherubic presence.

John Autin My sentimental favorite is “The Rooster Song.” Fats is so big all over the world. He’s our Elvis, our Beatles, our Michael Jackson all rolled into one. Every time I play a Fats song, the room lights up. It brings back memories for old folks and makes little kids dance. Fats is just magic.

Henry Butler Fats Domino was one of the more unique pianists/vocalists to come out of New Orleans. His uniqueness did not necessarily come from having great dexterity or facility on the piano. As I have listened to much of his music over the years, I think that he understood that he was not able to compete with the likes of James Booker, Allen Toussaint, Tuts Washington, etc.—but, he had lots of appeal being his natural, musical self. Fats Domino, in his simplicity, gave New Orleans presence at the top of most of the popular charts. He made lots of New Orleanians, people across the nation, and people throughout the world happy— especially when they heard him in live performance.

Josh Paxton “I’m Ready,” because it was the song that turned me on to Fats when I first started checking out the early rock ’n’ roll piano players as a kid. The whole thing just grooves. It was important to me because when I started really studying New Orleans music, it was a bridge between a lot of music I was already familiar with and this new stuff I was hearing for the first time. Hearing what he had in common with, say, the Chicago blues and boogie-woogie players but also noting how he was different from them, was an important step for me in understanding a lot of New Orleans music.

Davis Rogan My favorite Fats Domino song is “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday.” It captures the essence of that playful feel of New Orleans R&B. It was written by Roy Hayes. The other credited writer is Dave Bartholomew, whose hand is very evident in the arrangements. It’s classic Fats, driven by Earl Palmer and spiked by Lee Allen. All this epitomizes Fats for me— that he was able to attract such massive talents to collaborate with him. Fats Domino and the early New Orleans rhythm and blues style influenced music in America and the world on a level and scale equal to that of New Orleans jazz in the 1920s. There have been New Orleans styles since then that have been recognized and imitated world-wide— bounce, funk, modern brass bands, but nothing yet has had the influence of Fats et al, who had a seismic impact on the national aesthetic. www.OFFBEAT.com

Fats Domino & Bethany Bultman

Invasion,” caused a precipitous drop in Domino’s record sales. Ironically, his last charting record, “Lady Madonna” (from 1968) was a cover of a Beatles hit, a song inspired by Domino/Smiley Lewis’ “Blue Monday.” By the late 1960s, Domino and his band had become fixtures on the Las Vegas Strip. During the 1970s, Domino toured and still played the Vegas casinos, usually for 10 months of the year. On the road, Domino travelled with a hot plate, as well as his pots and pans, cooking up New Orleans favorites like red beans, gumbo and everyone’s favorite, chitlins, in his hotel suite. By the 1980s, Domino tired of the road, choosing to stick close to his Ninth Ward home. His few live performances were mostly restricted to the Jazz and Heritage Festival and the Riverboat President. In 1986, he was persuaded to make the trek to New York City, where he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame. Later that year, Domino starred in the Cinemax special Fats & Friends with fellow Hall inductees Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis, which was filmed at the old Storyville Hall. Filmmaker David McBurnett, who produced 1986’s Fats & Friends, still remembers the shoot well. “The filming was pretty simple. Fats wanted a little more money at the last minute, but that was no big deal. Having Dave [Bartholomew] there made it a lot easier because he was running the band. Fats was really honored to be working with Ray and Jerry Lee because they’d been friends for a long time. I think Fats thought he was finally getting his due and he liked being appreciated. “After the first set he wandered into the video truck and wanted to see the replay because he wanted to see how he looked. He wanted to be happy, but he also wanted us to be happy too. DECEMBER 2 017

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Rick Coleman, author of Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ’n’ Roll, contributed these simple tributes for Fats Domino’s 70th birthday in 1998.

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“T

he Fat Man” is the coolest debut record ever, defining both the singer and his rockin’ sound, and is perhaps even the fabled “first rock ’n’ roll record.” “Going To The River” was the first “rhythm & blues” song that Bobby Charles, John Fred and Buddy Holly ever heard. “I’m In Love Again” was the first “rock ’n’ roll” song that George Harrison heard. “Ain’t That a Shame” was the first song that John Lennon learned. Even after Domino virtually stopped recording in the 1970s, the raves continued. Robert Palmer of the New York Times wrote in 1977: “Mr. Domino ended his whirlwind set, a set that included some marvelous boogie piano as well as his usual inimitable vocals, with ‘When The Saints Go Marching In,’ and Mr. Bartholomew led the band’s horn players in a strutting march around the [Madison Square] Garden. The result was sheer exuberant bedlam… [Chuck Berry’s] performance was an anticlimax after Mr. Domino.” Peter Watrous of the New York Times wrote in 1991: “For a decade or two Mr. Domino brought [New Orleans’] sense of joy, along with its rhythms and anarchic sensibility to the rest of the country… 42 years after his first record, he is still making music as fresh and vital as ever.” He helped make “I’m Gonna Be A Wheel Someday” into a true story. Baton Rouge Cajun Roy Hayes, who wrote it in anger at his boss at his packing job, later got royalties from Domino’s hit that enabled him to buy a cherry-colored 1960 Dodge Dart. Fats regularly employed some of New Orleans’ greatest—often otherwise neglected—musicians in his bands: Herbert Hardesty (with Fats from 1949), Lee Allen, “Tenoo” Coleman, “Papoose” Nelson, Wendell Duconge, Clarence Ford, Ernest McLean, Roy Montrell, Nat Perrilliat, Walter Kimble, Fred Kemp, Clarence Brown, “Smokey” Johnson, Roger Lewis, Jimmy Moliere, Erving Charles, etc. “Fats was a hell of a lot better musician than people give him credit for,” says Earl Palmer, the father of the rock ‘n’ roll backbeat. “He had a lot of original thoughts and they were all creative. A lot of music came out of him that everybody else was doin’, for example, those [piano] triplets.” He actually had more hit songs (over 50) than Elvis Presley in the 1950s. He dominated the R&B charts for 13 crucial years, including an incredible stretch from 1956–1957 in which he held down the number one spot for five solid months. The Beatles serenaded Fats in a trailer in back of City Park Stadium before their September 1964 concert in New Orleans. Says Fats: “They started singing one of my numbers, ‘I’m In Love Again,’ and of course I joined in!” When Fats played Las Vegas, he was surrounded by stars who loved him. “Elvis used to come to all the late shows, so he wouldn’t be heavily noticed,” says Andy Chudd, who managed Domino for a short time in the 1970s, “which was tough to do, but he loved Fats, he thought he was a great entertainer. But so many name people I saw see him—you know, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. These were people that would be working the show rooms, and after they were done, they’d come out and watch him. Muhammad Ali meeting him in his prime… Louis Armstrong…” Other than music, Fats loves nothing better than cooking and talking with his friends at home. As Fats’ longtime right-hand man Raymond Allen says, “They should name a street or something after him. He didn’t do like a lot of musicians, got big and left here and moved away.” www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: john glenn

“I’ve seen Fats a lot, but this was historic. Fats still had it and so did Jerry Lee and Ray. Those three were the pioneers of rock ’n’ roll. I don’t think either of them had put a show on like that that night in over 20 years.” When asked about the impact of the loss of Domino, McBurnett chooses his words carefully. “We really lost Fats after Katrina. Fats set the marker. He represented the heart of New Orleans and now he’s gone. He really touched us all.” In 1993, Domino delivered Christmas Is a Special Day, his first new recording in several years. Increasingly reclusive (he rarely consented to interviews), in 1999 he was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton, but sent daughter Antoinette to the White House to pick it up. In 1987 he passed on traveling to New York to receive his Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. When Katrina hit in 2005, Domino unwisely chose to ride out the hurricane at his home. After the Industrial Canal levee broke, Domino had to be rescued by boat by the New Orleans Harbor Police after floating up on a door to the second floor of a house. Initially, international news reports said Domino had died. Because the Caffin Avenue house was uninhabitable, Domino eventually stayed briefly with a niece in Baton Rouge before checking into a downtown hotel for several months. The year 2006 was busy for Domino. He and his family moved into a spacious new mansion in a gated community across the river in Harvey. He was the subject of the official Jazz Fest poster and was scheduled to headline at the Fair Grounds. At the last minute,

He would record one last album, Alive and Kickin’. His last live appearance at Tipitina’s was in conjunction with the new album. Domino said he was ill, and his appearance was cancelled. He would record one last album, Alive and Kickin’. His last live appearance at Tipitina’s was in conjunction with the new album. It consisted of 11 songs packed into 30 minutes. That same year, Rick Coleman’s Blue Monday: Fats Domino and the Lost Dawn of Rock ’n’ Roll was published by Da Capo Press. It was finally the first extended biography of Domino. The following year started on a positive note with Domino being awarded OffBeat’s Best of the Beat Lifetime Achievement Award in Music at a tribute concert hosted at House of

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Blues. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin declared the day “Fats Domino Day in New Orleans” and presented him with a signed declaration. OffBeat publisher Jan Ramsey and WWL-TV’s Eric Paulsen presented Domino with the Lifetime Achievement Award. An all-star musical tribute followed with an introduction by Cosimo Matassa. The Lil’ Band O’ Gold rhythm section, Warren Storm, Kenny Bill Stinson, David Egan and C. C. Adcock, anchored the band, and each contributed lead vocals, with swamp pop legend Storm leading off with “Let the Four Winds Blow” and “The Prisoner Song,” which he proudly introduced by

saying, “Fats Domino recorded this in 1958... and so did I.” The horn section included Lil’ Band O’ Gold’s Dickie Landry, the Iguanas’ Derek Huston, and long-time Domino horn men Roger Lewis, Elliot “Stackman” Callier and Herb Hardesty. They were joined by Jon Cleary (who also played guitar in the rhythm section), Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Irma Thomas, George Porter Jr. (who provided a funky arrangement for “You Keep On Knocking”), Art Neville, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, who wrote and debuted a song in tribute of Domino for the occasion. Though Domino did not perform, those near him recall him miming

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playing the piano and singing along to his own songs. In 2008 his wife of 60 years, Rosemary, quietly passed away without the public knowing for several months. Eventually, Domino slowly succumbed to the ills that pursue most octogenarians. He was hospitalized on more than one occasion, and eventually those ills overtook him. Domino’s funeral was a private ceremony attended by family and close friends at Providence Park Cemetery in Metairie. Antoine Domino Jr. is survived by four daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. —Jeff Hannusch

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SOUL REBELS

Tricky Repertoire The Soul Rebels step out of the box.

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PHoto: ren adkins

ince the late 1990s, the Soul Rebels brass band has forged its own brand of New Orleans music. The eight-piece outfit may look like a traditional brass band, but the sounds emanating from its instruments are far from fixed. In late 2017 the Soul Rebels signature is the collaboration, whether it be with iconic names in rap like Rakim and Prodigy or the metal stylings of Marilyn Manson and Metallica. Most recently, the group has taken steps towards becoming New Orleans’ most popular touring brass band in hip-hop, albeit through the export of its talent. With international gigs alongside Nas and Talib Kweli, the Soul Rebels continue to represent the Crescent City in ways that push the boundaries of what audiences can expect from a brass band. But the formula isn’t relegated to performances abroad; in December, the crew will perform alongside Kweli again, this time at the Joy Theater with New Orleans rapper Curren$y. Audiences can expect to hear a mix of covers and original music during any given performance from the Soul Rebels, who routinely perform at Le Bon Temps Roule on Thursday nights while not on the road. What remains consistent in the band’s repertoire is an ability to bridge the familiar with the unexpected. Trumpet player Julian Gosin credits the group’s singular focus on a particular direction with its ability to rise above the proliferation of brass bands in New Orleans on such a global, crossover level. “We wanted our music on a broader scale, and didn’t want any closed doors,” he says. “We don’t want to be boxed in and don’t want the instrumentation to label us. We can do what any other band at a concert can do.” All eight current members—Julian Gosin (trumpet); Marcus Hubbard (trumpet); Lumar Leblanc (snare

Audiences can witness the Soul Rebels doing what the Soul Rebels do best on Friday, December 8 at the Joy Theater. Also performing are Robert Glasper, Talib Kweli and Curren$y.

drum); Derrick Moss (bass drum); Manuel Perkins Jr. (sousaphone); Corey Peyton (trombone); Paul Robertson (trombone) and Erion Williams (saxophone)—support a mainstream trajectory, but there is a growing desire to foster a homegrown base they say is lacking. Hubbard explains that incorporating so much hip-hop in its repertoire has made it somewhat tricky for the band to promote New Orleans rap. Though the formula has worked tremendously with New York rappers, the same can’t be said of local flavor. “It’s working for us a lot in New York and out of town right now,” he says. “But if we were trying to push it and make it happen [in New Orleans], it probably wouldn’t have got off the ground. [Audiences] don’t really look to New Orleans for hip-hop, and we’re trying to open the eyes of the world to let ’em know you got all different kinds of music right here, but there’s only certain kinds of music that get pushed to the forefront.” By Amanda Mester

“That’s why it’s important to just keep your head down and just keep pushing towards your direction,” says Peyton, who laments the pigeonholing that comes with the territory of being billed as a brass band from New Orleans, rather than a band capable of much more. Commenting on the frequency with which audiences outside of New Orleans bring preconceived notions to a performance from the Soul Rebels, Peyton places emphasis on the group’s desire to “just keep expanding” beyond the traditional jazz they may be expecting. Hubbard echoes the sentiment. “There’s bands that’s doing that. All we’re asking is for the opportunity for us to be us. Lately, people have been really receptive to it. But still, some of the places we go now, soon as they see the Soul Rebels from New Orleans [on the marquee], they take out the handkerchiefs and umbrellas.” “I don’t know why masses of people expect us to sound just like the other brass band who was

here last week and the one before that and the one before that,” says Moss. “They expect us all to do the same shit. That would just be a clone. We not trying to be a clone. We trying to step out of the box and not just play 100-year-old songs.” “You gotta connect with the youngsters, ’cause that’s the future,” says Hubbard. “You might hear brass bands do a hip-hop format on a second line beat, but our drummers actually play hip-hop beats.” With two decades of history behind it, the Soul Rebels brass band has the benefit of generational influence imbued in its roster, with members representing a crosssection of hip-hop generations. As such, it only makes sense that the band will embrace the sounds of current rap (including trap) as much as the sounds of progenital eras. “Will the band do trap covers?” we ask. “I don’t even know who that is,” responds Moss, inciting a wave of laughter from the other members. “You’re fired,” jokes Gosin. O www.OFFBEAT.com

MICHAEL CERVERIS

Seasonal Affective Disorder

od Hodges walked into the Music Shed in midAugust to cut tracks for Loose Cattle’s Christmas album, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and a muggy New Orleans summer day suddenly transformed into something completely different. “It was kinda weird,” said the Iguanas guitarist. “I had just gotten back from California and it was all dark in the studio. I plug in and suddenly I’m playing on ‘The Day It Snows On Christmas.’ It was... psychedelic.” Hodges was one of several New Orleans musicians that Michael Cerveris and Kimberly Kaye, coleaders of Loose Cattle, recruited to put the finishing touches on what is certainly one of the most idiosyncratic holiday records in recent memory. At first glance Cerveris and Kaye, along with bassist Lorenzo Wolff and drummer Eddy Zweiback, appear to have concocted a slightly left-ofcenter country Christmas record, but a closer listen reveals more eccentric moves. Like covering Tom Waits and Robert Earl Keen along with BR549, Willie Nelson and George Strait, then adding Joni Mitchell and Big Star to the mix. Then putting together a medley of the pop music staple “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with Charles Brown’s R&B classic “Please Come Home For Christmas.” Adding some Louisiana flavor with an original Cajun Christmas song, “Don’t Make Your Mama Cry On Christmas Day,” written by Andre and Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers and Cerveris. Then with a tough minded Cerveris/Kaye political carol, “Shepherds In a Parking Lot.” Cerveris is known to New Orleanians for his work with Paul Sanchez in Nine Lives and to a larger audience for, among other things, a scintillating Broadway career that started out with the lead role in Tommy, evolved through two Tony

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No shepherds in this parking lot Only fallen angels tryin’ to live in peace Sometimes It’s hard to sing A Christmas song “Michael loves ritual and he loves traditions,” said Kaye. “Michael and I have a very different relationship with the holidays. I hate Christmas. I’ve had a lot of death in the family, heartache; it’s a tough time of year for me. Michael loves it. He loves putting on Christmas specials, going to events, decorating the tree. I’m in shutdown mode. For us to be able to meld his enthusiasm for the holidays with the acknowledgement that it’s a tough time for some people was great and I love writing songs with him.” Maybe you can be the wise one Bringing love where there’s a need For shepherds in a parking lot Maybe fallen angels don’t have to quite believe And sometimes We can sing This Christmas song

awards, most recently Fun Home, and now has him playing Professor Pyg in the Gotham TV series. Kaye sings with Sanchez and in the hard rock band The Night Confession. She wrote and performed in the macabre and hilarious A Christmassacre Story in 2014. The two have been fronting Loose Cattle as an alternative “Johnny and June” act since 2011, but on this record they’re forging a new identity. “My voice has more characters in these songs,” said Cerveris. “There are some songs like ‘Truck Stop Christmas’ where I leaned on the By John Swenson

accents that I grew up with in West Virginia, but on ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ I’m just trying to use my vocal instrument to put the song across. We’ve taken to calling it Americana because nobody knows what that is so you can put it under that banner.” Cerveris and Kaye’s thoughts about Christmas are starkly different, which adds some frisson to the mix. “Shepherds in the Parking Lot” captures this perfectly. There’s no wise men on the TV No light in the east

“Writing a Christmas song is a unique thing,” said Cerveris. “I wanted to include modern elements. There were a lot of drafts, but the early drafts were too political. It made the song smaller. So we did a lot of back and forth. It’s kind of like writing a Christmas card to the world.” The album features two collaborations between Kaye and pianist Tom McDermott. “Tom’s work with Kim has been really important to the band,” said Cerveris. McDermott does a superb job accompanying Kaye on Waits’ “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis.” But the real payday comes on the www.OFFBEAT.com

PHoto: ZACK SMITH

A Louisiana Christmas with Loose Cattle.

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unlikely inclusion of Joni Mitchell’s nearly untouchable “River.” “There’s no outsinging Joni Mitchell on that song,” said Kaye. “It means so much to so many people. I was terrified to sing it. The thing I love about that song is how clear her storytelling is. It’s a beautiful piece of narrative that just happens to be a song. Working with Tom on playing that song, he has some Cuban-influenced stuff that he does with his left hand on the piano, then we added that kind of wistful banjo. We tried to present it where we’re telling this story. Tom is a huge part of that storytelling, with little echoes and phrasing. He makes snow happen

with his right hand at the end of the song. It’s just perfect.” “The songs we chose say a lot about us,” said Cerveris. “Really great songwriting says something really specific and leaves plenty of space for you to fill in the rest. As a band we tend to like to have something to say.” O A Very Loose Cattle Christmas will take place December 19 at Chickie Wah Wah, with Rod Hodges, Tom McDermott, Craig Klein and other guests. Cerveris and Kaye will also be part of Judith Owens and Harry Shearer's Christmas Without Tears December 22 and December 23 at Le Petit Theatre.

Oh Crap, It’s Christmas! Again

ichael Cerveris and Kimberly Kaye will join the all-star cast of Oh Crap, It’s Christmas!—A Musical Holiday Spectacular, hosted by the wife-and-husband team of Debbie Davis and Matt Perrine. This year’s renewal will again be staged at Cafe Istanbul, December 17 at 7 p.m. The template for the event is the great 2014 album Oh Crap, It’s Christmas!, but don’t expect to hear an exact duplication of that program. “New material every year!” promises Davis. “Never the same show, though there are always a few chestnuts, so to speak. For one thing, there will be a tuba duet. For another, I’m planning a turn from the sacred canon which I’ve never done outside the cathedral.” The show will certainly be a mixture of sentimental favorites, comedy numbers and some eccentric choices. The tears will be a little bigger and likely to last a little longer this year because Davis is still suffering from the recent death of her father. “We’re doing it,” she vowed. “Obviously it’s taken on a different import of late. It’s gonna be a hard year to do it but I have to do it.” The blonde singer/ukulele player is a solid trouper and if anything her grief will add another measure of emotional depth to her performance. As usual she has assembled a great supporting cast. “In addition to Michael and Kimberly from Loose Cattle we have traditional jazz elder statesman Steve Yocum; local chanteuse Sarah Quintana; Simpson’s animator and tuba phenomenon David Silverman; rock ’n’ roll royalty Susan Cowsill; Dallas steampunk darling Darwin Davis; guitar shredder Ben Perrine; and a cappella harmonists the Jingle Belles. The band consists of Tom Hook on piano; Alex McMurray on guitar; Richard Scott on accordion/trombone/piano; Andre Bohren on drums; Jack Craft on cello; Harry Hardin on violin; and bandleader, arranger, tubist, bassist and all around good elf Matt Perrine.” www.OFFBEAT.com

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COVER STORY

Hot Like theSun The Revivalists celebrate at home. By Brett Milano

Photography by Elsa Hahne

hen do you know that your band is really making it? When strangers at the airport start pointing you out? When half the radio stations in the country seem to be booking you for acoustic sets? When you only get a couple weeks off from endless touring to get married or have kids? When a song you recorded three years ago seems to be playing on the sound system whenever you go out in public? When you’re able to compare the backstage areas at the Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres and Conan O’Brien shows? Put all the above together and you get a sense of life for the Revivalists over the past few months. “It’s a whirlwind right now but that’s good—we are going to ride this wave for as long as we can,” frontman David Shaw said during a brief layoff in New Orleans during October. “You go 90 miles an hour and then screech, put on the brakes for 3 days. It takes me that long to acclimate to getting up, having some breakfast, going to the gym—then it’s back to 90 mph again. I used to go to the grocery store and shop, now I go to the store and take a few pictures. Which is cool, but it’s different, and I’m super grateful for the fans. I haven’t hit jaded rock star status yet.” “It has been a little surreal,” saxophonist Rob Ingraham says. “I think of it as the beard effect—like when you grow a beard and don’t realize it’s gotten so long until you see yourself in the mirror. I never felt we’ve had some big explosion; it’s always been a gradual thing. Sometimes I just feel like yeah, we go to work every day. Then we’ll be in the customer service line at the Toronto airport and someone will say, ‘Hey, you guys are the Revivalists, the band with that song on the radio.’ It’s probably stranger for Dave, being the one that gets all the attention. I get to be the same dorky guy I’ve always been.” Adds bassist George Gekas, “I’ve had people I haven’t spoken to in years tell me they’ve heard the song in this or that place. I’ve had friends literally say they’ve heard it in four or five places in a day—at the grocery store or at the gym. I heard it myself when I was meeting some friends for happy hour at Superior Seafood, and the song comes on. So it’s interesting that we’re part of the pulse, part of what people want to hear. I don’t want to say that it’s taken us by surprise, because this is exactly what we’ve been working for.” That song is “Wish I Knew You,” from the band’s third album Men Amongst Mountains. In some ways it’s a definitive Revivalists song—not funky or jammy like some of theirs, but a testament to the redeeming power of a strong relationship (whether that relationship is www.OFFBEAT.com

with friends, family, a lover or God is left up to the listener, but Shaw was thinking about his girlfriend when he wrote it). The song was awarded a gold single in September—and in this day and age, that means a half-million in combined physical sales and downloads—and though it was already a three-year-old song when it hit, it shows no signs of settling down. As for local audiences, they were already on board: Last January the Revivalists swept the OffBeat Best of the Beat Awards, winning Song of the Year and Best Music Video for “Wish I Knew You” as well as Songwriter of the Year for Dave Shaw, and Artist of the Year. It’s the first time in a long while that a New Orleans rock band has pulled off a nationwide hit single: You’d have to go back to the ’90s for Better Than Ezra’s “Good” and Cowboy Mouth’s “Jenny Says.” Both those bands are still going strong two decades afterward, and the Revivalists have every intention of doing the same. If that means they’ll be closing sets with “Wish I Knew You” for decades to come, no problem. “Hopefully we’ll record some more songs by then,” deadpans keyboardist/trumpet player Michael Girardot. “But this definitely puts you in a different playing field. Someone who has no connection to you, to New Orleans or to your type of music may hear your song in their car. If your online presence is good enough, they may want to buy a ticket. And if you play good enough at the show, they may become a fan. You can’t escape our song right now, and that gives us a chance to acquire some new fans and to introduce them to New Orleans music.” That’s also been the song they’ve played on all three of their TV appearances. “The interesting part for us has been seeing how each of them runs their show,” drummer Andrew Campanelli says. “Ellen is from New Orleans and she’s always just herself, while Conan will be in his office all day writing jokes. In those experiences it really feels like we go out and play the song in a TV [studio] set. The audiences have a different feel, it’s not the same as when we’re at a show, they’re feeding off us and we’re feeding off them. We’ve always said that we try to play the same if it’s 10 or 10,000 people. But it can feel pretty stale in a TV studio, I’m not going to lie about that.” Anyone who wanders into a Revivalists show will learn in a hurry that there’s more to them than the single. One of my live memories of the band comes from Jazz Fest four years ago when they hit the Gentilly Stage at full throttle, Shaw working the crowd, leading singalongs from the get-go, and generally handling their day-opening 11:30 a.m. slot as if was a headline gig. More recently I caught a radio-station sponsored show in Boston over the summer and as expected, the regular set closed with a long workout DECEMBER 2 017

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on the hit (“The song’s three-and-a-half minutes long, and it takes us nine minutes to play it now,” steel guitarist Ed Williams notes). But before that the Northeastern crowd got a lot of New Orleans essence, with the Meters-style grooves on “Keep Going” and “All in the Family,” and with the band shifting the instrumental voices from guitar-heavy to brass band and back (the live sound transforms every time Girardot leaves the keyboard to take up trumpet, or when Williams and Zack Feinberg engage in a steel/guitar duet). And they managed to do something meaningful with a cover-song encore: This particular show happened a few days after the Charlottesville disaster, and Shaw announced that the next song seemed appropriate. They slammed from there into the Joe Cocker version of “With a Little Help from My Friends”—not just a showcase for Shaw’s mighty pipes, but a heartfelt, healing-tonic moment. To invoke the title of a long-forgotten Black Oak Arkansas album, the Revivalists are a textbook example of 10-year overnight success: They would in fact be celebrating their 10th anniversary this season if they had the time to think about it. And nothing about the Revivalists’ recent breakthrough has been an accident—including Shaw’s not hogging the spotlight, making sure that all seven members take part in promotions and interviews. “It’s always been about the long haul,” says Campanelli. “It never occurred to us to put this kind of effort into something that wasn’t. In the beginning, much to Dave’s credit, he heard all of our songs and said ‘Let’s all be equally in the band.’ That’s one thing that’s sustained us through the various bumps in the road, making sure that we were equal and that someone wasn’t going to be saying ‘Okay guys, I’m out.’” Even the seemingly sudden success of “Wish I Knew You” has been a concerted effort since the album’s release in July 2015. And if anything sums up what the Revivalists are all about, it would be that combination of strong emotional commitment and equally strong work ethic. For Shaw it began life as a personal song. “People have told me it’s them and their best friend’s song, or that it’s them and their dad’s song,” he says. “But when I wrote it, it was just me wanting to have more time with my girlfriend. I honestly don’t care if people think the songs about me or about somebody else, I don’t mind a little mystery. But if I start writing some fiction, I feel like that could hurt the honesty of the art.” Guitarist Feinberg ventures that the

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song reminds him lyrically of the Faces classic “Ooh La La”—both are about wishing you knew then what you know now. It’s not the only song on Men Amongst Mountains that evoked a personal turning point: If there’s a theme running through the songwriting, it’s about finding inspiration to carry you through hard times. “It feels like about five years of our life because that’s what it is, a snapshot of those years,” Shaw says. “I hear it now and I can say, ‘Yep, that’s a pretty honest thought on that relationship.’ Or ‘Man, I sure was feeling pretty defeated that day.’ Some of it was written to psych ourselves up—‘Keep Going’ happened after we’d just come back from one of our longest tours ever— grinding it out in the van, doubling up in hotel rooms. There’s a lot of fun involved but damn, it gets tough.” As one of the three bandmembers (with Shaw and Campanelli) who writes most of the lyrics, Feinberg says that the uplifting mood is no accident. “We can bare it all sometimes, in terms of whatever pain we’re feeling. But I think the ultimate point in a lot of our music is that you’re worth it, life is beautiful and you’ve got to stay www.OFFBEAT.com

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with it. A song like ‘Keep Going’ is really what we’re all about.” The work ethic kicked back in once the album was released. After some grassroots success with City of Sound, they had a new deal with the Universaldistributed label Wind-Up, home of Creed and Evanescence. So the wheels were in place to push the third album quite a bit further. “To give a peek behind the curtain, this is where the sausagemaking metaphor comes in,” guitarist Feinberg offers. “The first single [‘Keep Going’] had a little bit of impact, but it didn’t really do much. For ‘Wish I Knew You’ the whole game plan was really tight. Basically, there are different radio formats. We went to number one on AAA, which is more of a tastemakers-type format. Then we crossed over to the alternative format, which used to be the grunge-type alternative to whatever the mainstream stations were playing. Then we crossed over to hot AC, which is basically pop, and made the top 15 on that. The way that’s done is that the record label and management company have radio specialists with relationships in place, they call programmers throughout the country to push for more spins and more adds. They look at indicators like Shazam to see how well their audience responds to the spins, and our song tested really well—in fact a lot of our Shazam response has been on random Greek islands, and Lord knows who’s listening to it there. What it comes down to is that people are responding to the heart of the song, the lyrics and the vibe somehow have connected.” The Revivalists’ story is also about New Orleans as a melting www.OFFBEAT.com

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Most of the members can recall a moment of hearing some quintessential local music and feeling the spirit calling.

pot: Though the band was born and nurtured in town, and polished its chops through early tours with Rebirth Brass Band, all seven members are transplants. And each in his way was chasing the dream of being in a New Orleans band: Most of the members can recall a moment of hearing some quintessential local music and feeling the spirit calling. For Campanelli it happened while working in a Virginia music venue where the Meters would get played in the kitchen; they led him to check out Dumpstaphunk and Papa Grows Funk when they came to play. Feinberg, from upstate New York, had a music teacher who turned him on to the Meters and Galactic. Ingraham grew up in Tulsa, Gekas went to a Jesuit high school in Connecticut. Three band members (Ingraham, Feinberg and Williams) went to Tulane, three others (Gekas, Girardot and Campanelli) to Loyola. Most of them entered college in 2005, which put them in town within weeks, or even days, of Katrina. “I moved down here two days before it,” Campanelli says. “It was the beginning of the first college year for me, George and Zack. And we saw how the music of the city was a large part of what gave people hope and a sense of focus—how they could go out and show the rest of the world that there was this beautiful culture here that we’d almost lost. Seeing the way the community built around that—not to say that we were reviving anything single-handedly, but I know that was one of the things that convinced Zack that the Revivalists would be a good name for a band.” Adds Shaw, “I don’t want to say that Katrina had the same effect on us as it did on people whose whole lives got destroyed. It affected us in terms of making us try our best to bring a little joy to people.” Shaw was the last to arrive in town, taking a gas-company construction job in 2007. A chance meeting with Feinberg led them to strike up a musical friendship, and the first lineup of the Revivalists—with Campanelli and early bassist Mike Brun—played its first show at Checkpoint Charlie later that year. “Let’s see, we played ‘Concrete’ and ‘Common Cents’ [both released on their debut EP the following year] and ‘Appreciate Me II’ [on their first full-length, Vital Signs],” says Shaw, nothing that Feinberg’s dad videotaped the night for posterity. “We still kind of sucked, but there were glimmers of hope in there.” It took a few steps to get the band more into fighting shape. A key one was the expansion of the lineup, with the horns and pedal steel increasing the sonic possibilities. “It wasn’t like they even needed a steel player, it was more like ‘Hey, I know this guy and he’s talented and I enjoy his company’—that’s how a lot of the band came together,” says Williams, whose roots as a steel player are less in country and more in the sacred-steel tradition popularized by Robert Randolph. “My role in the band is to play steel in a vocal-y way. If it’s a country-ish song, I can do soft parts in the background, but on a song like ‘Criminal’ or ‘Catching Fireflies’ (both from the sophomore album City of Sound) I can rip a good solo and do the kind of slide guitar that’s been in classic rock for 40 years. We have different weapons we can use on different songs, if it calls for sadness or anger or whatever emotion, we have all these options.”

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To some extent the Revivalists already had their watershed year in 2012.

The horn section likewise works to keep things flexible. “There are a lot of different ways you can use horns in a rock band,” says Girardot—who came in with the longest resume, having played keys in Fay Wray and Rotary Downs. “You can do big thick pads to make a sound fuller. You can use them as a melodic instrument to play catchy riffs in bridges. You can accent a vocal line or do a call and response, and of course you can solo. We like to have the widest choice of sounds we can get, so we can think of what sounds best on a particular song.” To some extent the Revivalists already had their watershed year in 2012. That was the year they got a booking agent—who hooked up with them after a show at Alabama’s Hangout Music Festival, another morning set played at full throttle. It was the year of City of Sound, their first with Galactic’s Ben Ellman producing (he returned for Men Amongst Mountains). And it was the year of a Jazz Fest–week show at the Howlin’ Wolf that Feinberg remembers as one of their key ones. “That was one of those community moments where I felt we were really starting to be embraced. We had special guests the whole night; I remember Roosevelt Collier was there. And I remember one guy I didn’t even know that took my guitar and started playing it with his teeth—I was thinking ‘Hold on there, dude.’” 2012 was also the year that Shaw toured as one of Galactic’s rotating lead singers, and during his stay he and Maggie Koerner cowrote and sang on the studio version of that band’s carnival anthem, “Hey Na Na.” He recalls the Wanee show as one of the peaks—not least because a masseuse found a lump in his neck just beforehand. “It turned out just to be my anatomy, but I was a hypochondriac. So I went onstage feeling that it would be one of the last shows I would ever do, and threw everything I had into it. At that time the Revivalists were playing to maybe 200 people a night; sometimes it was seven people. With Galactic it was ‘Okay, now go out and front this band that is very much established.’ If anything made me the frontman I am today, that tour was it.” All of which explains how the Revivalists are taking the current success in relative stride: As a 10-year-old band they’ve seen a lot of it before. The sentiments of “Keep Going” still apply as they head into a second decade, though most members of the band have stable home lives now: Girardot and Ingraham both got married this year, Gekas is set to follow suit, and Williams became a father in September. “A lot of big bands get to the point where they tour constantly for about six months,” Ingraham says. “We’re not there yet—we’re always heading out for two or three weeks at a time. There’s no real on or off, we’re always about to be back on the road and about to go back home.” “Honestly, I don’t think we’d have been ready for this if we’d hit five years ago, and we wouldn’t have had the songs,” Shaw says. Currently they’ve got songs to spare: Wind-Up may break a followup single from Men Amongst Mountains, so there’s likely to be a five-year gap between albums even if they have the material to make one tomorrow. Fine with them, since they’ve still got the long haul in mind. “I get to play music for the next 30 years,” Williams says. “I don’t think that gives me a lot of wiggle room for complaint.” O

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EATS

Sam Perez/Piscobar

photos: Elsa Hahne

(at the Catahoula Hotel)

“I

picked Irma Thomas for a lot of reasons. Sentimental value, I guess. Almost 10 years ago—I grew up in Slidell—Irma Thomas was maybe the first New Orleans artist I ‘discovered.’ Her music means a lot to me. I grew up playing guitar and singing and soul music is something I’ve always connected with the most because it suits my vocal range, and her music sits right there, perfectly. I sing Irma Thomas wherever it strikes me. In the shower—and other places [laughs]. ‘If time would stand still’ is a line from her song ‘Straight from the Heart.’ My favorite Irma Thomas song is ‘It’s Raining,’ but aside from the line ‘It’s raining’ there wasn’t a whole lot that stood out to me to name a drink after, so I went with the other one.

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As far as ingredients, I worked backwards from a concept. I wanted the austerity of a classic cocktail that could be timeless, but also a little bit off the beaten path and with a really long finish. I’ve been on a sherry kick lately so I made it half sherry, half cognac. Cognac is appropriate because it’s a long-standing spirit, timeless and hopeful, and it has a lot of history to it, like soul music and Irma Thomas. I think of Irma Thomas and her relationship to New Orleans like I think of cognac and its relationship to New Orleans. I got into bartending by accident. I started off in the service industry at 17 years old at the Ruby Tuesday’s in Slidell, and I did almost every job there, except tending bar. After that, I told myself that I wasn’t going

By Elsa Hahne

to work in the service industry anymore. I did a little bit of volunteering, some interior design stuff—I went to school for interior design—and then decided I wanted to work in cabinetry. Moved to New York to work in a cabinetry shop and started tending bar on the side to subsidize my income. As it turns out, I really dislike doing cabinetry work for other people, while I genuinely enjoy making drinks. And that’s how I ended up here. I got offered this job at the Piscobar at the Catahoula Hotel several months before we opened, which was in May of 2016. When I did my interview they hadn’t even begun to build the bar! It was just scaffolding and I was like, ‘Okay. I believe you...’ But hey, it worked out!”

If Time Would Stand Still 1 ounce cognac 1 ounce Amontillado sherry 1/2 ounce lemon juice 1/4 ounce crème de cacao 1/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur 3 dashes Angostura bitters Shake with ice and then strain into a chilled coupe. www.OFFBEAT.com

FRENCH Café Degas: 3127 Esplanade Ave., 945-5635 La Crepe Nanou: 1410 Robert St., 899-2670

GERMAN Bratz Y'all: 617-B Piety St., 301-3222

ICE CREAM/CAKE/CANDY Aunt Sally’s Praline Shop’s: 2831 Chartres St., 944-6090 Bittersweet Confections: 725 Magazine St., 523-2626 La Divina Cafe e Gelateria: 621 St. Peter St., 302-2692 Sucré: 3025 Magazine St.,520-8311 Tee-Eva’s Praline Shop: 4430 Magazine St., 899-8350

INDIAN Nirvana: 4308 Magazine St., 894-9797

AFRICAN Bennachin: 1212 Royal St., 522-1230.

AMERICAN Barcadia: 601 Tchoupitoulas St., 335-1740 Brown Butter Southern Kitchen: 231 N Carrollton Ave., 609-3871 Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St., 247-9265 Port of Call: 838 Esplanade Ave., 523-0120 Primitivo: 1800 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 881-1775

BARBECUE The Joint: 701 Mazant St., 949-3232

COFFEE HOUSE Café du Monde: 800 Decatur St., 525-4544 Morning Call Coffee Stand: 56 Dreyfous Dr., (504) 300-1157, 3325 Severn Ave., Metairie, 885-4068

CREOLE/CAJUN Cochon: 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2123 Cornet: 700 Bourbon St., 523-1485 Galatoire’s: 209 Bourbon St., 525-2021 Gumbo Shop: 630 St. Peter St., 525-1486 K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen: 416 Chartres St., 524-7394 Mulate’s: 201 Julia St., 522-1492 New Orleans Creole Cookery: 508 Toulouse St., 524-9632 Restaurant Rebirth: 857 Fulton St., 522-6863

DELI Stein’s Market and Deli: 2207 Magazine St., 527-0771

FINE DINING Bombay Club: 830 Conti St., 586-0972 Broussard’s: 819 Conti St., 581-3866 Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221

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ITALIAN Adolfo’s: 611 Frenchmen St., 948-3800 Little Vic’s: 719 Toulouse St., 304-1238

NEIGHBORHOOD JOINTS Biscuits and Buns on Banks: 4337 Banks St., 273-4600 Cake Café: 2440 Chartres St., 943-0010 City Diner: 3116 S I-10 Service Rd E, 8311030; 5708 Citrus Blvd., 309-7614 Cowbell: 8801 Oak St., 298-8689 Dat Dog: 601 Frenchmen St., 309-3362; 5030 Freret St., 899-6883; 3336 Magazine St., 324-2226 Live Oak Cafe: 8140 Oak St., 265-0050 Parkway Bakery and Tavern: 538 Hagan Ave., 482-3047 Sammy’s Food Services: 3000 Elysian Fields Ave., 948-7361 Tracey’s: 2604 Magazine St., 897-5413

JAPANESE/KOREAN/SUSHI/THAI Chiba: 8312 Oak St., 826-9119 Mikimoto: 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 488-1881 Seoul Shack: 435 Esplanade Ave., 417-6206 Sukho Thai: 4519 Magazine St., 373-6471; 2200 Royal St., 948-9309 Wasabi: 900 Frenchmen St., 943-9433

PIZZA Midway Pizza: 4725 Freret St., 322-2815 Pizza Delicious: 617 Piety St., 676-8482 Slice Pizzeria: 1513 St. Charles Ave., 525-7437 Theo’s Pizza: 4218 Magazine St., 894-8554; 4024 Canal St., 302-1133; 1212 S Clearview, 733-3803

SEAFOOD Basin Seafood and Spirits: 3222 Magazine St., 302-7391 Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St. 569-3380 Deanie’s Seafood: 841 Iberville St., 581-1316; 1713 Lake Ave. Metairie, 834-1225 Pier 424 Seafood Market: 424 Bourbon St., 309-1574 Royal House Oyster Bar: 441 Royal St., 528-2601

SOUL Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934

STEAKHOUSE La Boca: 870 Tchoupitoulas St., 525-8205

VIETNAMESE Namese: 4077 Tulane Ave., 483-8899

WEE HOURS Buffa’s Restaurant & Lounge: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038 Mimi’s in the Marigny: 2601 Royal St., 872-9868

Kelcy Mae hits the

LOUISIANA / SOUTHERN Fulton Alley: 600 Fulton St., 208-5593 Mondo: 900 Harrison Ave., 224-2633 Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934

Spot

What brings you to Parkway? I often come here right before a trip or a tour, because you can’t get a good fried catfish po-boy anywhere else. Why catfish in particular? I don’t know. I grew up in northern Louisiana [“Go to bed, y’all from Shreveport?”] and fried catfish is big there. I like the shrimp po-boy just fine, but fried catfish is just so good here. It’s not good anywhere else—either too fishy, or not fresh. Once I was on tour in New York and my band mate missed home so we found a soul food restaurant in Brooklyn that seemed legit and I got fried catfish and it was absolutely disgusting. Awful!

MEDITERRANEAN Byblos: 3218 Magazine St., 894-1233 Mona’s Café: 504 Frenchmen St., 949-4115

MEXICAN/CARIBBEAN/SPANISH Barú Bistro & Tapas: 3700 Magazine St., 895-2225 Juan’s Flying Burrito: 2018 Magazine St., 569-0000 El Gato Negro: 81 French Market Place, 525-9846

MUSIC ON THE MENU Banks Street Bar & Grill: 4401 Banks St., 486-0258 B.B. King’s Blues Club: 1104 Decatur St., 934-5464 Buffa’s: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038 Chickie Wah Wah: 2828 Canal St., 304-4714 Dmac’s Bar & Grill: 542 S Jefferson Davis Pkwy, 304-5757 Gattuso’s: 435 Huey P Long Ave., Gretna, 368-1114 Hard Rock Café: 125 Bourbon St., 529-5617 House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068

Ye Olde College Inn: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683 Warehouse Grille: 869 Magazine St., 322-2188

Metallic sewer? Yes. And brown! So this is your sweet catfish heaven? I love that you can come in and sit at the bar and order and don’t have to stand in line. Everybody’s friendly. I love it here. —Elsa Hahne

Parkway Bakery & Tavern 538 Hagan Ave. (504) 482-3047 www.OFFBEAT.com

Photo: ELSA HAHNE

Kingfish: 337 Chartres St., 598-5005 Mr. B’s Bistro: 201 Royal St. 523-2078 Restaurant R’evolution: 777 Bienville St., 553-2277

Howlin’ Wolf’s Wolf Den: 907 S. Peters St., 529-5844 Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., 895-8117 Little Gem Saloon: 445 S. Rampart St., 267-4863 Maison: 508 Frenchmen St., 289-5648 Mid City Lanes Rock ‘N’ Bowl: 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133 NOSH: 752 Tchouptoulas St., 581-7101 Palm Court: 1204 Decatur St., 525-0200 Rivershack Tavern: 3449 River Rd., 834-4938 Southport Hall: 200 Monticello Ave., 835-2903 Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Three Muses: 536 Frenchmen St., 298-8746 Three Muses Uptown: 7537 Maple St., 510-2749

DINING OUT

Herbsaint To some, Donald Link is best known for the urbane Cajun delicacies served at the porkcentric Cochon and the wood-fired seafood specialties at Peche. But before he helped usher in a new wave of refined nose-to-tail and gillsto-fin cuisine, and before the multiple James Beard awards, the publishing of cookbooks, and the retail line of specialty goods, there was Herbsaint and only Herbsaint. Perhaps somewhat forgotten in the whirlwind of celebrity chefdom and Instagram hashtags, Herbsaint continues to consistently deliver one of the most delicious dining experiences in the city. If there ever were a single dish mandating a visit to a restaurant at least once a year, I know of no better nominee than Link’s unique spin on pasta carbonara. Housemade spaghetti is tossed in a luxurious sauce of butter and cheese studded with guanciale and then crowned with a deep-fried poached farm egg, whose golden yellow yolk slowly oozes into the pasta

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with each bite. Bacon and eggs have never achieved such a level of sophistication before in a dish, which unsurprisingly is one of the few menu items that have not been retired since Link took over the restaurant from Susan Spicer more than a decade ago. Another is fried, cornmeal-crusted oysters tempered with crunchy coleslaw and ignited by hot sauce. The daily gumbo may be a classic chicken and andouille, or a more nonconformist black-eyed pea and pork, but all feature a deep, dark roux as the foundation of flavor. More substantial starters include the tender braised short rib ladled over with salsa verde and horseradish cream (because two sauces are always better than one) and paired with potato rösti. Main courses draw from both local and global influence in the modern Creole tradition. Roasted duck leg and dirty rice share table space with crispy goat and curried cauliflower with black beans and tangy yogurt. Chef de Cuisine Rebecca Wilcomb’s lasagna is the perfect comfort food for a brisk winter night, with its countless layers of thin sheets of pasta interspersed with lamb and mushroom ragu. An expertly cooked offbeat cut of steak is always on offer—currently a zabuton steak rubbed with sea salt and olive oil and paired with crispy french fries to be dipped in pimenton aioli.

Photo: renee Bienvenu

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General manager Joe Briand oversees an attentive staff while curating an impressive wine list deep on Burgundy but not short on variety. He’ll offer pairing suggestions with all menu choices, including dessert, such as the luscious brown-butter tart with fleur de sel caramel, or the warm chocolate pudding cake. Savoring each bite is all the more pleasurable knowing that at Herbsaint, there are many more enjoyable meals still yet to come. —Peter Thriffiley 701 St. Charles Ave.; Mon-Fri 11:30-10p, Sat 5:30-10p; (504) 524-4114; herbsaint.com

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Reviews When submitting CDs for consideration, please send two copies to OffBeat Reviews, 421 Frenchmen Street, Suite 200, New Orleans, LA 70116

CDs reviewed are available now at 421 Frenchmen Street in the Marigny 504-586-1094 or online at LouisianaMusicFactory.com

A Good-Timin’ Party

Brass-A-Holics Word on the Street (Independent) The Brass-A-Holics is a welloiled machine running red hot. Throughout Word on the Street, which was recorded live at the Blue Nile, the attention given to the horn arrangements is evident even when the ensemble is driving full-on, which it often does. With the members’ roots in the streets, the ensemble has evolved into a dance party stage band—a necessity with the inclusion of a guitar, keyboards and percussion. The band is most successful here when it fully embraces its influences, as it does on one of the many wellwritten originals, “Let It Roll.” Even its title conjures up the image of a street parade, though the tune moves to contemporary rhythm and blues with some fine vocals by trumpeter Tannon Williams and saxophonist Robin Clabby. That it is given a more soulful treatment than some of the hard-hitting, rock-laced tunes makes for a smart change of pace for inclusion on the album. The lovely tonal qualities of leader Winston Turner’s trombone toward the conclusion of the song emphasize the softer approach. The rhythm section also comes on tastefully strong on this highlight. Since this is a New Orleans band, which is obvious by its horn-heavy

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instrumentation and its proclivity for diversity, the Brass-A-Holics naturally get down with some funk and hiphop. That several of the talented musicians boast backgrounds in modern jazz is also apparent and speaks to its native city. Surprisingly, there is no tune on the album that stands as the title cut—not a complaint, just an observance. The complete video of Word on the Street, which is on YouTube, shows visually as the album does audibly what the Brass-A-Holics and the disc is all about—a New Orleans-style, good-timin’ party. —Geraldine Wyckoff

Jamaican Me Breakfast Club Brewed in New Orleans (Independent) Reggae-infused popular music has it precedents. Think Dread Zeppelin taking on the rock gods of Led Zeppelin or the Easy Star All-Stars with a full reenactment of Pink Floyd’s Dark (Dub) Side of the Moon. There’s something playfully daring about adding some skank to well-known music. Jamaican Me Breakfast Club’s first release does exactly that with over a dozen soulfully skankified songs from the 1980s. Maybe I was easily lured to this recording because it brings me back to my youth when MTV actually had music videos, Nicolas Cage was still relatively sane and I owned a crimping iron. The music on this recording is a time capsule that successfully manages to breathe new life into a catalog known for melodrama. With this new life is a sense that all is all right, especially when presented with a band that knows how to handle the reggae vibe,

instrumentally as well as vocally. Funk and skank are arguably two sides of the same coin and when you drop that coin into a jukebox with classics by Duran Duran, the Cars, A Flock of Seagulls, the Thompson Twins and others, you’re bound to find yourself dancing without a whiff of irony and wanting to hear more from this collective of talented performers. —George Ingmire

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah The Emancipation Procrastination (Ropeadope) The provocatively and thoughtprovokingly titled The Emancipation Procrastination stands as trumpeter/ composer/producer Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s third album of his Centennial Trilogy. Celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the first jazz recording, the series includes his previously released discs, Diaspora and Rebel Ruler. Remarkably, all were put out in 2017. Talk about prolific. Stylistically, Adjuah continues his exploration of what he describes as “stretch music,” which as the name implies, allows for flexibility in all aspects of creation. Using the core of musicians who have been at his side throughout the project—notably flautist Elena Pinderhughes, saxophonist Braxton Cook, keyboardist Lawrence Fields

and the percussion section of Joe Dyson, Corey Fonville and Weedie Braimah—this work proves to be a continuum as well as the conclusion of the project. Adjuah’s powerful, though often mournful horn, seems to take center stage a bit more often here, though he continues to be a most generous leader in offering his band members room to, well, stretch out their expressive revelations. The title cut, an Adjuah original that opens the CD, stands as one of the most straight-up numbers, with the trumpeter blowing with great expression and technique. It, unlike many of the selections, relies little on electronics, the absence of which allows for those all-important empty spaces. The trumpeter, playing brilliantly, reinvents Radiohead’s “Videotape” and has some much appreciated fun on another of his originals, the highly rhythmic and more casually executed “Gerrymandering Game.” The flow of the album’s final cuts continues on the hardboppin’, melodic and ambitious “New Heroes.” The Emancipation Procrastination ends much as it began, with the warmth of jazz winding through refreshingly familiar yet excitingly new paths. The vividly persistent horn and adventurous nature of Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah bravely lead the way. —Geraldine Wyckoff

The Saint Roch Syncopators Working Men (Independent) There is an unbuttoned charm to this first album from traditional jazz band The Saint Roch Syncopators. It feels like they’re having fun and www.OFFBEAT.com

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enjoying the party. Ryan Robertson on trumpet and Brandon Brunious on banjo lead the group through a collection of “good ’ol good ones,” as Pops would say. Look out for “Until the Real Thing Comes Along” with an earnest, hat-in-hand vocal by Robertson. “Hot Sausage Rag” is an unusual but welcome choice. Their versions of “Winin’ Boy Blues” and “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” are particularly playful. Brandon Brunious, of the renowned musical family, is largely responsible for the jaunty quality of the album. His banjo adds just the right amount of bounce. The vocals may be rough at times, but that lends an “aw shucks” endearing quality to the songs. Working Men has that joyful laissez-faire attitude that is quintessential New Orleans. —Stacey Leigh Bridewell

Paula and the Pontiacs Seventeen (Independent) Paula and the Pontiacs’ latest release, Seventeen, culls tracks from three prior releases dating back to 1994’s Cadillac Love, 30 by 90 (1997), and Louisiana Bride (2008). If you are not familiar with Paula and the Pontiacs, this is a great place to start. Paula Rangell, who not only handles the vocals, but also plays harmonica and alto sax, is accompanied by an A-list group of New Orleans musicians. Any album that features Johnny Vidacovich, Jeffrey “Jelly Bean” Alexander, John Mooney, Cranston Clements, Earl King, Tom Worrell, Marc Adams, Ken “Snakebite” Jacobs and Jerry Jumonville warrants at least a cursory listen. But do yourself a favor and give this one some time to grow on you— you won’t be disappointed. While www.OFFBEAT.com

the supporting cast is top-notch, this album is really about that barroom groove that Paula and the Pontiacs developed with years of playing their brand of roadhouse blues in places like Benny’s and Ruby’s Roadhouse. Whether you’re into Texas roadhouse blues (“Harmonica Girl”), classic smoky barroom blues grooves (“Everything I Need”), the infectious second line that propels a slinky blues groove (“Cadillac Love”), or just down home funky fun (“Where Care Forgot”) you’ll find it on Seventeen. —Christopher Weddle

Chris Thomas King Hotel Voodoo (21st Century Blues) “American Man (In the Key of Free)” is one of many surprises on Grammy-winner Chris Thomas King’s first studio album in five years. Known primarily as a blues artist, the Baton Rouge singer, guitarist and songwriter opens Hotel Voodoo with “American Man,” a pop-rock anthem along the arena-rousing lines of Bruce Springsteen. Straightforward and catchy, “American Man” could be a mainstream hit—if not a hit for King, an indie artist, then maybe for a popular country act who’s backed by a major-label marketing machine. King has explored a variety of music during his 31 years as a recording artist. He’s done the fiery Jimi Hendrix rock-blues guitar thing. He followed the traditional acoustic blues route. He mixed blues, rock and hip-hop into his “21st century blues.” The 10-song Hotel Voodoo gives an even broader look at King’s versatility. In addition to the opening anthem, the album presents King as a guitar-wielding blues-rocker in the Stevie Ray Vaughan mode (“Have You Seen My Princess”); juke-joint veteran (“Friday Night Bleu”); folk singer (“Rainbow Lullaby”); neoclassic, primal rocker (“Rock and Roll Conjurer”); and New Orleans music–inspired composer (“Tabby’s on the Bayou” and “Les Bleus Was Born in Louisiana”). Hotel Voodoo is a concept album, divided into an A side and B side. In Side B’s “Jelly Roll Suite,” DECEMBER 2 017

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“Les Bleus Was Born in Louisiana” challenges long-held dogma about the origin of blues music, a topic King has written a forthcoming book about. In this joyful, swaying song based on traditional New Orleans jazz, King sings: “The blues was born in Louisiana, not Mississippi or Texarkana. It’s a French word. They don’t understand. How can it be sad when it makes you want to dance?” King performs one non-original, his piano-based take on Adele’s “Someone Like You.” Unfortunately, anyone who dares to sing a song popularized by a singer as powerful as Adele is instantly disadvantaged. King’s much more at home with “Tabby’s on the Bayou,” a nostalgic and fun ode to Tabby’s Blues Box and Heritage Hall, the genuine juke joint that King’s father, Tabby Thomas, operated in Baton Rouge for decades. King is carrying on “Rockin’” Tabby’s tradition and exploring bold new paths. —John Wirt

Delfeayo Marsalis Kalamazoo (Troubadour Jass Records) The beauty of jazz, or as trombonist/producer Delfeayo Marsalis likes to call it, jass, is articulated on this live recording, Kalamazoo, on chestnuts like “Tin Roof Blues” and “If I Were a Bell” as well the leader’s original, more modern “Secret Love Affair.” When artists of this caliber are involved— Delfeayo; his father, pianist Ellis Marsalis; bassist Reginald Veal and drummer Ralph Peterson—their love of the music comes through in every note of a tune regardless of its era. The audience in the recital hall of Western Michigan University that evening showed its appreciation

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with rousing applause as the quartet took the stage. It is fun to hear these enthused folks clapping in time when the group went into what could be considered Delfeayo’s theme song or at least motto: “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” Typically, Ellis throws in some musical quotes, wonderfully segueing into a touch of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” Peterson, who has long been connected to this trio of New Orleans musicians through his work with Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison and others, lets go for a slam dunk solo to help take this tune out. Meanwhile, Delfeayo impresses with some sensational vibrating flutters. As always, Delfeayo’s mastery of his instrument is apparent as is his understanding of where and when to utilize the mute, as he does on the group’s appropriately lighthearted version of “Sesame Street Theme.” Delfeayo reveals a lot of his personality—funny, charming, witty and challenging—during his introduction of several guest students from the university. He ain’t easy on them though his warm, humorous approach is emblematic of how things are done New Orleans. During the recording of Kalamazoo, this audience heard some fine jazz while learning a bit about what makes this city—and the Marsalis family—tick. —Geraldine Wyckoff

Kat Walker with Amasa Miller Torch Songs (Independent) It’s all right there in the title: Kat Walker’s Torch Songs is a collection

of jazz and old popular ballads with the bare duo texture of only her voice and Amasa Miller’s piano, allowing both to really shine. One doesn’t even miss having a rhythm section, as Amasa’s knowledge of stylistic conventions, skills as a sympathetic accompanist, strong melodic sense and rhythmically powerful forward momentum are plenty enough on their own. The natural brightness of his piano and the recording techniques used to accentuate it, while evocative of the New Orleans R&B piano greats like James Booker, are well-tempered and remain distinct due to Amasa’s restraint and control. Although Kat cites prominent historical jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan as influences, the fullbodied-yet-breathy sound of her voice on this release bears more similarity to pop-jazz crossover artists from that era like Julie

London—as does the downplaying of full-blown vocal improvisation in favor of slight melodic embellishment. The omnipresence of a slight echo effect from studio reverb occasionally detracts when the piano is played sparse, calling a little too much attention to itself. But it does help accent the beauty of her natural breathiness, particularly when Amasa is using fuller, lusher chords. —Nick Benoit

Fearless Expression Mykia Jovan Elliyahu (Independent) Most would agree that Mykia Jovan’s debut album, Elliyahu, is good stuff. From the first you can tell it’s hip, what with throwback ’80s fusion and disco tinges being at the vanguard of popular music. Mykia’s delicate, fluttering voice glides over the dense weave of the instrumentation. Her lyrics are intimate and the collaboration of Jason Butler, Noah Young, and Walter Lundy on the arrangements has elevated the material beyond simple pop—it defies genre. Butler distinguishes himself on keys on nearly every track, Danny Abel plays a great guitar solo on “Feast on the Flower,” and Stephen J. Gladney’s tenor is a moody accent throughout the album. However, Elliyahu goes beyond being just another solid iteration of neo-soul/jazz fusion. There is one track that distinguishes itself above the rest. That track is “16 Shots.” While it seems to allude to Trayvon Martin or Laquan McDonald, it could really be about any of the many, many black victims of police brutality in recent times. One can’t help but draw comparisons to Billie Holiday’s landmark protest song “Strange Fruit.” Mykia delivers the lyrics with the same feeling, alternating between lament and dark sarcasm. While it might seem the two songs are addressing independent issues, in reality they are speaking out about the same thing: violence against black bodies. Hailing from the 17th Ward and always reppin’ Hollygrove, Mykia is a NOCCA graduate whose band is comprised of gifted players. This is the kind of fearless expression New Orleans needs. —Stacey Leigh Bridewell www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS delivered by vocalist Sami Stevens. The somber, somewhat gospel flavored tune rounds out a disc that begins on a somewhat puzzling note and winds up believable and sincere. —Geraldine Wyckoff

Henry Gray and the Creole Cats Uncle Nephew Blues (Ropeadope) First off, the leaders representing Uncle Nephew are drummer and vocalist Shannon Powell and guitarist Darren Hoffman. With Powell aboard it’s easy to have certain expectations—rarely a good idea—of what direction the music might take. The title of the fourcut EP, Blues, offers evidence to the material though at first listen the results still come as a bit of a surprise. The disc opens with Hoffman’s guitar almost acting as a bass on the John Lee Hooker staple “Shake It Baby.” Then there are the voices of Topsy Chapman, Jolynda Phillips and Yolanda Wilson sounding like hip R&B backup singers. Powell, who’s been digging in on drums and who, of course, can play any style, finally comes in on vocals and is instantly recognizable. Hoffman offers some stinging guitar that, understandably, speaks of a more modern era. “Sinbad’s Blues,” a Hoffman original, works out on an ultraslow beat with the big B-3 organ manned by Kyle Roussel providing a wonderfully thick bed of sound. The guitarist bends notes and electrically extends the style to move it further out. Bam, bam goes Powell. Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” is in good hands with Powell at the microphone. Hoffman settles down to some solid basics on this one. It ends with a burst of drums and the women singing as one as they hold the last note. Hoffman strums some fat chords on a very earthy, traditional blues, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night (In the Pines).” It is emotionally www.OFFBEAT.com

92 (Independent) Singer-pianist Henry Gray performed in Chicago and toured from the city from 1946 to 1968. During the golden age of Chicago blues, Gray played piano in the studio and on stage with Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter Jacobs, Jimmy Reed and more. He also worked in Wolf’s band for 12 years and recorded for Chess Records as a frontman. A determined man and artist, Gray, 92, keeps playing the blues. His new album, recorded in summer 2017 at Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana, is titled 92. Album co-producer Terrance Simien, a Grammy-winning zydeco artist, has the right idea for 92. He lets Gray do what he does—sing and play in the classic Chicago blues style that he made a significant contribution to. Gray’s backing band features two especially apropos musicians. He’s worked often with Acadiana blues guitarist Paul “Lil’ Buck” Sinegal and the Phoenix-based harmonica player Bob Corritore. Simien band members Danny Williams, keyboards; Stan Chambers, bass; and Oreun Joubert, on drums step naturally in as the rhythm section. The 92 songs will be familiar to anyone who knows Gray’s band and solo shows. He performs his signature originals, the raucous “Come On In” and Little Richard– like “Henry’s House Rocker.” Also the traditional “Stagger Lee” and a pair of Chicago standards, Big Maceo Merriweather’s “Worried Life Blues” and Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City.” Gray’s vocals and piano are strong and decisive throughout the 13 tracks. He rolls through a goodrocking rendition of another of his DECEMBER 2 017

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original songs, “How Could You Do It,” playing the part of a hurt, indignant, betrayed lover with much conviction. And he’s at his best in the woeful and weary “Blues Won’t Let Me Take My Rest.” 92 further contains behind-thescenes informality. In track five, Gray asks his musicians if they know “Corrina, Corrina.” He starts it and they jump in. And speaking to Simien, Gray explains the difference between the sacred music his father preferred and the blues Gray wanted to play. A snippet of “The Lord Will Make a Way Somehow,” which Gray uses to make his point, suggests he could have been a fine gospel artist. Bringing Gray, Louisiana’s oldest and more storied blues artist, in the studio again at 92 was a fine idea. The resulting album is a warm, representative account of one of America’s premiere, authentic, stillrocking blues men. —John Wirt

Valerie Sassyfras Blast Off! A Cosmic Cabaret (Independent) For nearly 30 years, Valerie Sassyfras has cultivated a loyal following with her unique and quirky musical performances. Equal parts theatrical and musical, the longtime local entertainer returns with her fourth solo studio album, Blast Off! A Cosmic Cabaret. As with her previous work, the multi-instrumentalist sticks to the kitschy, off-kilter formula that has endeared to her to many. Over the course of the album’s 10 tracks, Sassyfras explores life beyond our earthly boundaries through the eyes of Mama Sassyfras and her sidekick, T-Rex. As strange as it may sound,

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Blast Off! actually provides listeners with a fun, light-hearted trip away from planet Earth. The keyboard-fueled compositions lend songs like “Mama Sassyfras,” “Women R from Venus Men R from Mars” and “T-Rex and Me” a decidedly ’80s feel. Other songs like “Green Room on Mars” and “Under the Pale Blue Moon” take their cues from country music, while “Big Bang” draws from the early days of rap music as Sassyfras talk-raps her way through an explanation of the big bang theory. The somber tone of “Space Oddity” presents the album’s lone break from the cheery, off-thewall tone set on Blast Off!’s other material. The pensive lyrics cast a shadow of self-reflection that is otherwise not found in the eclectic world dreamed up by Sassyfras. There’s no doubt that you’ve likely never heard anything close to the type of music found on Blast Off!, but that’s what makes it half the fun because let’s face it─we all could use an escape every now and then. —Ivory Jones

George Lewis and his New Orleans Stompers 1943 (American Music) True fans of clarinetist George Lewis and New Orleans traditional jazz should rejoice at the release of this two-CD, 25-cut product that stands as the legendary clarinetist’s first recording. Perhaps even more important is that the music was captured and preserved and is now available as a part of the George H. Buck Foundation catalog. Recorded by the renowned historian Bill Russell whose letters to his brother

Homer from before and during the sessions act as the package’s liner notes. They add a wonderful sense of time and space and a look into the attitudes of the era. The first five selections on disc one were caught by Russell as the band rehearsed at drummer Edgar Mosley’s home. Lewis and his New Orleans Stompers strike up with a lively version of “Climax Rag.” The group includes Lewis, Mosley, banjoist Lawrence Marrero, tuba man Sidney “Jim Little” Brown and trombonist Jim Robinson. Interestingly, and perhaps a bit confusing to the non-initiated, Russell calls Robinson by his nickname, Jim Crow, in the liners. One thing is for sure: Robinson plays a very prominent part on this cut and throughout the “trumpet-less” rehearsals. He was a big man with a big sound.

Lewis is naturally at the center and his beautiful tone and incredible range enhance every song, as illustrated on the stunning rendition of Buddy Bolden’s “Don’t Go ‘Way Nobody.” The day after, Sunday, May 16, 1943, Russell, Lewis and the Stompers headed to the Gypsy Tea Room #1 on the corner of St. Ann and N. Villere Streets in the Treme. For the official recording, trumpeter Avery “Kid” Howard and upright bass man Chester Zardis, replacing Brown’s tuba for the low end, joined the crew. That’s the lineup for the next 20 cuts, many of which, it should be noted, are repeated. To genuine aficionados of classic New Orleans jazz and Lewis’ adorers, it must be joyous to be able to experience as much of this recorded music as possible. To the average listener, hearing songs more than once is educational and really quite enjoyable.

Sunny and Optimistic Saràyah Feel the Vibe (Basin Street Records) New Orleans is known for the diverse cultures that comprise the pulse of the city. That diversity transfers over to the rich musical tapestry of the city as well, with the sounds of Africa, Europe and Latin America blending together into the jazz and brass band sounds the city is best known for. On singer Saràyah’s Basin Street Records debut, Feel the Vibe, she draws on the city’s connection to the Caribbean, creating a sound that lies at the intersection between pop, dance, dancehall and reggaeton. Feel the Vibe is sure to draw comparisons to early works of Rihanna, which makes sense considering that she counts both the Bajan beauty and Bob Marley amongst her musical influences. However, Saràyah quickly establishes her own voice thanks to her self-penned lyrics. Over the course of the album’s nine tracks, she displays a sunny and optimistic outlook, even when delving into a failed relationship like on “Fire & Ice.” Despite issuing a stern warning to her wayward lover, she comes across as more a triumphant survivor who is determined to move on than the bitter and scorned victim. “Start to Finish” is a dance-pop tune that serves as a pep talk to anyone in need of an extra push. Meanwhile, songs like “Blaze It Up” and “Celebrate” provide the perfect soundtrack for a night out with friends. If you’re searching for music to drown your sorrows in, then this album ain’t it. In Saràyah’s world, it’s all about living life to the fullest, selfempowerment and love. —Ivory Jones www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS The album ends on a lovely version of “Whenever You’re Lonesome, Telephone Me.” Its melancholy mood “sings” a sweet goodbye. —Geraldine Wyckoff

Ledisi Let Love Rule (Verve) Ledisi, a New Orleans native who moved to California as a child, gets right to the heart of her peace and love message on Let Love Rule’s opening cut, “Shot Down.” With its reggae groove, the tune immediately identifies itself as delivering a socially conscious theme that is reinforced when she sings, “I want peace to win.” A nine-time Grammy nominated artist, Ledisi is, as usual, in great voice on the song. A big plus is that it includes horns, as do several other cuts, keyboards and bass. Alas, there is no drummer listed so it is assumed that electric programming was utilized. The lack of a drum set becomes more obvious, and somewhat distracting, on the title cut, “Let Love Rule.” Ledisi definitely knows her way around a soul ballad and brilliantly delivers “Forgiveness,” on which Modesty Lycan provides excellent support as a background singer, with guitarist Ivan Barias, a co-writer with Ledisi and Jaquetta Singleton, thoughtfully accompanying the vocalists. For some of Ledisi’s straight-up contemporary R&B style, “Here” really works with a full horn section, guitar, piano, bass and drums. Ledisi delivers as she moves among genres and uses various instruments and electronic mixes and even string ensembles. On the more acoustically oriented “All the Way,” she displays her more sophisticated side and ability to incorporate a rhythmic vocal approach while remaining totally passionate. Ledisi invites the incredible John Legend in for “Give You More” and, as one can imagine, it’s a match made in studio heaven. The vocalist takes it out with gospel giant Kirk Franklin’s “If You Don’t Mind” on which she’s the lead singer fronting a choir of great voices. www.OFFBEAT.com

Let Love Rule succeeds because of Ledisi herself. —Geraldine Wyckoff

Kari Sjöstrand Frost Blossom (Karisma Music) If music is the product of the environment it comes from, then it’s no surprise that some of the original compositions on this album have a Scandinavian quality to them. Saxophonist/ composer Kari Sjöstrand is from Sweden and has been nursing dual passions in traditional Scandinavian folk music and jazz for most of her life. This album crossfades between those two passions. The first three songs, “A Little Boat,” “The X Train” and “Frost Blossom,” use minor keys and waltz tempos to evoke swirling snow, the deep peace of winter and a sinister fairytale edge. From there the album moves to more straightforward jazz pieces. “Hello Mr T” shifts between Latin and swing rhythms, “Just To Be” is sincere in its melancholy, and “Molly’s Mood” caps things off in a funky way. Kari has a gruff Sonny Rollins tone. She stays in the rich, fat lower echelons of the horn. No squealing or wailing here. She’s a marathon player as opposed to a sprinter. Her band tackles the difficult material with ease—hats off to the bass player, Larry Turner, for being tasteful. I’ll risk being cutesy and say this album warms as it goes along: from Northern Europe to the American South, from frost to blossom. —Stacey Leigh Bridewell DECEMBER 2 017

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AF African AM Americana BL Blues BU Bluegrass BO Bounce BB Brass Band BQ Burlesque KJ Cajun CL Classical CR Classic Rock CO Comedy CW Country CB Cover Band DN Dance DX Dixieland DB Dubstep EL Electro FO Folk FK Funk GS Gospel GY Gypsy HH Hip-Hop HS House IN Indian Classical ID Indie Rock IL Industrial IR Irish JB Jam Band

MJ Jazz Contemporary TJ Jazz Traditional JV Jazz Variety KR Karaoke KZ Klezmer LT Latin MG Mardi Gras Indian ME Metal RB Modern R&B PO Pop PK Punk RE Reggae RC Rockabilly RK Rock RR Roots Rock SS Singer/ Songwriter SK Ska PI Solo Piano SO Soul SW Spoken Word SP Swamp Pop SI Swing VR Variety ZY Zydeco

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25

Bombay Club: Los Tres Amigos (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: James Evans Trio (JV) 6p, Calvin Johnson and Native Son (JV) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Ed Volker’s Radio Days (VR) 9p d.b.a.: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (JV) 7p, George Porter Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners (FK) 11p Dragon’s Den: Primetime feat. DJ Legatron Prime (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Talk Nerdy to Me (BQ) 8p, Sexy Back with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: the Rip Off Show (CO) 8p, Pink Room Project (HH) 11p House of Blues (the Parish): Tre-G (HH) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Stoked (CO) 9p Joy Theater: Partners-N-Crime, DJ Jubilee (HH) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 5p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires (JV) 1p, Luneta Jazz Band, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 4p, Brass-A-Holics, Gene’s Music Machine (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: New Orleans Suspects (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a NOSH: DJ Hologram and guests (VR) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Tab Benoit (BL) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Sullivan Fortner Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: the Funkin’ Truth feat. Leo Nocentelli, Stanton Moore, Big Sam, John “Papa” Gros, Bill “the Buddha” Dickens, Kris Royal and Erica Falls (FK) 10p

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26

Bombay Club: Tim Laughlin Trio (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 10:30a, Gerald French Trio (JV) 7p

DECEMBER 2017

Chickie Wah Wah: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns Quartet (JV) 8p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Will Dickerson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Blues Brunch with Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Maison: Chance Bushman and the NOLA Jitterbugs (SI) 10a, the Function, Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 1p, Brad Walker, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Walter “Wolfman” Washington (RB) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud and Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Snug Harbor: Joe Dyson Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascale (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p UNO Lakefront Arena: R. Kelly (RB) 8p

MONDAY NOVEMBER 27

Bombay Club: David Boeddinghaus (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Molaison (VR) 6p, Alex McMurray (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing feat. Jeff Kreis and the Crescent City Blue Blowers (GY) 7p, Hangover Mondays with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Dance Party with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Joy Theater: John McLaughlin and Jimmy Herring (VR) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (JV) 4p Maple Leaf: the Porter Trio feat. George Porter Jr., Terrence Houston and Mike Lemmler (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a Preservation Hall: Preservation Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: West Coast Swing Night (SI) 7p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28

Bombay Club: Matt Lemmler (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Chip Wilson and Marcello Benetti (VR) 5:30p, Mike Doussan and Company (VR) 8p, Jamey St. Pierre (VR) 10p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Gasa Gasa: Ne Obliviscaris, Allegaeon, Cauche Mar (ME) 7p House of Blues: Tank and Leela James (RB) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: James Rivers Movement (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Slick Skillet Serenaders, Gregory Agid Quartet, Skeeter Leg (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation All-Stars feat. Wendell Brunious (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Latin Night (LT) 7p Saenger Theatre: Hip-Hop Nutcracker (HH) 7:30p Snug Harbor: Tribute to Scott Joplin feat. Tom McDermott (JV) 8 & 10p

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29 Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p

Chickie Wah Wah: Ivor Simpson-Kennedy (VR) 5:30p, Meschiya Lake and Tom McDermott (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, Reggae Night (RE) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Glen David Andrews (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Maison: 9th Street Stompers, Jazz Vipers, RnR Music Group (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Preservation Hall: Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Republic: Telefon Tel Aviv, Second Woman, Matt Scott (EL) 9p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Creole Stringbeans (SI) 8p SideBar NOLA: David Torkanowsky and friends (VR) 10p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Magnetic Ear with Cole Williams (FK) 9p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: the Troubadour (KJ) 7p

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski with Duke Heitger (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Tiffany Ann Pollack (JV) 5p, Meryl Zimmerman (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 6p Chickie Wah Wah: Phil DeGruy (VR) 6p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (JV) 7p, Funk Monkey (FK) 10p Dos Jefes: Matt Lemmler Trio feat. Steve Masakowski and James Singleton (JV) 9:30p Dragon’s Den: Crescent Fresh Stand-Up Open Mic (CO) 7p, ’90s and Beyond: A Throwback Hip-Hop and R&B Party (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Tiffany Jade, Kayla Mimz, Josh Mosier (RB) 9p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Susto, Esme Patterson, Julie Odell (FO) 8p House of Blues (the Parish): Tiffany (PO) 8p House of Blues: Yacht Rock Revue (RK) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Howlin’ Wolf: Perpetual Groove (FK) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave Hickey (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (FK) 11p Maison: Robin Sherman Quartet, Good For Nothin’ Band, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Johnny Vidacovich, Benny Bloom and special guest (FK) 10p NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (JV) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation All-Stars feat. Louis Ford (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas (ZY) 8:30p Saenger Theatre: Michael Carbonaro (CO) 7p Snug Harbor: Nick Sanders and Logan Strosahl (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Slay City x Haute to Death (VR) 10p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (PI) 5p, Arsene DeLay (JV) 8p Vaughan’s Lounge: DJ Black Pearl (VR) 9p, Corey Henry and Treme Funket (FK) 10p

FRIDAY DECEMBER 1

Bombay Club: Riverside Jazz Collective (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Greg Schatz Trio (VR) 6p, Jeremy Joyce Quartet (VR) 9p

Chickie Wah Wah: Michael Pearce (BL) 6p, Johnny and the Moondogs perform Beatles Tunes (VR) 9p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, John “Papa” Gros Band (VR) 10p Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall: David L. Harris (JV) 6:30p Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 11p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 8p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Max Moran and Neospectric, JFF’s Music for Children (FK) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Rotary Downs, Vox and the Hound (RK) 8p House of Blues: New Found Glory (PK) 8:30p Jazz National Historical Park: Johnette Downing (SS) 11a Kerry Irish Pub: Vali Talbot (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Johnny Vidacovich (VR) 7p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Soul Project, Gumbo Funk (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Lynn Drury Birthday Bash (RR) 7p, Funk Monkey (BB) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Saenger Theatre: the Avett Brothers (FO) 7:30p Snug Harbor: Herlin Riley Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 10p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Big Sam’s Christmas Jam (FK) 9:30p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

SATURDAY DECEMBER 2

Bombay Club: Don Vappie (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Dayna Kurtz (VR) 6p, Alexandra Scott and her Magical Band (VR) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Sonia Tetlow and the Boys from the Band (VR) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Dragon’s Den: Samba Soul Saturday feat. Brazilian Pineapple Fashion Show (LT) 7p, Primetime feat. DJ Legatron Prime (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Talk Nerdy to Me (BQ) 8p, Sexy Back with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Close Me Out (CO) 8p, Pink Room Project (HH) 11p House of Blues: Bustout Burlesque and the Bustout Jazz Band (BQ) 9p Jazz and Heritage Center: Leroy Jones (JV) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Tom Hook (JV) 5p, Michael Watson and the Alchemy (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave Hickey (FO) 5p, Jamie Lynn Vessels (FO) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (BL) 7 & 9p Louisiana Music Factory: Zachary Richard (ZY) 1p, Bonerama (BB) 3p, Samantha Fish (VR) 5p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Luneta Jazz Band, Smoking Time Jazz Club (SI) 1p, Big Easy Brawlers, RnR Music Group (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: New Orleans Nightcrawlers (BB) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC One Eyed Jacks: Fleur de Tease Naughty Nutcracker (BQ) 8:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Preservation Hall: Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Karma (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Ike Stubblefield Organ Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

SUNDAY DECEMBER 3

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski Trio (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Pfister Sisters (JV) 4p, Steve Pistorius, Orange Kellin and Benny Amon (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns Quartet (JV) 8p, New Orleans Klezmer AllStars feat. Glenn Hartman, Stanton Moore, Ben Ellman, Jonathan Freilich (VR) 10:30p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Soul Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Anuraag Pendyal (JV) 7p, Church feat. Klutch and others (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: NOLA Comedy Hour Open Mic (CO) 8p, Baby Boy Bartels and the Boys, the Afrodiziacs (RK) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): the Spill Canvas, Wild, Super Whatever (ID) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Will Dickerson (FO) 8p Maison: Chance Bushman and the NOLA Jitterbugs, the Jenelle and Gabi Trio, Sidewalk Swing (JV) 10a, Meghan Stewart, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Russell Batiste Birthday Throwdown (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a Palm Court Jazz Café: Gerald French and Sunday Night Swingsters (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

MONDAY DECEMBER 4

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Molaison (VR) 5:30p, Alex McMurray with Glen Hartman (RR) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing (JV) 7p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Universal Sigh (RK) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio feat. Terrence Houston and Mike Lemmler (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 8p Snug Harbor: Benefit for Puerto Rico with Detroit Brooks (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Papa Mali with Skeeter Leg and friends (FK) 9p Three Muses: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Washboard Rodeo (JV) 8p

TUESDAY DECEMBER 5

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Chip Wilson (VR) 6p, Alvin Youngblood Hart’ sMuscle Memory Theory (BL) 8p, Jamey St. Pierre (VR) 10:30p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Ellis Marsalis Center for Music: Ellis Marsalis Center for Music String and Vocal Ensemble (JV) 6:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Isaac Worley’s Soul Emporium EPrelease show, Tiffany Jade (SO) 9p

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House of Blues: Poptone (RK) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Ricardo Pascal’s New Orleans Wildlife Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Deadhead After-Show feat. Marc Stone Three Jam (JV) 7p Maison: Zoe K. and friends, Gregory Agid Quartet, BrassLightning (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Saenger Theatre: Cirque Dreams Holidaze (VR) 7:30p SideBar NOLA: Justin Peake, Simon Lott and Doug Garrison (VR) 9p Smoothie King Center: Dead and Company (CR) 7p Snug Harbor: Ronald Markham (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 6

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Ivor Simpson-Kennedy (VR) 6p, Tom McDermott and Meschiya Lake (JV) 8p, Hayley Thompson-King (VR) 10p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RR) 7p, Brint Anderson and the Roadmasters (VR) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, Reggae Night (RE) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Progression Music Series (VR) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Brass Knuckles Brass Band (BB) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Little Gem’s Official Holiday Jazz Celebration (JV) 7:30p Maison: Salvatore Geloso Trio Jazz Vipers, Organized Crime (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Ari Teitel with Andrew Block, Nigel Hall, Eric Vogel, Isaac Eady and Deven Trusclair (FK) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: the Yat Pack (SI) 8p Snug Harbor: Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Helen Gillet +1 (JV) 9p Three Muses: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 8p

THURSDAY DECEMBER 7

Buffa’s: Gumbo Cabaret (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and friends (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Phil DeGruy and Emily Robertson (VR) 6p, Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Deltaphonic (VR) 11p Dragon’s Den: Crescent Fresh Stand-Up (CO) 7p House of Blues: Loyola Music Industry Showcase (VR) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Kevin Specht and Tom Marron (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Little Gem’s Official Holiday Jazz Celebration (JV) 7:30p Maison: Good For Nothin’ Band, Sweet Substitute Jazz Band, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Johnny Vidacovich Trio (JV) 10p NOSH: DJ Torque, Alexey Marti (JV) 7p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger and Tim Laughlin with Crescent City Joymakers (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Jeremy Fruge and the Zydeco Hotboyz (ZY) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Quiana Lynell and Company (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Kirk Joseph and the Backyard Band, Lilli Lewis Project (FK) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Salvatore Geloso (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Wild Card (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

FRIDAY DECEMBER 8

Bombay Club: Larry Scala (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Dapper Dandies (JV) 6p Chickie Wah Wah: Michael Pearce (BL) 6p, Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show perform the Songs of John Lennon (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 6p, Kristin Diable (SS) 10p

Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 11p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 8p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Gasa Gasa: A Smithsmas Extravaganza with the Gentlemen Commoners performing Music of the Smiths (RK) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Dance Party (VR) 11p House of Blues: the Prince Experience (CB) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Vibe Doctors, Karma Bank (FK) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4p, Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 7p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Joy Theater: the Soul Rebels feat. Curren$y, Talib Kweli and Robert Glasper (FK) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Roy Gele (FO) 5p, the One Tailed Three (FO) 9p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Ricio and Reese’s Pieces, Big Easy Brawlers (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a Music Box Village: Lost Bayou Ramblers perform album Kalenda (KJ) 6:30p NOSH: DJ Crushed Velvet, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Crescent City Soul (VR) 9:30p Ruby’s Roadhouse (Mandeville): Paula and The Pontiacs (BL) 10p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Erica Falls Band (FK) 10p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p

SATURDAY DECEMBER 9

Bombay Club: Steve Gordon (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Keith Burnstein and Michael Skinkus (VR) 6p, Marina Orchestra (VR) 9p Carver Theater: Brothers at Peace Presents Comedy and Culture III feat. Luenell, Justnesh, Blowfish, Rude Jude (CO) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Webb Wilder (VR) 8p, Kei Slaughter, Toonces, Tasche and the Psychedelic Roses (VR) 10p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Creole Cookery: Trad Stars Jazz Band (JV) 11a d.b.a.: Juke Joint Duo feat. Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm (BL) 11p Dragon’s Den: Samba Soul Saturday feat. Brazilian Pineapple Fashion Show (LT) 7p, Primetime feat. DJ Legatron Prime (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Talk Nerdy to Me (BQ) 8p, Sexy Back with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Gasa Gasa: Pale Waves, the Candescents (RK) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Brown Improv (CO) 8p, Pink Room Project (HH) 11p House of Blues: Departure: the Journey Tribute Band (CB) 9p Jazz and Heritage Center: Helen Gillet and Leyla McCalla (JV) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Shannon Powell Quartet (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Kerwin and Geoff Coats (FO) 5p, Invisible Cowboy Band (FO) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Little Gem’s Official Holiday Jazz Celebration (JV) 7:30p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Luneta Jazz Band, Smoking Time Jazz Club, Raw Deal (VR) 1p, Gene’s Music Machine (FK) 11:59p Maple Leaf: New Orleans Suspects (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a New Orleans Jazz Market: Holiday Songbook feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater (JV) 7:30p NOSH: DJ Crushed Velvet, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p Orpheum: Orpheum Holiday Spectacular with the 610 Stompers and the LPO (VR) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Leroy Jones and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Ryan Foret and Foret Tradition (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Astral Project (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): La Noche Caliente with Muevelo (LT) 9p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Dragon Smoke, Porch 40 (VR) 10p

SUNDAY DECEMBER 10

Bombay Club: Tim Laughlin Trio (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Nattie Sanchez’s Songwriter Circle (SS) 4p, Gerald French Trio (VR) 7p

Chickie Wah Wah: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Horns (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p, MainLine (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Tristan Gianola Trio (JV) 7p, Church feat. Klutch and others (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: NOLA Comedy Hour Open Mic (CO) 8p, Stripped Into Submission (BQ) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): the CrossRhodes feat. Raheem Devaughn and Wes Felton (RB) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Vintage Pistol (RK) 9p, Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz National Historical Park: African Drum and Dance Workshop with Luther Gray and Mama Jamilla (AF) 12p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Joy Theater: Hari Kondabolu, Liz Miele (CO) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8p Maison: Chance Bushman and the NOLA Jitterbugs, Novos Sapatos, Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 10a, Leah Rucker, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Soul Brass Band (BB) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a Orpheum: Orpheum Holiday Spectacular with the 610 Stompers and the LPO (VR) 2:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Tom Fischer and Sunday Night Swingsters (JV) 8p Snug Harbor: Stanton Moore Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Pokey Lafarge, Esther Rose, the Easy Leaves (VR) 7p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

MONDAY DECEMBER 11

Bombay Club: David Boeddinghaus (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Molaison (VR) 5:30p, Alex McMurray with Sam Doores (ID) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p d.b.a.: John Boutte (JV) 7p, Brass-A-Holics (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing (JV) 7p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Two Sheets to the Wind (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Valerie Sassyfras, Maggie Belle Band, Chopped Up Tulips (VR) 9p Preservation Hall: Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Snug Harbor: Anais St. John and Mike Esnault Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Too Trill Trivia (HH) 6p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9p

TUESDAY DECEMBER 12

Bombay Club: Matt Lemmler (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Chip Wilson (VR) 6p, Ron Hotstream and the Mid-City Drifters (CW) 8p, Jamey St. Pierre (VR) 11p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Jonathan Brown, Dope KNife, Lingua Franca (HH) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 9p Jazz Playhouse: James Rivers Movement (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: NOLA Dukes Showcase (VR) 7p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maison: Samantha Pearl, Gregory Agid Quartet, Gene’s Music Machine (VR) 4p

DECEMBER 2 017

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Orpheum: Randy Newman (VR) 7p Snug Harbor: Stanton Moore Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Josh Gouzy quartet (JV) 8p

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13

Bombay Club: Joe Krown (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Reuther (VR) 6p, Tom McDermott and Meschiya Lake (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RR) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, Reggae Night (RE) 10p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Progression Music Series (VR) 9p House of Blues: Gary Numan, Me Not You (EL) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Davell Crawford Unplugged: Holidays, Fats Domino and New Orleans (JV) 7:30p Maison: Sidewalk Swing, Jazz Vipers, Ricio and Reece’s Pieces (JV) 4p Maple Leaf: Ari Teitel with Ron Johnson, Andrew Yankovski, Isaac Eady and Big D (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Live-Band Karaoke (VR) 8p Snug Harbor: Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): the Shape of Jazz to Come feat. SLEIGH (Gamble, Peake, Lott) (JV) 9p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 7p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: the Troubadour (KJ) 7p

THURSDAY DECEMBER 14

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski with Meryl Zimmerman (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Miles Lyons (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and friends (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Phil DeGruy and Emily Robertson (VR) 6p, John “Papa” Gros Band (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 7p, Billy Iuso and the Restless Natives (RR) 10p Dragon’s Den: Crescent Fresh Stand-Up (CO) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): Rapsody (HH) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Tim Robertson (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre: Ander Osborne’s Living Room with Ivan Neville (VR) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Davell Crawford Unplugged: Holidays, Fats Domino and New Orleans (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Allen Hebert (RK) 5p, Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 9p Maison: Good for Nothin’ Band,James Williams, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Johnny Vidacovich and special guests (JV) 10p NOSH: DJ Torque, Alexey Marti (JV) 7p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Walter “Wolfman” Washington (RB) 6p Orpheum: Outside the Bachs: Baroque Christmas feat. the LPO (CL) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Tim Laughlin with Crescent City Joymakers (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners (ZY) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Grayson Brockamp and New Orleans Wildlife Band (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Little Cosmicana, Video Age and Chris Rehm (FO) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Mia Borders (JV) 8p

FRIDAY DECEMBER 15

Bombay Club: Riverside Jazz Collective (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Jerry Jumonville and Jump City Band (JV) 6p, Spogga (VR) 9p Carver Theater: the Days of Motown: A Holiday Revue (SO) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Michael Pearce (BL) 6p, Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show perform the Songs of Bob Dylan (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p

DECEMBER 2017

d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 6p, Pink Slip, Jason and the Kreugers (RK) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 11p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 8p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Dance Party (VR) 11p House of Blues (the Parish): Sleeping With Sirens (RK) 6:30p House of Blues: Jet Life Christmas: Curren$y’s Lighting of the Tree (HH) 11p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Stoked: NOLA’s Best Comedians (CO) 9p Howlin’ Wolf: Nigel Hall Band, Raquel Rodriguez (FK) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Tom Hook (JV) 4p, Michael Watson and the Alchemy (JV) 7p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 5p, Lynn Drury (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Davell Crawford Unplugged: Holidays, Fats Domino and New Orleans (JV) 7:30p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Raw Deal, Groove Faction (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: BrasiNola (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p Old U.S. Mint: Sonny Landreth (RK) 7p One Eyed Jacks: DJ Soul Sister presents Soulful Takeover (FK) 10p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Mixed Nuts (VR) 9:30p Smoothie King Center: I Love the ‘90s feat. Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Kid N Play, Color Me Badd, Young MC, Coolio, Rob Base (VR) 7:30p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Khris Royal’s Annual XXXmas Jam (FK) 10p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Anders Osborne’s Holiday Spectacular feat. Rickie Lee Jones (RR) 10p

SATURDAY DECEMBER 16

Bombay Club: Matt Johnson Trio (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Marc Stone (BL) 6p, the Royal Rounders (VR) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Eric Benny Bloom’s Really Tacky Holiday Show (VR) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Creole Cookery: Trad Stars Jazz Band (JV) 11a d.b.a.: Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes (FK) 11p Dragon’s Den: Samba Soul Saturday feat. Brazilian Pineapple Fashion Show (LT) 7p, Primetime feat. DJ Legatron Prime (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Talk Nerdy to Me (BQ) 8p, Sexy Back with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Big Easy Live (CO) 8p, Pink Room Project (HH) 11p House of Blues (the Parish): Flatland Cavalry, John Baumann (FO) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Voodoo Visionary (RK) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Davell Crawford Unplugged: Holidays, Fats Domino and New Orleans (JV) 7:30p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires (JV) 1p, Cajun/Zydeco Fais Do Do feat. 99 Playboys, Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (KJ) 4p, Smoking Time Jazz Club, RnR Music Group, Big Easy Brawlers (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (RB) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p One Eyed Jacks: Motel Radio, the Artisanals, Midriff (VR) 9p Orpheum: New Orleans Ballet Theatre presents the Nutcracker (CL) 2 & 7p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Preservation Hall: Preservation Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (TJ) 6p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Contraflow (VR) 9:30p Siberia: Big Freedia Block Party (BO) 9p

Snug Harbor: John Ellis Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Lil Ed and the Blue Imperials (BL) 9p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Esther Rose (JV) 6p Tipitina’s: Anders Osborne’s Holiday Spectacular feat. Patterson Hood (RR) 10p

SUNDAY DECEMBER 17

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski Trio (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Banu Gibson and her Hi Dee Ho Ho Hos (JV) 4p, Steve Pistorius, Orange Kellin and Benny Amon (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Dave Jordan (RR) 8p, Greazy Alice (VR) 9p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p, Bon Bon Vivant (JV) 10p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Tristan Gianola Trio (JV) 7p, Church feat. Klutch and others (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: NOLA Comedy Hour Open Mic (CO) 8p, Stripped Into Submission (BQ) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): LouMuzik Live (HH) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Traditional Irish Session (FO) 4p, Patrick Cooper (FO) 8p Maison: Chance Bushman and the NOLA Jitterbugs, the Function, Leah Rucker (JV) 10a, Michael Watson Quintet, Higher Heights (VR) 7p Maple Leaf: James Booker Birthday Tribute feat. CR Gruver, Tom McDermott, David Torkanowsky, Tom Worrell, Joe Krown and special guest (PI) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Yung Vul (VR) 8p Orpheum: New Orleans Ballet Theatre presents the Nutcracker (CL) 2p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud and Sunday Night Swingsters (JV) 8p Preservation Hall: Salon Series: Creole Christmas with the Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 1p & 2:30p, Preservation Legacy Band (TJ) 6p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Siberia: Kelcy Mae’s Merry Songwriters Revue feat. Alexandra Scott, Micah McKee, Alex Bosworth, Lauren Oglesby, Jeremy Joyce (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Mahmoud Chouki (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Jake Bugg (VR) 8:30p Trinity Episcopal Church: Delfeayo Marsalis and his Uptown Jazz Orchestra perform Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite (JV) 5p

MONDAY DECEMBER 18

Bombay Club: David Boeddinghaus (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Molaison (VR) 5:30p, Alex McMurray (ID) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing (JV) 7p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Roy Gele (FO) 8:30p Maison: Chicken and Waffles, Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (JV) 4p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio feat. Terrence Houston and Mike Lemmler (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Phillip Manuel’s Christmas Show (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Chinua (HH) 5p Three Muses: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Russell Welch Duo (JV) 8p

TUESDAY DECEMBER 19

Bombay Club: Matt Lemmler (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Chip Wilson (VR) 6p, Michael Cerveris and Loose Cattle (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p

Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: New Orleans Guitar Night (RK) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Irvin Mayfield’s Four For Forty with very special guests (JV) 7:30p Maison: Quicksand, Gregory Agid, Skeeter Leg (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Snug Harbor: Birthday Tribute to Bunk Johnson feat. Steve Pistorius (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Ivan Neville’s Nola Nites (FK) 9p Three Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p, Josh Gouzy quartet (JV) 8p

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20 Bombay Club: John Royen (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Reuther (VR) 6p, Papa Mali (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RR) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, Reggae Night (RE) 10p French Market: Patrick Cooper and Natasha Sanchez (FO) 1:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Progression Music Series (VR) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Rival Nova (PO) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Irvin Mayfield’s Four For Forty with very special guests (JV) 7:30p Maison: Jazz Vipers, B. Miller Zone (VR) 6:30p Maple Leaf: Ari Teitel with Brian Charente, Benny Bloom, Alvin Ford Jr. (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Rocky’s Hot Fox Trot Orchestra (SI) 8p Snug Harbor: Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Holiday Sing-A-Long to Benefit the NOMC feat. Paul Sanchez, Alex McMurrary, Debbie Davis (RR) 9p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Schatzy (JV) 8p

THURSDAY DECEMBER 21

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski with Tim Laughlin (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Tom McDermott and friends (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Phil DeGruy and Emily Robertson (VR) 6p, John “Papa” Gros Band (VR) 8p d.b.a.: Sarah Quintana (SS) 7p, the Iguanas (VR) 10p Dragon’s Den: Crescent Fresh Stand-Up (CO) 7p, Upstairs: Soundclash (HH) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p House of Blues: Robert Earl Keen (FO) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Brass-A-Holics (JV) 5p Jazz and Heritage Center: Tunes for Toys feat. New Breed Brass Band, Trombone Shorty and Trombone Shorty Academy Students (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: the One Tailed Three (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Irvin Mayfield’s Four For Forty with very special guests (JV) 7:30p Maison: Good for Nothin’ Band, Roamin’ Jasmine, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Johnny Vidacovich and friends (JV) 10p NOSH: DJ Torque, Alexey Marti (JV) 7p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Quintron Weather Warlock (EL) 6p One Eyed Jacks: Jamaican Me Breakfast Club (VR) 7p, Fast Times ‘80s and ‘90s Night (VR) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: call club (ZY) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Brian Charette Organ Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): the Asylum Chorus’ Holiday Show (SO) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (VR) 8p

FRIDAY DECEMBER 22

Bombay Club: Banu Gibson (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Krewe de Bechet (VR) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Michael Pearce (BL) 6p, Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show Christmas (VR) 8p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 6p, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers (ZY) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 11p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 8p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Dance Party (VR) 11p House of Blues: Home for the Holidays Benefit for NOCCA feat. Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave., Irma Thomas, James Andrews and the Crescent City All-Stars, Stanton Moore, Robert Mercurio, Eric Lindell and others (JV) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Justin Howl (SS) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Fred LeBlanc’s Christmas Show (CO) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4p, Leroy Jones (JV) 7p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Roy Gele (FO) 5p, Will Dickerson (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Irvin Mayfield’s Four For Forty with very special guests (JV) 7:30p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Soul Company, Big Easy Brawlers (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Honey Island Swamp Band (RR) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a NOSH: DJ Crushed Velvet, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p One Eyed Jacks: Air Sex Championships Holiday Special (VR) 8p Orpheum: New Orleans Ballet Theatre presents the Nutcracker (CL) 2 & 7p Polo Club Lounge: John Royen (JV) 6p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: the Boogie Men (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Poguetry and Lost Bayou Ramblers (KJ) 9p

SATURDAY DECEMBER 23

Buffa’s: Freddie Blue and the Friendship Circle (VR) 6p, Romy Kaye and the Mercy Buckets (JV) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Hog Leg (VR) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Jazz Vipers (JV) 7p, George Porter Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners (RB) 11p Dragon’s Den: Samba Soul Saturday feat. Brazilian Pineapple Fashion Show (LT) 7p, Primetime feat. DJ Legatron Prime (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Talk Nerdy to Me (BQ) 8p, Sexy Back with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: the Rip Off Show (CO) 8p, Pink Room Project (HH) 11p House of Blues: LouMuzik Live (RK) 9p Howlin’ Wolf: Reverend Horton Heat, the Mike Dillon Band (RC) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Van Hudson (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (BL) 7 & 9p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Luneta Jazz Band, Smoking Time Jazz Club, Groove Faction (JV) 1p Maple Leaf: Jason Ricci (RR) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a NOSH: DJ Crushed Velvet, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p One Eyed Jacks: Percy J. and the Nocturnal Animals (VR) 9p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: the Topcats (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Germaine Bazzle and Larry Sieberth Quartet CD-release show (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): King James and the Special Men and special guests (FK) 10p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Jayna Morgan (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p

SUNDAY DECEMBER 24

Bombay Club: Meryl Zimmerman (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Christmas Eve Film Festival (VR) 2:30p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Tristan Gianola Trio (JV) 7p, Church feat. Klutch and others (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: NOLA Comedy Hour Open Mic (CO) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Maple Leaf: Joe Krown (PI) 7p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Fiyabird: A Soulful Christmas with Robin Barnes and friends (SO) 7p

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Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Time Out: the Moxie Kings (VR) 11a Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

MONDAY DECEMBER 25

Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing (JV) 7p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maison: Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses, Sierra Green and the Soul Machine (JV) 7p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Very Unofficial 70th Birthday Show (FK) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Jazz Masters (TJ) 6p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Benny Grunch 12 Yats of Christmas Pawty (VR) 5p Tropical Isle Original: Graham Robertson (RK) 5:15p, Trop Rock Express (RK) 9:15p

TUESDAY DECEMBER 26

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: John Fohl, Johnny Sansone and Anders Osborne (RR) 8p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 9p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Maison: Cyrus Nabipoor Quintet, Gregory Agid Quartet, Gene’s Music Machine (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: New Orleans Arrhythmias (VR) 8p Saenger Theatre: Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker (DN) Snug Harbor: Herlin Riley Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, F.A.S.T. (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27 Bombay Club: John Royen (PI) 8p Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Justin Reuther (VR) 6p, Lynn Drury (SS) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RR) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Groove Therapy (HH) 9p, Reggae Night (RE) 10p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Progression Music Series (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: John Diaz Trio (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Parsons (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maison: the Function, Jazz Vipers, RnR Music Group (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Ari Teitel and friends (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Groovy 7 (SI) 8p Snug Harbor: Delfeayo Marsalis and Uptown Jazz Orchestra (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Gary Negbaur (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Dr. John and the Gris-Gris Krewe (RB) 9p

THURSDAY DECEMBER 28

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski with Evan Christopher (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Tom Saunders and the Hot Cats (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and friends (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Phil DeGruy (VR) 6p, John “Papa” Gros Band (VR) 8p

Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p Dragon’s Den: Crescent Fresh Stand-Up (CO) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Deacon John and the Ivories (BL) 8p Maison: Tuba Skinny, Good for Nothin’ Band, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter Jr. and special guests (JV) 10p NOSH: DJ Torque, Alexey Marti (JV) 7p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Geno Delafose (ZY) 8:30p Snug Harbor: Evan Christopher and Clarinet Road (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Soundbytes with PJ Morton and friends (RB) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 8p Tipitina’s: Dr. John and the Gris-Gris Krewe (RB) 9p

FRIDAY DECEMBER 29

Bombay Club: Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Davis Rogan (VR) 6p, Marc Stone (BL) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Michael Pearce (BL) 6p, Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show perform the Songs of Bruce Springsteen (VR) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 6p, Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 11p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 8p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Hi-Ho Lounge: Dance Party (VR) 11p House of Blues (the Parish): House of the Young (HH) 10p House of Blues: A Tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John (CB) 9p Howlin’ Wolf: PYMP, Unicorn Fukr, the Dabmaster (EL) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Paintbox with Dave James and Tim Robertson (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Deacon John and the Ivories (BL) 8p Maison: Swinging Gypsies, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 4p, Big Easy Brawlers, Musical Expression (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Chris Mule and the Perpetrators (RR) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p Orpheum: New Year’s Eve Special feat. the Revivalists (RK) 9p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Karma (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, DJ Soul Sister (FK) 10p

SATURDAY DECEMBER 30

Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski with Evan Christopher (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Fr. Ron and friends (VR) 6p, Leslie Cooper and Music Street Jazz Band (JV) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Woodenhead (RR) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Creole Cookery: Trad Stars Jazz Band (JV) 11a d.b.a.: Tuba Skinny (JV) 7p Dos Jefes: Walter “Wolfman” Washington (BL) 10p Dragon’s Den: Samba Soul Saturday feat. Brazilian Pineapple Fashion Show (LT) 7p, Primetime feat. DJ Legatron Prime (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Talk Nerdy to Me (BQ) 8p, Sexy Back with DJ Dizzi (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Brown Improv (CO) 8p, Pink Room Project (HH) 11p House of Blues (Voodoo Garden): Ted Hefko and the Thousandaires (VR) 7p Joy Theater: the New Mastersounds, Khris Royal and Dark Matter (FK) 10p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Roux the Day (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Deacon John and the Ivories (BL) 8p Maison: Chance Bushman and the Ibervillianaires, Royal Street Winding Boys, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 1p, Brass-A-Holics, Gene’s Music Machine (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: John “Papa” Gros Band (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a

NOSH: DJ Abibas, Andy Daniels (VR) 8p One Eyed Jacks: Tom Petty Tribute (CR) 9p Orpheum: New Year’s Eve Special feat. the Revivalists (RK) 9p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Bucktown All-Stars (VR) 9:30p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis and Company (JV) 8 & 10p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, DJ Soul Sister (FK) 10p

SUNDAY DECEMBER 31

Bombay Club: Matt Lemmler (PI) 7p, Bombay AllStars (JV) 9:30p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (TJ) 11a, Steve Pistorius, Orange Kellin and Benny Amon (JV) 7p, the Royal Rounders (VR) 10p Chickie Wah Wah: Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen (VR) 9p Civic Theatre: DJ Soul Sister’s 15th Annual New Year’s Eve Soul Train (SO) 10p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Tristan Gianola Trio (JV) 7p, Church feat. Klutch and others (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: NOLA Comedy Hour Open Mic (CO) 8p, New Year’s Eve Dance Party (VR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 10p Joy Theater: NYE with Tank and the Bangas, Sweet Crude, Alfred Banks, CoolNasty (VR) 10p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p; Ramp Room: Black and White Bazaar with Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 10:30p Maison: Chance Bushman and the NOLA Jitterbugs, G and the Swinging Gypsies (JV) 10a, Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 1p, Brad Walker (JV) 7p, Soul Rebels, George Porter Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners (FK) 10p Maple Leaf: Sexual Thunder (FK) 11p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: NYE with Boyfriend (HH) 9p Orpheum: New Year’s Eve Special feat. the Revivalists (RK) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: New Year’s Eve Gala (JV) 9p Republic: A Busted NYE feat. Herobust, CRWNS, Kidd Love, SnakPak (EL) 10p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: NYE with Tab Benoit (BL) 9p Siberia: Cauche Mar, Tasche and the Psychedelic Roses (VR) 10p Snug Harbor: New Year’s Eve with Topsy Chapman and Solid Harmony (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): NOJO 7 and special guests (JV) 9p Time Out: the Moxie Kings (VR) 11a Tipitina’s: Galactic New Year’s Eve (FK) 10p

FESTIVALS NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 2 The city of Alexandria holds its annual Alex Winter Fete featuring live music, an indie village and a multicultural village, iceskating and a visit with Santa. CityOfAlexandriaLa.com/AlexWinterFete DECEMBER During the month of December, Christmas New Orleans Style events take place across the city, including Reveillon dinners, concerts, visits from Santa, levee bonfires, caroling and more. FQFI.org

SPECIAL EVENTS DECEMBER 5 The Ogden Museum of Southern Art holds its annual Art of Giving holiday shopping event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring work by artists and artisans from the Center for Southern Craft & Design. OgdenMuseum.org DECEMBER 31 The French Quarter celebrates New Year’s Eve with live music in Jackson Square, a fleur de lis drop at Jax Brewery and midnight fireworks at the river. CrescentCityCountdown.com

DECEMBER 2 017

BACKTALK

George Clinton

talks back

rom doo-wop to the P-Funk Mothership, George Clinton has led his funky voyage through the musical universe and beyond. The journey began in New Jersey in 1955, when Clinton formed his doo-wop group, the Parliaments. During this first Clinton era, he also made weekly trips to the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The showmanship he saw there set the stage for the outlandish performances that Clinton’s various musical collectives—Funkadelic, Parliament, the P-Funk All Stars and ParliamentFunkadelic—staged in the decades that followed. In 1967, years of singing and writing songs paid off with the Parliaments’ only hit, “(I Wanna) Testify.” But the Detroit-based Revilot Records’ business troubles compelled Clinton to leave the label and change the name of his group. Business and legal issues obliged him to record under various names throughout his career. In 1968, for instance, the Parliaments became Funkadelic. Two years later, Funkadelic became Parliament. Using Motown Records as a model, Clinton assembled a collective of more than 50 musicians. In the 1970s, the group recorded as both Funkadelic and Parliament. Funkadelic worked in a psychedelic rock-band format. Parliament mixed the funk and soul influences of James Brown and Sly Stone with crazy costumes, science fiction and ’60s psychedelia. Later, a spaceship prop dubbed the P-Funk Mothership hovered above the band’s audiences. The Parliament-Funkadelic collective reached its commercial crest in 1978–79. “Flash Light,” “Aqua Boogie,” “One Nation Under a Groove” and “(Not Just) Knee Deep” reached number one on the rhythm and

Photo: golden g. richard, iii

Tipitina’s Friday and Saturday, December 29 and 30

blues charts. The albums One Nation Under a Groove and Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome sold a million copies each. In 1980, more music business troubles prompted Clinton to release music as simply George Clinton. His success continued with several R&B hits, including another number one song, “Atomic Dog.” Like his fellow funk pioneers, New Orleans’ Meters, Clinton gained new recognition in the www.OFFBEAT.com

late 1980s and 1990s when rappers sampled his classic grooves. His other appreciation includes Grammy and Dove awards and honors from BMI, the NAACP Image Awards and Motown Alumni Association. In 1997, Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, Clinton received an honorary doctorate of music from the Berklee College of Music. In 2017, Clinton, Bootsy Collins and the Gary “Mudbone” Cooper earned a Soul Train Ashford and Simpson Songwriter’s Award nomination for Childish Gambino’s “Redbone,” which samples “I’d Rather Be With You.” And the P-Funk Mothership landed in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. On December 29 and December 30, Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic will play another of their between-Christmas-and-New-Year’s engagements at Tipitina’s. His longtime friend, Melissa Weber, the local funk and old-school R&B DJ known as DJ Soul Sister, opens both nights.

How many shows did you play this year? Oh, we did about 200. We pretty much live on the road.

Are you home for a minute from touring? Yeah, we just got back from the road. On the road for a while. Been all over the place.

Showmanship, costumes and the Mothership have been big parts of your show. What inspired ParliamentFunkadelic’s showmanship? We grew up in Jersey, going to the Apollo every week. The people that turned the Apollo out put on a show. The Isley Brothers in the

You’ve done a lot of international touring this year. Where have you been? We were just in Bali, Australia, the Philippines. By John Wirt

Is funk an international language? Funk is an international language. Everybody can speak it. It’s an interplanetary language! I know you are a science-fiction fan from way back. Yep. The Mothership connection. Star Trek took me out. In the ’50s, when The Day the Earth Stood Still and all that stuff came out, right at about my puberty, like 11 or 12, I was all up into all of that. And you put your love for sci-fi into Parliament/Funkadelic shows? Yeah. The Mothership is in the Smithsonian now. Looks good in there. I saw it when they first put it in. So, we took it all the way to another world.

DECEMBER 2 017

B AC

KTA

“We’re taking the Mardi Gras Madness around the country again. Everybody likes to jam and party and put their costumes on.”

early days, they turned that place out. The Vibrations and other groups, they didn’t have big records, but they put on real good shows, and they were there every year, just like the people who had hit records. So, we all were into putting on a show, turning the place out. You formed the Parliaments, a doo-wop group, in 1955. You turned 76 this year. That means you’ve been performing for 62 years. Sounds like Sun Ra. He was doing that doo-wop way back in the day. You’re not interested in parking the Mothership, so to speak, one day? Naw. We ain’t trying stop. I love it. That’s what gives me the energy to keep going. Getting back to your doo-wop origins, who inspired you early on? Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. During the ’50s and early ’60s, were you listening to Fats Domino and other recording artists from New Orleans? When I first got to Jersey, ‘Blueberry Hill’ and all those records, that was when I first knew what hit records were. Later I saw Fats Domino in Las Vegas with his piano swimming pool. How about other New Orleans artists? Huey ‘Piano’ Smith and the Clowns. ‘Ha, ha, ha, ha. Hey, eh, oh! Gooba, gooba, goo-ba’ [‘Don’t You Just Know It’]. Ernie K-Doe. ‘Land of 1,000 Dances’ [Chris Kenner]. Allen Toussaint— oh, my God, yeah. He did the Labelle stuff. Did funk music exist in the 1950s and early ’60s, but hadn’t been labeled “funk” yet? You had Ray Charles, ‘What’d I Say,’ and stuff like. Ray Charles and James Brown. They weren’t calling them funk then, but that’s exactly what they were. People say Huey Smith is an example of early funk. Oh, hell yeah. Most all the piano players out of New Orleans had a boogie-woogie, funk type of thing. I like Joe Tex, too. In the early 1960s, you and the Parliaments worked with Jimmy Miller. He later

DECEMBER 2017

produced recordings by the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Gary Wright, Spooky Tooth, the Rolling Stones and many others. Jimmy Miller used to sing with us. He would write with myself. He left our group in ’61, when we were working together in New York. We used to rehearse doo-wop. We wrote songs like Burt Bacharach. When he left us, he took some of the funkiest stuff over to London. He did ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’ and ‘I’m a Man’ with Spencer Davis. He made funky records with Spooky Tooth and the Rolling Stones. In the later 1960s, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention became important influences for you. That was that electronic, psychedelic, funk-blues rock ‘n’ roll. Jimi was funky as all hell. Straight funky, but he’d do it with the electronics. Same thing with the Who and Led Zeppelin. But Jimi sounds like Elmore James or Lightnin’ Hopkins playing real loud. You’ve been playing Tipitina’s in New Orleans annually between Christmas and New Year’s. It started because you had some dates in late December you wanted to fill. And you personally called Tipitina’s and asked for a date? I always do. Because it’s a place that will let us play all night long. We can play ’til daybreak. So, when we need some place to play in December, we call them up. There will be four straight days of funk at Tipitina’s in December. Dr. John plays December 27 and 28. You and ParliamentFunkadelic play December 29 and 30. Oh, it’s going to be fun then. You played Tipitina’s often in 1990s. It would be so packed they’d open the doors and the people be outside on the street, buying drinks outside. Tipitina’s is identified with such New Orleans acts as Professor Longhair and the Neville Brothers. And the Meters, your fellow funk pioneers, played there, too, before they broke up. The Meters and ourselves were like the only bands doing that real basic funk music in the

’60s. Even Motown bands were slicked up. But we were doing street music for the dance halls and the clubs. After you play Tipitina’s during the holidays, you’ll return to New Orleans for a March 4 show at the Joy Theater. That gig is part of your second annual Mardi Gras Madness tour. We’re taking the Mardi Gras Madness around the country again. Everybody likes to jam and party and put their costumes on. I’ve heard from many songwriters and musicians that the music business is cutthroat. Dr. John, for instance, calls the music business a racket. Oh, it is. It’s straight gangster. But you get another chance at the apple. You can get your copyrights back and all of that. Have your music business dealings taken a turn for the better recently? I’m just starting to get the ownership of the music back now. I’ve worked for years for it. I just got ‘Atomic Dog’ back. Just got ‘One Nation Under a Groove’ and ‘Knee Deep’ back. So, I’m doing real good. But I had to go through hell. I mean, I spent millions of dollars fighting for it. But I finally got it back and all of the licenses are coming to me now. So, it’s going to be good for my heirs. That’s what I was fighting for, mostly. My grandkids, my kids. You have a new single with rapper Scarface coming out soon. It’s called ‘I’m Go’ Make You Sick,’ with Scarface and Parliament. You’ve got a new album planned for 2018? We’re pretty much finished with the album. The whole thing is about Medicaid, insurance, Obamacare. It’s about the real Medicaid fraud, which is the big pharmaceutical companies. In your shows, do you do all the standards? Oh, yeah. It makes our show longer because we do a lot of the new stuff, too. But from one night to the next, your shows are never the same? No. We couldn’t do the same show if we tried. O www.OFFBEAT.com