OffBeat Magazine June 2019 by OffBeat Magazine

Domenica Outdoor Dining

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AndersPlus Osborne Our Annual Jazz Fest Redux The Daiquiri Queens MITCH WOODS

NEW ORLEANS MUSIC, FOOD, CULTURE—JUNE 2019

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CONTENTS TA B L E

p. 26

p. 12

6 Letters

p. 29

12 Jazz Fest Redux

7 Mojo Mouth

A message from the publisher.

8 Fresh

Five Questions with Gina Brown, My Music with Dikki Du a.k.a. Troy Carrier, Top Sellers during Jazz Fest and Sweet Tweets.

10 Singing in Unison

The Daiquiri Queens twist Cajun music into its own special concoction.

Our writers reflect on the 50th Jazz Fest 2019 sharing a few thoughts on the best (and occasionally worst) moments.

26 Tales of Land and Sea

You’re in good hands with Anders Osborne.

29 Al Fresco

Enjoying outdoor dining in New Orleans.

32 OffBeat Eats

BLAST FROM THE PAST Anders Osborne: Blue Genes By John Swenson March 2001

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33 Restaurant Review

Michael Dominici reviews Domenica Restaurant.

34 Reviews

Greg Schatz, Uncle Nef, Smoking Time Jazz Club, Tuba Skinny, Mia Borders, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Nick Sanders Trio and more.

38 Listings 45 Backtalk with Mitch Woods

“I was cracking Cyril [Neville] up with that [“Ho-Di-Ko-Di-Ya-La-Ma-Ma”]. He said ‘Man, what the hell is wrong with you? You’re supposed to be from Sweden.’ It’s fun.”” (To read more this issue can be purchased at http://www.offbeat.com/shop/back-issues/2001/offbeat-magazine-march-2001/)

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letters “So thanks for making me ache less for what I miss the most and for another Fest wrap-up.” —Joseph Blake,Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Louisiana Music, Food & Culture

JUNE 2019 Volume 32, Number 7 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com Managing Editor

Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com

Where are the women? The late-night Jazz Fest landscape is a monolith of the masculine: choice gigs stacked with marquee-worthy names, all with one thing in common: they’re 80 to 100% dudes. It’s 2019! This is the standard we want to bear? I have massive respect for the players on these bills and I’m not arguing that there aren’t good gigs for female performers in general. My issue is the dearth of creative gatekeepers at key New Orleans venues. On the busiest nights of the year, where are the innovators driven to open doors for underrepresented artists? I appreciate your calls for leadership and new approaches to presenting music in this incredible place. We need so many things, but one major venue leveraging the formidable booking resources of Jazz Fest season could Both recovering red-heads spark inclusivity in place of obsolescence. Jan Ramsey and Tim Laughlin at New The women are ready. Orleans Jazz Museum for the Louis Prima —Alison McConnell, New Orleans, Louisiana exhibit. —Frank Stansbury, New Orleans, Louisiana Know what it means Listening to Basin Street’s latest CD dose Coolest moment of what I miss the most (Live at the Little Gem I subscribed for several years but gave Saloon this year) and reading this month’s it up when I had just too many magazine OffBeat issue while singing along with Kermit subscriptions and wasn’t getting to read any and when the record ends maybe WWOZ of them. on the computer live from the Fair Grounds. During that time, I even had a couple I can almost smell it but missing Jazz Fest “Letters to the Editor” in OffBeat printed, again. So thanks OffBeat (and Basin Street) for very exciting. making me ache less for what I miss the most Once at a festival in Maryland, I went up and for another Fest wrap-up when it comes to David Doucet of BeauSoleil to introduce in the post, when I’ll put on the red beans myself. When I said my name was Steve and rice and Live at the Little Gem Saloon Lodge from Bethesda, Maryland, he said “Oh again and sigh, because you know what it yeah, I saw your letter in OffBeat.” means. That was one of the coolest moments in —Joseph Blake, Victoria, British Columbia, my admittedly non-dramatic life! Canada —Steve Lodge, Bethesda, Maryland

Consulting Editor

John Swenson Layout and design

Eric Gernhauser Listings Editor

Katie Walenter, listings@offbeat.com Contributors

Stacey Leigh Bridewell, Emily Carmichael, Michael Dominici, Robert Fontenot, Bill Forman, David Kunian, Jay Mazza, Amanda Mester, Brett Milano, Clea Simon, John Swenson, Dan Willging, John Wirt, Geraldine Wyckoff Cover PHOTO

Noé Cugny Web Editor

Amanda “Bonita” Mester, amanda@offbeat.com Videographer/Web Specialist

Noé Cugny, noecugny@offbeat.com Copy Editor

Michael Patrick Welch, michael@offbeat.com Advertising Sales/ Promotion and Event coordinator

Camille A. Ramsey, camille@offbeat.com Advertising Design

PressWorks, 504-944-4300 Interns

Mia Fenice, Gabriella Killett, Anna Marvuglio, Julia Powell 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 /offbeatmagazine

Copyright © 2019, 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 $65 per year ($70 Canada, $140 foreign airmail). Back issues are available for $10, except for the Jazz Fest Bible for $15 (for foreign delivery add $5) Submission of photos and articles on Louisiana artists are welcomed, but unfortunately material cannot be returned.

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.

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mojomouth

A Note From Publisher J an Ramsey

Music On Their Minds?

he big spring festivals have come and gone and we’re gearing up for the summer doldrums. That’s the way it is in New Orleans and has been for as long as I’ve been alive, and I suspect will be for the foreseeable future. Of course there will be more festivals—we could not function without an almost weekly celebration of music, food, and culture. And that’s fine with me. This city—despite what everyone says about tech companies and entrepreneurs—lives and dies on the numbers of tourists and visitors. New Orleans booms in months with tolerable temperatures; this is when hundreds of thousands visitors with cash to spend flock to have their meetings and conventions in the city; and this is when our bigger festivals take place. Our hotel occupancies are ruled by our weather. There was some major brouhaha a couple of months ago when New Orleans & Co. (formerly the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau) switched companies for evaluation of the numbers of tourists who visited, and the amount of money they spent in the city. The University of New Orleans performed this service for years, but New Orleans & Co. engaged the services of another firm, which estimated 7-million visitors more than UNO’s study. I’m not going to get into that argument, but I’d be curious to see how the numbers are estimated. It’s been said so many times that the trio of food, music, and culture

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are the major attractants to New Orleans. I’d also have to include the “party,” because New Orleans uses its tolerance for drinking, constant partying, and laissez-faire attitude (at the expense of some of the niceties and benefits found in other cities its size) to draw people to the good ole Big Easy. I still would like to see the actual stats on how many people come to New Orleans for its music, at a time other than Jazz Fest. Everyone knows that music is the big draw during Jazz Fest—but what about during the rest of the year? How many visitors come here with music on their minds, first and foremost? I would be willing to bet that anyone from outside the U.S. who travels to New Orleans is music-minded, but I don’t have the statistics to prove that assertion. We should be able to get a lot more of those stats now that we’ll have a fully functional international airport. Would it be difficult for the research firm to survey arrivals from outside the U.S. (i.e. on British Airways and Condor, the airlines with direct flights to MSY) to determine if in fact New Orleans is more of a music city than the tourism marketers think it is? Obviously they’d have to survey people coming in with a non-direct flight too from one of the gateway cities, but a good start would be with direct flights from London and Frankfurt. If those stats say agree with me, wouldn’t we be justified in marketing New Orleans more as a music city in foreign markets? Just sayin’… O

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fresh

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

Soundcheck

Gina Brown has performed for social aid and pleasure club parades, at the Essence and Jazz Fests, and as the face and voice of Louisiana Lottery commercials. The singer also hosts “G’s Corner,” a weekly radio show that spotlights New Orleans musicians, for local community station 102.3 WHIV FM. In the two decades since you moved to New Orleans, you’ve performed in a really wide range of settings. Which of them would you say was the most unusual? If I had to pick just one, it would probably be the Louisiana Lottery, because I was just going in to sing the jingle part of it. But I was having so much fun recording it that the producer was like, “We should get her to do this live in the studio and use it in part of the commercial.” And then I ended up being the whole

commercial, which was the most exciting part, because they’d never done that before. Did your mom see it? Oh, yeah. [Laughs] She pulled into a gas station, and they were playing it on the screens on the pumps. She was like, “That’s my baby!” What prompted you to host a radio show spotlighting local musicians, and who are some of the guest you’ve had in the studio? Oh God, Irma Thomas, Erica Falls, Teresa B, Sam Price… so many people. My volunteering with WHIV came from my friendship with [station founder] Dr. MarkAlain Dery; he was my ex-husband’s doctor when he had meningitis. And one of the reasons for being part of an independent station is that I’d worked for 22 years in corporate radio. But even when I was selling commercials

and doing voiceovers for Clear Channel, their stations still never played my music on the air. So I figured if I had my own show, then I could play all the people who Gina Brown plays Sunday, June 9, go through the at the Creole Tomato Festival same thing that I went through. Even though relocated to New Orleans, we’re a low-power station, it still maybe you can weigh in on gives them the opportunity to an age-old debate: Which be heard and have their music city really had the first Mardi played on the air. Getting back to the lottery Gras? Well, I knew that Mardi thing, do you still buy tickets, Gras originated in Mobile. But and have you ever won? Yes, I buy them all the time. But whenever I’d say that to people the most I’ve won so far was $40 here in New Orleans, they’d be like, “Yeah, but ours is better than on a scratch-off. yours.” And finally, having grown —Bill Forman up in Mobile, Alabama and

Top Sellers during Jazz Fest Louisiana Music Factory

1. Bonerama: Plays Zeppelin (Basin Street Records) 2. Anders Osborne: Buddha and the Blues (Back on Dumaine) 3. Various Artists: Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Smithsonian Records) 4. John Boutte: A “well tempered” Boutte (Independent) 5. Galactic: Already Ready Already (Thirty Tigers) 6. Tuba Skinny: Some Kind-A-Shake (Independent) 7. Jon Cleary: Dyna-Mite (Thirty Tigers) 8. Professor Longhair: Live on the Queen Mary (Capitol Records) 9. Tom McDermott: Tom McDermott meets Scott Joplin (Arbors Records) 10. Davell Crawford: Dear Fats, I Love You (Basin Street Records)

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Euclid Records

1. Bobby Charles: Bobby Charles (Light in the Attic / Bearsville) 2. The Stoned (a.k.a. Lost Bayou Ramblers with Spider Stacy): L.E.S. Douze (Live at The Stone) (Nouveau Electric) 3. James Booker: At Onkel Pö’s Carnegie Hall Hamburg 1976 (Jazzline) 6. Tuba Skinny: Some Kind-A-Shake (Independent) 5. James Booker: The Lost Paramount Tapes (General General) 6. Baby Dodds Trio: Jazz A’ La Creole (Vinyl version) (G.H.B.) 7. Louis Armstrong: The Paramount Recordings 1923-1925 (Black Swan Records) 8. Ernie K-Doe: Here Come The Girls / A Certain Girl (7”) (Charley) 9. Various Artists: Cajun Stomps Volumes 1 and 2 (Beast Records) 10. Bonerama: Plays Zeppelin (Basin Street Records) O F F B E AT. C O M

Photo by GUS BENNETT

Five Questions with Gina Brown

Dikki Du & the Zydeco Krewe play the Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco Festival on Sunday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m.

My Music

“I was nine years old when I first started playing zydeco. My uncle John used to play the washboard for my father [Roy Carrier], and he didn’t make it one night so my dad woke me up to come out and play my first zydeco show at the Church Hall in Lawtell, Louisiana. After I played my first gig, that’s all I wanted to do, but I couldn’t go into the bars at that age and play. I had to wait until the church halls came around. My dad had all the instruments: drums, accordion, and bass. We didn’t have toys. Those were our toys, so after homework, we’d play music until it was time to go to bed. My brother [Chubby] played the accordion. My sister played the drums and I played the washboard.

We had a tough time, coming up playing this music, because no one our age wanted to hear it. They would tease us and call us little French boys. Eventually, my dad moved to Lawtell and bought the Old Gin Side Inn, which is now the Offshore Lounge. We would have jam sessions and that’s where a lot of the musicians created themselves. If you wanted to learn to play zydeco, that was the place to go. It was like a big family, like Roy Carrier had all these kids, man. He took every one of them in and it didn’t matter if you knew how to play or if you didn’t, he wanted you up there. At 19, I had my first chance to travel around the world with CJ Chenier. That’s when I used to sleep cross-country. It was a great

education. We’ve been playing [more] at home now. Tourists have lots to do with it, because people want to dance, so it’s opening up venues. Before, they just wanted the younger version of zydeco, and a lot of young kids were standing on the floor not dancing. Another thing [the younger set is] doing is adding lots of speakers to it, making it loud, and it doesn’t have to be so loud, you know? I don’t know why they are doing it, but it’s giving a lot of other bands opportunities because people want to hear the older stuff. As for the elders, we go to

Photo by DAVID SIMPSON

with Dikki Du a.k.a. Troy Carrier

local nursing homes to play music for them. They walk in there with their canes but when the music starts, they drop those canes and start dancing. It’s an amazing thing to see. It really takes the pain away, man. When it’s all over with, they go get their canes and go back to their rooms. [zydeco] really brings out the best in people.” —Dan Willging

S W EE T T W EE T S Mia Borders @miaborders Update: My surgeon said I’m healing “better than the average person.” I told y’all... I’ve never been average. I’m a superhero. @ New Orleans, Louisiana Wendell Pierce @WendellPierce One of my favorite movies is the Hitchcock classic THE MAN WHO KNEW TO MUCH starring Doris Day and Jimmy Stewart. From the old Medina in Marrakech to the Royal Albert Hall in London it is a true thriller. And of course “Que Sera Sera”. RIP Doris Day. #DorisDay

Amy Trail @AmyTrailSongs My morning commute, a dude on a Segway with a snake ‘round his neck. Margaret Orr @MargaretOrr There is a giving garden at Filmore and West End filled with fruit trees and pecan trees. It should produce well this Fall, but the Figs will be ripe for the picking at the end of June.

Anders Osborne @ Anders_Osborne In #NYC w/ my son. Sitting in with Mr. @JonBatiste and Stay Human on @ StephenAtHome (The Chris Thomas King @ctkmusic Just got in from New Orleans @jazzfest it was a blast! Perfect weather, Late Show with Stephen so many beautiful people. The music was awesome. Rocked it with my Colbert) tonight. Show airs band Today! And topped it all off with some crawfish bisque! It is good at 10:35pm central on CBS. to be home again. Fun fun! DJ Soul Sister @djsoulsister Why have I been so insistent upon transcribing interviews myself when God created transcription services?

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Iq Da

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Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco Festival, Saturday, June 22 at 11 a.m.

Singing in Unison elebrated author and noted daiquiri by Dan Willging kept playing.” Though the Daiquiri Queens are anchored by connoisseur Ernest Hemingway might have looked back once or twice during his lifetime, but so far Lafay- the rock-solid traditional playing of Dowden and Charpentier, their strength is really in the gale-force, breath-capturing vocals sung by ette’s traditional-minded Cajun hipsters the Daiquiri Queens have Fontenot and McCracken. l-centric Cajun bands is they sing together in not. Since their unexpected inception at the 2017 Blackpot Festival, the Daiquiri Queens, this year alone, have played such prestigious gigs unison, “actually singing the same thing at the same time,” as Fontenot as Festival International, French Quarter Fest, and Jazz Fest, stuff most describes. “No one does it and that’s become our sound. We’re really bands don’t usually play with less than two years under their belt. Last loving that right now.” Partners-in-crime Fontenot and October the sextet, comprised of Daiquiri Queens McCracken first met at a Pine Leaf four women and two men, made Boys gig at d.b.a. in New Orleans its Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in 2006. While they were dancing debut and is slated to appear together, they instantly became there again this fall. buddies and Fontenot followed The Daiquiri Queens’ Jamie up with an invitation to come to a Lynn Fontenot is still somewhat jam at her house, hence estabsurprised at her band’s meteoric lishing the beginning of a long, ascendency in the Cajun fiefdom. deep friendship. “It’s weird,” she says, with a laugh, Both had taken intriguing but about the group she co-fronts circuitous routes to get there with vocalist/guitarist Miriam that night. Though Fontenot was McCracken. born in Opelousas, she moved In all reality, the Daiquiri to California with her family at Queens was only supposed to be age five and then returned to a one-off band, playing a lone gig Opelousas when she was 14. and then slipping off into oblivion. Around age 19 through her early 20s, she really started digging into A couple of years ago in 2017, Fontenot’s friend Rennie Elliot of the Blackpot Festival asked her to put a band together to play the festival. Cajun music, listening to CDs with her French-speaking grandmother “Yeah, I can do that,” Fontenot recalls saying before she proceeded to who taught her the words and stories of the songs, as they listened and danced together. gather up her Lafayette-New Orleans jamming buddies McCracken, McCracken hails from Port Townsend, Washington, coincidentally John Dowden (accordion/fiddle), Tysman Charpentier (fiddle) and the home of Centrum Fiddle Tunes, a weeklong music camp that Sabra Guzmán (bass). includes Cajun-Creole music among its copious offerings. Her father Since Fontenot and McCracken were into joke band names— Peter McCracken is one of the organizers and over the years, Miriam the two once had an all-girl trio called The Brunettes (where they has met many of the visiting Cajun-Creole instructors and gained an bleached their hair blonde) and an eight-piece all women’s aggregation called Vagabonds that busked in the streets of New Orleans— appreciation for the culture. Currently, the Daiquiri Queens members are recording their longanother joke name seemed appropriate for the occasion. “Basically, I awaited debut helmed by producer Chris Stafford at Staffland Studios. was just driving by our favorite daiquiri shop,” recalls Fontenot. “We Fontenot estimates that it’s 70 percent complete, with some vocal had thrown around the names involving ‘queens’ and how hilarious work left to be done, and expects it will be ready by time the Daiquiri that would be since John and Tysman are in it. And so I’m like let’s be the Daiquiri Queens! We told them and they were like oh yeah, duh, Queens play the Oldtone Roots Music Festival in North Hillsdale, New York September 5-8, 2019. let’s do that. We didn’t ever think we were ever going to play again.” But since the Daiquiri Queens intentionally do not maintain an “Now that I think about it, I’m like yeah, maybe we should have active summer schedule, do catch the group at the Louisiana Cajunthought that out a little better,” Fontenot continues. “But whatever, I Zydeco Festival on Saturday, June 22 at New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong love it.” Park. “In the summer we go MIA, learn some songs, go to music The music jamming buddies rehearsed a few times and assembled festivals and chill,” says Fontenot. But other than Dowden, who plays a set list. But when they played the Blackpot in the 18th century music six times a week, Fontenot says the rest of them aren’t trying to replica chapel on the spacious grounds of Vermillionville, the room play music full-time. “We all have our own little jobs that make it hard was jam-packed with friends and otherwise curious festival revelers. to play music professionally full-time. So when most musicians around “It was so much fun and it was a really good band,” Fontenot recalls. here go on tour, we like to take a break.” O “We were like oh my God, we have got to do this again. So, we just

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Photo COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

The Daiquiri Queens twist Cajun music into its own special concoction.

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Jazz Fest Redux T

he headline Jazz Fest Redux first appeared in OffBeat’s June 2000 issue. Although a Jazz Fest recap was published in every June issue since the magazine started, headlines like “Squeezing Out Sparks at Jazz Fest” or “The Best and Worst of Jazz Fest” were replaced by a recurring headline of Jazz Fest Redux. Although we are often copied by other local media, the format in OffBeat remains the original, one and only, Jazz Fest Redux. We hope you enjoy it. Opening Day Let’s hear it for Quint Davis and his merry band of festers. After enduring the chaos of the cancellation of headliners The Rolling Stones, the substitutes Fleetwood Mac; wrestling with refunds of old tickets and selling new ones; then juggling the whole festival schedule, heavy rains threatened opening day. Thousands of fans milled around in hotel lobbies checking their phones to find out when the gates would open, but even as the rain continued to beat down the staff started letting people in at 12:30. —John Swenson

Though the first grouping of acts lost their spots to the rain (the same thing happened on Second Saturday), the show went on and the fans frolicked in the swamp. Here are some of my favorite moments from Opening Day. Cynthia Girley’s tribute to Mahalia Jackson at the Gospel Tent: While the heavens poured a howling fury on the shaking tent, Girley—dressed all in white with a white headdress—called down the celestial spirits with her powerful voice and dramatic piano playing, backed by a terrific

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gospel band that included a violinist. Lulu and the Broadsides at the Lagniappe Stage: Though the band appeared to have been caught in the deluge, drummer Carlo Nuccio was spotless in an off-white jacket and fedora. That’s one of the reasons I call him “Mister Natural.” The band was spectacular as they backed Dayna “Lulu” Kurtz on a program of blues, ballads, and R&B scorchers, including her smoldering “Ice Cream Man,” and a fabulous reading of Dan Penn’s “Do Right Woman.” Robert Mache on guitar and backing vocals turned in a truly inspired performance, James Singleton got a lot of room for bass solos and Glenn Hartman added perfect accompaniment on piano and organ. Boyfriend at the Gentilly Stage: Gentilly was a great all-woman program with Gal Holiday, the soulful Amy Helm, a rousing set from Darcy Malone (with a guest appearance from Boyfriend), and the Boyfriend stage show, an act which Alanis Morisette probably found hard to follow. Taj Mahal at the Blues Tent: My day was made when the indefatigable Taj Mahal plowed into “Gonna Move to the Country and Paint My Mailbox Blue,” which I did (or at least to the Bywater). The Phantom Blues Band, led by Jon Cleary on keyboards, delivered that mail and some other great packages, like Horace Silver’s “Señor Blues,” and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ original version of “The Twist.”—John

Swenson

Carousel Some fans of the joyful chouval bwa music of MartiO F F B E AT. C O M

Photo BY Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee

by Emily Carmichael, Bill Forman, David Kunian, Jay Mazza, Amanda Mester, Brett Milano, Clea Simon, John Swenson, John Wirt and Geraldine Wyckoff

nique and the fanciful hand-carved and man-powered carousel (in whose center the band played), made a point of climbing on board every day. The talented musical ensemble included an accordion, guitar, percussionists playing traditional instruments, and two wonderful female vocalists. Often, as the merry-go-round spun faster and faster, the tempo of the music would also liven up. The New Orleans’ term for a carousel, “flying horses,” was certainly descriptive of this seemingly innocent ride that at times really gave one a thrill with its speed—wheee! —

Geraldine Wyckoff

Trumpeters Trumpeting Once again, New Orleans trumpeters pronounced the instrument the king of the Crescent City. Masters like Nicholas Payton and Terence Blanchard demonstrated that the instrument most associated with this city through the brilliance and ingenuity of Louis Armstrong, has come a long way, baby. Electronics played a part in both of these trumpeters’ sets, primarily coming from their sidemen, yet Payton’s and Blanchard’s jazz roots remained apparent. Payton’s soft side emerged even when he went “out.” Blanchard’s passion came through in his musical storytelling and with his excellent set seemed almost as if he had scored it for this Jazz Fest event. The Trumpet Mafia, like Joshua’s army of trumpeters that blew down the walls of Jericho, could not be denied. The kindly mob, headed by “Godfather” Ashlin Parker, triumphed in talent and sheer numbers with some 20 eager brass players making a joyful noise. One-time resident, the always dramatic Maurice Brown, who, like pianist/vocalist Davell Crawford, seemed to pop up all over the festival, was in the Mafia’s number. In dedication to the recently deceased trumpet giant Roy Hargrove, Parker brought in students of Hargrove’s alma mater, Dallas’ Booker T. Washington High School. —Geraldine Wyckoff

of them were there to experience something interesting rather than participate in praising Jesus. Over the years since then the crowds became more and more white, to the point where this year it was virtually all white, and they were not there to praise the lord but to be entertained, which in a kind of bizarre world included participating as if they were church people. Of course the singers and preachers had something to do with that, urging the crowd to participate without getting too personal about salvation. Josh Kagler and the Harmonistic Praise Crusade had the crowd read perfectly. The band—guitar, bass, drums, organ, piano and 13 voices, rocked the house with great arrangements as Josh, dressed in a black jump suit with a white stripe down the side, worked his call-and-response on the house like James Brown, repeating the irresistible refrain “I like it all right.” The Zion Harmonizers paid tribute to founder Sherman Washington, who died in 2011 and who was responsible for creating the whole Gospel Tent program from scratch. The five male vocalists and one woman vocalist wore snazzy grey sharkskin suits and the band was as tight as a drumhead as they ripped the place apart with “Leaning to the Lord,” and actually got the crowd shouting “I Love My Jesus.” But they went on to more pop-gospel material that really hit home, starting with “People Get Ready,” then a wild version of “If I Had a Hammer,” which went on for 15 minutes as two members of the band went out into the audience, shouting and walking through the crowd as everyone got their cell phone moment. —John Swenson

Photo BY KIM WELSH

Shirley Caesar Legendary vocalist and composer Shirley Caesar lit up the Gospel Tent both spiritually and visually. A stunning rhinestone necklace sparkled as she stood center-stage to sing one of her original classics, “Jesus, I Love Calling Your Name.” A petite vocalist with powerful energy, Caesar was wonderfully backed by five vocalists— three men and two women—who provided the call and response of Gospel in the Rain On opening day, the voices of the 40-plus the tune. Among the group, one man thrilled the audience with his members of the Arthur and Friends Community Choir simply drowned stunning falsetto. Not to be contained, Caesar soon came down from out the sound of the rain that was pounding on the roof of the Gospel the stage to be among the people, and headed down an aisle singing Tent. The band, with a great drummer, bassist, organist and keyboard “Coming Home.” Later, the vocalist remembered Aretha Franklin by player, really gave the vocalists the kick and backup that was required for dedicating “Mary Don’t You Weep” to the Queen of Soul, whose roots the ensemble’s invigorating set. The musicians who perform as “accomremained in gospel music. —Geraldine Wyckoff panists” for many of the choirs and combos in the Gospel Tent often go unrecognized, though they remain the Trumpet Mafia backbone and backbeat of the music. Some, like members of Jon Cleary’s Absolute Monster Gentlemen, have been in that number. Oh yeah, and the always exuberant Rosalie “The Tambourine Lady” Washington added her wonderful spirit to a set that brightened the tent under gray skies. — Geraldine Wyckoff Gospel Tent The evolution of the Gospel Tent is a fascinating story by itself, and one that reflects the changing demographics of New Orleans post-Katrina. Before the deluge that swept major portions of the city’s black populace away, the crowds at the Gospel Tent were predominantly black and church-going people who knew exactly what they were listening to and participated accordingly. The performers preached and interacted with them like they would on any given Sunday. There were always smatterings of white fans in the Tent, but most OF F B E AT.C OM

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Gumboot Dancers The Gumboot Dancers are a fascinating dance troupe from South Africa. Backed by an acoustic guitar, fiddle, and keyboard, the group of ten men wearing the kind of boots that would be perfect for a wet day at the Fairgrounds, stomped and marched and stepped in syncopated unison while the fiddle keened behind them. —Jay Mazza

Katy Perry It does not matter what I or you or ya mama or your uptight long-bearded Independence Street hipster neighbors or reformed hippie Jazz Fest veteran complainers thought about Katy Perry. The 15 or so 10-year-old kids holding hands dancing in a circle in front of me during Katy Perry’s set loved it, and they will remember how great a time they had at Jazz Fest when my ashes are scattered in the Holt Cemetery and they are returning with their kids to the Festival. —David Kunian

Karl Denson If things had worked out differently, Karl Denson would have appeared at Jazz Fest with his band, Tiny Universe, and the Rolling Stones. Saxophonist with the Stones since 2014, Denson and his solos have become highlights of the British classic rockers’ concerts. Although Mick Jagger’s health forced the Stones to cancel their muchanticipated Jazz Fest appearance, Denson and Tiny Universe did play make their high-energy, funk-and-groove show on the Congo Square Stage on Friday, April 26. Denson, singing, blowing sax and dancing up a storm, set Tom Jones a breakneck tempo for the blazing Tiny Universe set. The band members followed their leader’s choreographed example, everyone seemingly giving 150 percent during a big, relentlessly full-on performance that was, in the most audience-pleasing kind of way, anything but tiny. Denson began making annual visits to New Orleans during Jazz Fest more than 20 years ago, originally as a member of the acid-jazz band Greyboy Allstars. Following his afternoon set on Congo Square, the flute-playing Denson sat in with the band that performed in the middle of the Chouval Bwa Traditionnel of Martinique, the hand-carved, poweredby-hand carousel that was a popular attraction at the festival’s Cultural Exchange Pavilion. Afterward, he bid the carousel’s musicians adieu by tapping his fist to his heart. —John Wirt

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Daiquiri Queens Time is a bitch, and the 50th Fest offered plenty of reasons to miss those gone. The Fais Do Do Stage, in particular, has been hard hit, with the loss of D.L. Menard, Canray Fontenot, and Bois Sec Ardoin, among others, not to mention Dewey Balfa (kudos to Christine Balfa, whose Balfa Toujours got many of us dancing on the first set of that delayed first Thursday opening, nearly compensating us for the weather that cancelled Goldman Thibodeaux and the Lawtell Playboys). How wonderful, then, to hear the Daiquiri Queens play fiddle-forward Cajun waltzes and laments with conviction. Sunday morning, April 29, the Lafayette combo, led by guitarist/vocalist Miriam McCracken and Jamie Lynn Fontenot (fiddle, guitar, and vocals) kept the sound pure and lively, with those twining harmonies fit to break your heart. —Clea Simon Yes We Can The Tribute to Allen Toussaint demonstrated the fact that while Jazz Fest is communal, it is also personal. The Allen Toussaint Orchestra featured musicians who performed regularly with the legendary songwriter over the years including his son, Clarence. A parade of “very special guests” included musicians and singers who knew the pianist personally. John Boutté sang “Lipstick Traces.” Davell Crawford was visibly moved as he worked through three Toussaint classics and remarked, “This is his legacy and his children up here.” Rita Coolidge, Jimmy Buffett, and Irma Thomas followed with a song each. Ivan Neville led a sing-along on “Yes We Can Can” before his uncle Aaron hushed the giant infield with a stellar rendition of “All These Things,” complete with the original horn arrangement. —Jay Mazza Cantrell and Logic Logic is two thirds through his set at Congo Square, and he looks down at someone in the audience near the front and says, “That’s right, girl. You getting down. You know what you’re doing! Keep it up.” He paused for a moment, and then says incredulously, “And you’re the mayor?” The video screens reveal that it is, indeed, our honorable hands in the air doing her thang to Logic’s music. Logic doesn’t miss a beat and then blurts out, “And you fine, too!” —David

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rock, so he did the only respectable thing and married her. The addition of collaborator and wife Cindy Blackman has really galvanized Santana’s band: She drove them harder than any previous Santana drummer (and this band’s had too many drummers to count), making chestnuts like “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen” and “Toussaint L’Ouverture” sound positively furious. Carlos easily matched her energy, doing plenty of his trademark high-intensity solos but also playing lyrically on “Mona Lisa” (part of a new, Rick Rubin-produced album). It’s a cliché to say that a long-running band sounds better than ever at Fest, but this was one of the rare times it really was true. — Marsalis Family A mutual admiration society seemed to be going on when the musical Marsalis family closed out the Jazz Tent on the first Sunday of the festival. The main focus of love and esteem was on patriarch, pianist, composer, and educator Ellis Marsalis whose original works were prominent throughout the set that was dedicated to his wife, the wise and witty late Delores Marsalis. The set, which included saxophonist Branford, trumpeter Wynton, trombonist Delfeayo and drummer Jason Marsalis, began and ended with traditional New Orleans jazz though Ellis, a master of all styles, often pushed the music in a more forward direction and got things swinging. Great to see Branford and Wynton side-by-side like back in the days of the Wynton Marsalis Quintet. The combination still works, though these great musicians have successfully and artistically taken different paths. —Geraldine Wyckoff

subjective. But since their repertoire includes numerous songs by the Rolling Stones, there was considerable discussion, as fans waited for the band to take the stage, concerning whether any of those songs would be on the set list. With a scant hour and ten minutes allotted, it seemed unlikely. So when the first notes of “Let It Bleed” sounded, a collective whoop went up. When they closed with “Sympathy for the Devil,” thousands of music lovers, including many who wished the Stones had played three days earlier, lustily sang along. —Jay Mazza Dumpstaphunk If you’re a Meters junkie, there are very few variations you haven’t seen by now. But the set by Foundations of Funk—which is half the original Meters and three-fifths of Dumpstaphunk, plus horns—managed to dig up songs that no Meters incarnation has played (to our knowledge) in decades, including the ballad, “Love Is for Me,” and the buried single “Stretch Your Rubber Band” (plus the infrequently played “Chicken Strut,” usually overlooked because few members are ever willing to make the requisite chicken noises). The horns also meant that “Hey Pocky Way” could finally be played like the original studio version, and still sounded as fresh. —

Dobet Gnahore of Ivory Coast It is a truism that you hear the best music in the process of moving from one stage to the next. I caught Dobet Gnahore that way, when her mix of punk rock and African drone guitar enticed me into the Cultural Exchange Pavilion. Gnahore alternated between smiling and menacing vocals as she moved Brett Milano all over the stage, jumping up and down and goading her band to take Oh, man Dumpstaphunk with horns really makes it. The bad band the music higher. —David Kunian has been known to use wind instruments before, when it once teamed What Not To Do George Porter Jr. opened the last day of the with Bonerama. At the big Acura Stage (can you imagine what this area would have looked like if Ivan Neville and company was the celebratory 50th New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival by reaching lead-off band to the Rolling Stones?), Dumpstaphunk with leader Ivan back 50 years to play old familiar songs, as well as tunes of a more on multiple keys and vocals, the down-at-the-bottom-of-the-trashrecent vintage. His regular Runnin’ Pardners unit was augmented by a bins bassists and vocalists Tony Hall and Nick Daniels plus guitarist Ian stop-on-a-dime horn section featuring Khris Royal on alto sax, Tracy Neville and drummer Alvin Ford Jr., hit hard. Ian, usually a solid rhythm Griffin on trumpet, and Jeff Albert on trombone. Porter, Jr., whose voice was showing a little of the wear and tear most player, really stepped up on the tune “The Gasman,” with its hilarious lyrics. Later, saxophonist Karl Denson, who had been touring with the festers were feeling, told a story about being a young musician and Stones and headlined his own Jazz Fest set, helped crank it up a notch. being schooled by David Lastie of the famed Lastie musical family. “He —Geraldine Wyckoff told me what not to do instead of what to do,” he said with a chuckle before launching into “Make Me A Pallet on the Floor.” The tune started Cowsill’s Peace Protest Set Of all the artists who as a slow gospel incantation and ended as an up-tempo funk raver. — delved into ’60s material at Jazz Fest, Susan Cowsill did it the best. She Jay Mazza announced early on that it would be a “peace protest” set, and half of it was appropriate covers: Mama Cass Elliott’s “New World Coming,” Let it Bleed The Radiators cover songs in a way that many the Youngbloods’ “Get Together,” Melanie’s “Lay Down,” and the O’Jays’ Fishheads feel are better than the originals. Granted, this is entirely

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“Love Train” (plus a lovely version of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds,” done in honor of her drummer/husband Russ Broussard’s late brother). Points for choosing songs that don’t often get covered, and her crystalline voice was perfect for them—and for the thematicallylinked original songs, including a couple of new ones, that were done in between. None of it was presented as nostalgia, but as words of wisdom that still apply. —Brett Milano Los Lobos Los Lobos’ set at the blues tent was basically the usual thing—but damn, it sure is a great thing. They chose to build the volume through this show, putting the Mexican trad material upfront and building to full throttle rock ’n’ roll, closing out with their often-played, but still highly satisfying cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Bertha.” The one surprise came when they enthused about Tom Jones’ set the previous day, then played their song “Everybody Loves a Train,” which Jones had covered (on disc, not at the Fest). Peak of the set however was “I Got Loaded,” always one that the Fest crowds seem to relate to strongly. — Brett Milano

Little Feat I saw Little Feat once with Lowell George and about a dozen times without him, so I don’t side with the Feat diehards who toss the reunion years away as insignificant. Seems like the band does however, because their Fest set was the first I’ve seen to include nothing but Lowell-era songs. They’re a part-time band these days, and keyboardist/founder Bill Payne doubles as a full-time Doobie Brother (he played the Fest with both). It took them awhile to heat up—and truly, the 15-minutes of solos on “Dixie Chicken” don’t need to be obligatory anymore—and they were plagued by sound problems as well, especially after John Gros came on to add a second keyboard. The old Feat groove finally clicked on an extended “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now.” And thanks to the sign interpreter who was onstage during their set, I can now say that I know the ASL for “Give me weed, whites, and wine.” —Brett Milano AXS TV Quick show of hands: How many people miss those two-ton AXS TV cameras and the way they used to swoop down six inches above your head? Didn’t think so. —Brett Milano

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Fais Do-Do Okay, the Fais Do-Do Stage two-stepped, waltzed, and swayed every day—these fans of zydeco and Cajun music, thankfully, can’t help themselves. Accordionist and impressive vocalist Geno Delafose, and his French Rockin’ Boogie band, provided beautifully presented and tonally pure music on classic tunes like “Eunice Two-Step” in the neighborly venue. It was also the spot to catch the next, mighty generation of zydeco artists as they paid tribute to the late King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, and the robustly wonderful Buckwheat Zydeco. C.J. Chenier, Clifton’s son, played a moving rendition of his father’s signature song, “I’m Coming Home,” that silenced the crowd in. —

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Generosity of Spirit Spencer Bohren played an inspired set on Saturday morning, full of elegant musicianship and generosity of spirit. Acoustic blues is always his forte, but he threw in some stirring gospel (“Doing church a day early,” he noted). He ended the set with a strong rock ballad, “Making it Home to You” (his latest CD’s title track). His stage chat included a few references to the cancer he’s been fighting, but it was the positivity and musicality that came through. (Bohren also appeared later that morning in a reunion of loose-knit super-group the Write Brothers, one of the highlights in Paul Sanchez’s Rolling Road Show set). —Brett Milano Vestigial Tale Like a vestigial tale, the myth of the Stones at Jazz Fest persisted as Week Two loomed. Stones fans came out in force, wearing their colors Wednesday night for the Foundations of Funk show at the Fillmore, where Keith Richards was rumored to be joining his X-Pensive Winos bandmate Ivan Neville. No-show there, but the fans got treated to a healthy dose of Meters funk powered by the timeless rhythm section of George Porter Jr. on bass and Zigaboo Modeliste on drums. As he showed during a masterful set at Jazz Fest, Porter is the real leader of this band, running them through changes and dynamic shifts, and Ian Neville on guitar does a spectacular job of playing this music faithfully, but with his own approach. There was a buzz at Jazz Fest Thursday morning that Richards would be joining Neville on the Acura Stage later in the day. There were plenty of Rolling Stones shirts in the crowd when Andy J. Forest and the Swampcrawlers opened the proceedings at the Blues Tent with “Blues Blues,” and ripped through a set featuring a smoking “Mellow Down Easy,” “Breach in the Levee,” the John Lee Hooker-style blues “12 Bar Dive,” and his traditional finale, “Crazy Legs.” Forest’s harmonica blues was definitely a tonic for Stones fans who liked Blue & Lonesome. The Blues Tent was really the place to be on Stones Thursday, from Forest’s spirited opener, through a madhouse set by Glen David Andrews, and on to a spectacular finale from Mavis Staples. Glen David fronted a three- trombone rock band with two backing vocalists and rolled out with a 20-minute version of “I Can Be Bad By Myself ” that had the crowd on Boyfriend

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its feet and screaming from the get-go. Andrews always brings his best game to Jazz Fest and he was his usual self, arriving on stage in an iridescent green jacket which he quickly disposed of. While running around the stage, he urged the audience to react to his bandmates after each solo. GDA is so over the top that he enlisted one of his singers to perform an operatic version of “Over the Rainbow” that had many in the audience scratching their heads. But it was just another moment in the eversurprising GDA circus. Later in the day, Mavis Staples was joined by Glen David’s cousin Trombone Shorty on a set that featured several numbers from her new album, We Get By. There were some strange moments on Stones Thursday. Like when the wacky Egg Yolk Jubilee tumbled into “Time Is On My Side” on the Lagniappe Stage. Seeing a New Orleans band imitating the Rolling Stones imitating Irma Thomas was, well, surreal. —John Swenson Stones Thursday Between Big Chief “Little” Charles Taylor’s prayerful opening of “Indian Red,” and Tom Jones singing a celebratory version of Prince’s “Kiss,” it was a full day of rousing music on what was to have been Stones Thursday. Snippets of the legendary band’s music was heard, including a full version of “Can't You Hear Me Knockin’” from Dumpstaphunk, with a guest solo by the Stones’ touring saxophonist Karl Denson. Countless fans represented, including one proud geezer sporting a 1978 “Greatest Rock ’n’ Roll Band in the World” tour T-shirt. —Jay Mazza The Lizard Kings There is music you pretty much only get to hear at Jazz Fest and private events, so if you couldn’t decipher the secret code of Zeke Fishhead OF F B E AT.C OM

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and Los Reyes de Legartos, you wouldn’t know it was Ed Volker of Radiators fame backed by the magnificent Iguanas. The announcer at the Lagniappe Stage has mangled the name every time he’s introduced the group, so this time Zeke got the drop on him by launching into “Where Were You When the Light Went Out?” before he could announce them. Much of the material is taken from the numerous Zeke Fishhead projects released over the last few years. “Go Down Swinging” featured a muscular tenor saxophone exchange between Joe Cabral and guest Rob Wagner, whose disparate styles complemented each other well, and some powerful percussion breaks from Michael Skinkus, who seemed to be compensating for losing his Fest-opening performance with his band Moyuba to the deluge of rain that postponed Friday’s opener. I thought we’d hear many Rolling Stones covers at this year’s Fest, but as far as I know only Sweet Crude checked in with “Paint It Black,” before Zeke Fishhead sent one out of the paddock with a crippling version of “Jumping Jack Flash,” hypnotic and incessantly wobbling like a Junko Partner, highlighted by a Cabral solo that clocked in somewhere between Bobby Keys and Pharaoh Sanders, and ended with a “Jump Back Baby” coda. “Coup de Gras” was an appropriate finale to this masterful set. —John Swenson Monk Boudreaux Monk’s gathering of the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians on Sunday at the Jazz and Heritage Stage was a joyous affair, packed with people dancing to favorites like “Dance With Me,” and singing along to “Indian Red” and “Little Liza Jane.” Resplendent in his sky blue Mardi Gras/wedding suit dappled with bright red gems, Monk demonstrated his mastery of the Mardi Gras Indian idiom with a version of “Shallow Water” that started out as a medium tempo chant, then went into a double time section with Monk rapping a story about heading out to mock battle on a Mardi Gras morning. Grandson J’Wan Boudreaux, Spy Boy of the Golden Eagles and leader of the Grammynominated Cha Wa band, took a turn singing Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual

Healing.” Tom Worrell turned in outstanding musical support of the Indians on keyboards. —John Swenson Fogerty Indulgence John Fogerty is the last artist you’d expect to get all dewy-eyed about Woodstock, since Creedence apparently had a bad set there (it’s one of the few that was never released) and the stripped-down rootsy nature of his music was always an antidote to hippie-era indulgence. But he showed up at Fest with a concept show, “My 50 Year Trip,” that was Woodstock gone Vegas— dancers, extra players, cheesy psychedelic backdrops and loads of unnecessary covers (including his son Shane playing the Hendrix version of “Star Spangled Banner”), all of which undercut the timeless nature of his music. The best moment came when he went off script and brought Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. onstage for “Jambalaya” (Fogerty had a minor hit with the Hank Williams song in 1972, and hasn’t played it much since). He still got to all the greatest hits, but the Woodstock silliness kept him from going deeper into the gem-heavy Creedence, or his solo catalogue. —Brett Milano Dave Matthews Band Someday when the tots, shorties, and young’uns who attended the Dave Matthews Band set are asked, “When did you first hear the 12-letter cuss word for a person who commits an incestuous union with their mother,” they will have to say that it was when Dave Matthews busted out their surprising yet right-on version of Prince’s “Sexy Motherfucker.” —David Kunian Catwalk Credit Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra for one of the most irreverent and funniest gestures of the first weekend. He pointed out a few times that he’d love to use the catwalk that was added to the Acura Stage, but that Katy Perry (who was up two sets later) had forbidden it. Finally he said he didn’t need the catwalk anyway, so he jumped off the side of the stage and went halfway into the packed Acura crowd—at which point guest pianist John Gros struck up Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” which they proceeded to cover. It became a perfect send-up of larger-than-life arena shows. —Brett Milano Herbie Before sitting at the piano, Herbie Hancock graciously crossed the Jazz Tent stage to greet the huge buzzing crowd. A true master of jazz, Hancock represented all elements of jazz, some of which he helped to initiate through his long and innovative career. He moved back and forth between the acoustic piano and electric keys and tied them together with his likeminded, progressive musicians on sax, bass, guitar and drums. A wise man, Hancock concluded his show with a tune that folks could hum and dance along to, his hit with the Headhunters, “Cantaloupe Island,” that led to a standing ovation and

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one last number to say good-bye. —Geraldine Wyckoff

Tom McDermott/Evan Christopher My favorite stage at Jazz Fest is the Lagniappe Stage located in the paddock. Pianist Tom McDermott and Evan Christopher are a great duo that suits the acoustic-friendly nature of the stage. Or, as Christopher said, “No Jazz Fest is complete without Tom McDermott and Evan Christopher.” True to the eclectic nature of both musicians, they mixed up styles, starting off with James P. Johnson’s “I Don’t Know,” and heading into an irreverent version of Scott Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag.” “The instructions are ‘Not to Be Played Too Fast’,” noted Christopher. “We’ll show him!” They did a French musette from their album Almost Native, a tribute to Henry Butler, “Heavy Henry,” and Jelly Roll Morton’s “Shreveport Stomp.” —John Swenson Luther Kent Thirty-two years ago at my first Jazz Fest, the barrel-chested baritone of Luther Kent was one of the New Orleans secrets that knocked me out. He was still in top form at Jazz Fest 50, storming through a classic set of blues and R&B at the Blues Tent powered by drummer Allyn Robinson, and a horn section that featured trombonist Jeff Albert. The classics just rolled out: “Cross Cut Saw,” “Just A Little Bit,” “Flip Flop and Fly,” “Let the Good Times Roll,” and a long second line rollout of “Hey Pocky Way.” —John Swenson Shamarr After devouring two yakiniku po'boys from Ajun Cajun, I visited the Gentilly Stage to catch Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs. All the band members, Allen included, were adorned with True Orleans merch, named after the group's 2018 album. Alternating between his signature tiny horn and vocals, Allen deftly delivered an early afternoon set featuring the brassy, funky and hip-hop infusion of music he's known for. He was sporting gold sneakers (the trumpet ones from Humidity?) and by the time he left the stage, his grey T was drenched through with sweat. —Amanda Mester Big Freedia At the Congo Square Stage the Queen Diva Big Freedia entered to “Formation,” the anthem by Beyoncé (who has sampled Freedia). The crowd was positively overflowing for the bounce superstar's performance, which was as high energy and entertaining as last year's. Flanked by her signature dancers and endless stage presence, Freedia had the crowd as excited to hear her say “girl down” and “you already know” as for her full-fledged songs, from “Rent” to “Duffy,” to

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“Explode.” Freedia's discography is easily one of the most exciting things to hear at Jazz Fest. —Amanda Mester Galactic Do not miss Galactic these days. The band balances tight and loose in perfect proportion. Erica Falls has become a forceful, passionate, and strong front woman for this band, and she takes their playing to another level. I’ve been seeing them for over 20 years and they play better than they ever have. What other band in the world’s playing peaks two decades into the game? —David Kunian Costume Changes for Diana Ross With all the Rolling Stones talk going on, it seldom got mentioned that there was a ’60s group who had twice the number one hits the Stones did (12, to the Stones’ six), and their singer was alive and well at Jazz Fest. Yes, the Supremes were quite arguably the second-greatest group to exist in the ’60s, and the first half-hour of Diana Ross’ set was a beautiful run through their catalogue: seven songs (including the crucial “Stop in the Name of Love,” “Love Child,” and “Come See About Me”) that were played in full, not tossed off in medleys. This of course meant that the rest of her set was a bit of an anticlimax—the middle stretch was devoted to ’70s/’80s dance hits, the last section to ballads—but she sang well, though she had to compete with the loudly-miked backup singers. She also managed six costume changes in a 75 minute set, something not even matched when Lady Gaga played with Tony Bennett a few years back. —Brett Milano At 5:45 p.m. on the dot, Diana Ross hit the Gentilly Stage. For anyone on social media, her performance became the talk of the town, and for good reason. I counted six costume changes, five more than I've ever seen at Jazz Fest. Between a white fur coat, a red ball gown, a gold number, and three other looks, the icon was a showstopper in every sense. She performed everything from “The Boss” to “Do You Know Where You're Going?” and a handful of the songs that first made her a household name. Of course, there was material from her tenure with The Supremes (I wouldn't be surprised if neighbors living around the Fair Grounds could hear us all singing “Stop! In the Name of Love”). Performing past 7 p.m., when Jazz Fest officially ends, Ms. Ross delighted the crowd with an encore. Most memorably, though, she seemed genuinely pleased to be on stage for us. The 75-year-old also gifted us “The Theme From Mahogany” and “Ain't No Mountain High.” —Amanda Mester O F F B E AT. C O M

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Rivers’ Summer Rain Based on my unscientific survey, most fest-goers had Johnny Rivers as a distant third choice for Sunday’s headline set, behind Al Green and Van Morrison (both of which were packed; Rivers had plenty of open seats in the Blues Tent). But let’s hear it for dark horses: the reports I heard all say that Van and Green walked through their sets, while Rivers and his group revved it up like a first-class roadhouse band, packing a good dozen hits into his hour-long set. “Secret Agent Man” is the one everybody remembered, but the beautifully wistful, end-of-the ’60s ballad “Summer Rain” was the real standout. —Brett Milano

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Irma Thomas’ Gospel Classic singles Trombone Shorty with Cyril and Aaron Neville like “It’s Raining,” “Ruler of My Heart,” and “Wish Someone Would Care,” make it easy to hear why Irma Thomas remains the undisputed Soul Queen of New Orleans. But there’s also another side to the legendary singer’s life and music, one that she reserves exclusively for church on Sundays and for all-too-rare gospel sets like the one she performed on the closing day of this year’s Jazz Fest. Leading a full band that included organ, piano and whiterobed backing vocalists, Thomas set the bar high early on with a rendition of “How I Got Over,” the hymn that Mahalia Jackson released back in 1951, three years before Irma’s first audition for Specialty Records. “This all started with a tribute we did to that lady right up there,” said the singer, pointing to one of the vintage photos that lined the gospel tent. “Every year when I’m doing this gospel set, I try to include at least a couple of her songs— although practically everything I’m singing, she sang at one time or another.” The set went on to include spiritual anthems like “All Night Long,” “I’ve Been Singing Hallelujah,” and an especially moving attention, is a sure sign that this won’t be her last Jazz Fest.—Bill version of “Wade in the Water,” the hymn she remembers the choir singing when, as a teenage mother, she first stepped into the pool to be Forman baptized. Six decades later—with her pitch still perfect and her range undiminished—Thomas offered up the kind of sacred soul performance Jazz Fest Ecstasy Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has the upmost respect for the traditions and history of New Orleans music that could make even the most stubborn heathen believe, if only for a and culture despite his rock star trappings and funk-rock band. So it was moment, that she might be onto something. —Bill Forman not much of a surprise last year when he brought up members of the Neville family. This year, the appearance of the Nevilles was scheduled, Bonnie Raitt It took Bonnie Raitt one glance to size up her crowd as she stood front and center of the Acura Stage. In front of her, but it was a big surprise when singer Aaron Neville joined his brother a canopy of primary-colored umbrellas cast shade over lawn chairs and Cyril, son Ivan, and nephew Ian. Aaron had not appeared on the Acura Stage since the last time slouching tank tops. “You look beautiful and hot and greasy! Just like I the Neville Brothers closed the Jazz Fest in 2013 (unless you count like it,” Raitt said. With that, she encapsulated the first sunny Sunday of earlier in the day when he was part of the Allen Toussaint tribute). Jazz Fest. He delivered a superb version of “Yellow Moon” before hushing the Jazz Fest staff introduced Raitt as the “blues queen of Jazz Fest,” massive crowd with the classic Neville Brothers Jazz Fest closing medley a quintessential addition to the 50th anniversary lineup. Indeed, she of “Amazing Grace” and Bob Marley’s “One Love.” embodied the romance of the festival. Her performance shined with The beatific look on Troy’s face said it all. After the massive applause infinite youth and a dash of gray in her fire red hair--playful, yet calm died down, Aaron said, “I changed his name to Trombone Slim,” and and wizened. Isn’t that, at least in part, what Jazz Fest is all about? The their embrace made it clear that we were all Nevilles as the sun began ability for anyone, no matter their age, to throw on a floppy hat and maybe a pair of chaco sandals, and be playful? And to keep doing so for to set on the 50th Jazz Fest. Of course, Trombone “Slim” was not done. With the stage pared decades? —Emily Carmichael down to his band, Orleans Avenue (augmented by second drummer Alvin Ford, percussionist Weedie Braimah and Troy’s nephew Jenard Carsie Blanton “Since this is the last day of Jazz Fest,” said Carsie Blanton, “we’re going to start with a dirty song.” The young New Andrews of the New Breed Brass Band on parade snare), he proceeded to push the crowd into Jazz Fest ecstasy. Besides being a Orleans songstress and her band followed through on that promise potent trombonist, trumpeter, and vocalist, Troy is also a bandleader and with their rendition of “Jacket,” one of the most overtly bawdy and crowd rouser, with a crack unit built for such a moment. He drove and wryly hilarious songs on her recently released Buck Up album: “I make we all rode along to the finish line with grins a mile wide.—Jay Mazza a quick pit stop at the Molly Pitcher/ You say you got a girl, but I don't see her wit’ya/ You say you want a drink, but I want something stiffer/ Closing Day Jazz Fest wrapped up with one of its strongest You say I oughta keep it clean, I ain’t a Swiffer.” Blanton likes to call her days of music. The resilience of the culture really stood out as both work “genre-fluid,” an apt description for an artist who can effortlessly shift from risqué swing-jazz to gorgeously arranged Americana. Bringing big stages were packed with local artists: the Delfeayo Marsalis Big Band and John Boutté opened for Herbie Hancock at the Jazz Tent; that eclecticism to the stage, without ever letting go of her audience’s

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soul music superstars Chaka Khan and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly rocked the Congo Square Stage; The Mavericks headlined the Fais Do Do Stage after a solid lineup of Cajun and Zydeco music; and Indians, brass bands and Boukman Eksperyans of Haiti kept the Heritage Stage packed with dancers all afternoon. The music comes with its own survival strategies to keep things growing even after 50 years and a lineup of ancestors longer than the list of current performers. Trombone Shorty of course brought the New Orleans family tradition into the 21st century with a triumphant fusion of the Andrews and Neville families to close out the festival. Indians show a remarkable ability to keep adapting their traditional chants and sacred songs into larger formats that embrace a lot more of the tradition. The Hardhead Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, resplendent in their colorfully feathered suits, use a woman vocalist and a funk rhythm section to take their music into different directions. Combining Indian chants and brass band rhythms with tuba-powered bass and powerhouse funk, they chanted “Clap Your Hands, Move Your Feet,” sounding like a New Orleans edition of P-Funk. Elsewhere, Yvette Landry stirred them up at the Fais Do Do Stage with her hot rockabilly band. Dressed in a silver lamé dress, the guitarslinging Landry greeted the crowd with the incendiary “Let’s Have a Party” and rolled through a scintillating Louisiana rockabilly dance party, blazing through “Slow Down,” some Bobby Charles tunes, and swamp pop. For years, Jazz Fest has featured another country’s music as part of

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the menu, and this strategy has reaped many benefits, creating a whole new tent, the Cultural Exchange Pavilion World Journey, with returnees from South Africa, Congo, Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, Benin, Puerto Rico, and elsewhere, all emphasizing the common ground that New Orleans music shares with the music of Africa and the African diaspora. These musicians are not headliners, but they carry the Jazz Fest ethos forward effectively, especially in the context of New Orleans musicians (just off the top of my head, Leyla McCalla, Panorama Jazz Band, Tom McDermott, Michael Skinkus and Moyuba, Patrice Fisher and Arpa) who embrace similar territory. One service Jazz Fest has reliably provided is keeping the Radiators an active force in the festival’s lineup even after the band stopped performing regularly several years ago. The only other place on earth the Rads sound as good as they do on the Gentilly Stage is at Tipitina’s, and closing day’s set was a happy reunion for the band’s dedicated fans. From the melodic strains of Ed Volker’s “Love Grows On You” and “Rise and Shine,” to the great new Earl King tribute, “King Earl,” and old favorites like “Death of the Blues,” “Sparkplug,” “Papaya,” and “Smoking Hole,” the band dazzled in the late afternoon sunshine. Guitarist Camile Baudoin wore his star-shaped stage pass like a sheriff ’s badge and he wielded his authority on a blistering “No. 2 Pencil.” And the Radiators made sure they left no Stone unrolled with terrific renditions of “Let It Bleed,” and a set-closing “Sympathy for the Devil.” —John Swenson O Go to OffBeat.com for more Jazz Fest Redux.

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Buddha and the Blues is not just an album title.

It’s a road map that charts the difficult path Anders Osborne has negotiated since his arrival in New Orleans more than 30 years ago. When he got here, the Swedish-born guitarist was a young adventurer whose imagination was inspired by his seafaring grandfather’s tales of New Orleans. Like so many artists before and since, his move to this city was a kind of Grail quest designed to turn him into a new person, but he had no idea of the trials he would have to endure after experiencing the first flush of ecstasy that greets the unwary traveler. “Because New Orleans is and always has been too much of a good thing for those who seek adventure when they come here, it is almost invariably at some point too much for them. Some of them don’t make it out alive. Some have to leave. But some, like the toughminded, full-hearted and astonishingly gifted Osborne, survive the initiation that brought them here as a seeker and transformed them into a whole person. Remarkably, he has managed to write songs about all the stages he has gone through while he’s been here, from the early days when he sought acceptance into an occult world, through the harrowing moments when he was sucked into a vortex that appeared to have no escape, to the moments of redemption where he’s found his peace, along with his place in the world. His latest album is an exploration of that peace, recorded in southern California with an all-star band featuring guitarist Waddy Wachtel, bassist Bob Glaub, keyboardist Benmont Tench, backing vocalist Windy Wagner and drummer Chad Cromwell. I sat down with Anders at the OffBeat offices just after the conclusion of Jazz Fest 50.

Tales of & LAND SEA You’re in good hands with Anders Osborne 26

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by John Swenson

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Photo BY NOÉ CUGNY

I was sitting in the lunchroom staring out the window and there’s an old piece of stained glass from somebody’s ruined house hanging in the window. I’ve looked at it a million times without thinking about it. It’s a seascape with the sun rising behind blue ocean waves and as I was looking at it I thought this is the perfect metaphor for “Alone,” the first and last track on the album. It was a poem. It was just a very quiet poem and I loved it, I had this feeling about it. I was sitting in the back yard and I had a little waterfall in the pool. It was hot. So it was very water based. Yes. The lyrics are like that. You’re on the boat of your soul—a ship of your mind. Your grandfather was a seaman. Yeah. It was six generations of merchant marine sailors. I was the one who stopped it. Something’s in there. It comes out in a lot of my lyrics. My grandfather would say things like New Orleans was his favorite place on the planet. Caracas and New Orleans were his two favorite ports. He told me about a bar at the foot of Canal Street. He gave me a little business card. There used to be a dock right there in the quarter in the ’40s. He would stay here for months. Why did you choose to make two versions of “Alone” on the record? That was a producer’s decision. My demo version was the anchor song of the whole record. That was the thing I held onto to shape all the other stuff. I needed some intimacy in the vocal. I needed some rocking sound with determination but the vocals needed to be one-on-one. Chad said the song brought that out. We tried that song probably four or five different ways. The original was even more hypnotic and had like a drone-y feel to it when I played it on acoustic. He wanted that, so he said, “Why don’t we close with that as well?” Did Chad just take control of things or did you consult with him? It was more singing and writing this time. I’ve been doing a ton of writing the last four or five years. If I didn’t like something, like a couple of songs came out a little too clean, or maybe I would move the keys, but the majority of the production was all Chad. It was a matter of what is it you do best? I had a lot of success with songwriting but not with recording it myself. The recordings hit a ceiling every time. So I thought “What if I hand over the production, instead of it being 60-40 me, it would be 20-80?” And I loved it. It was the first time I would do just a couple of things, that’s my job, and I let him do all the rest. You’re a producer yourself. Yeah. I love producing. But when you produce yourself, you get clouded by the idea of who you think you are—because you actually don’t really know who you are. It’s like the old Buddhist saying, “The eye can never see itself.” It basically means you never know who you are but other people show the reflection of who you are. I took that a little more to heart this time. I can produce other people because I see who they are, but I can’t see myself so someone else has to bring out what they think is me. I lean pretty heavily on my right brain so I use my emotional side much more. It creates a little bit of an off balance, too long maybe, not cleaned up enough to be pleasant for people. I would dirty stuff up on purpose, I would do stuff to create some sort of friction, which I think is partially from my own impatience, and I think there’s a self-deprecating quality I have where I don’t want to look too good, so I would chip myself a little bit. Did you cut backing tracks? There was a very short period of tracking. Background vocals all happened there. Windy, she’s an expert at stacking vocals. She and Chad are married and they worked together. I did some piano at my house. Everything moved pretty fast. The guys created an actual sound, OF F B E AT.C OM

which is that guitar sound and that bass approach and that particular drumming. I can hear Chad’s drumming on hit songs and recognize it right away. Everything is so precise. There’s no searching. They just do what they do. Waddy has no pedals, just one custom amp and his old Les Paul, which he’s always had. It’s all in the fingers. That’s all he does. If you need a crazy fuzz you just come into the studio and he has that layered. That helped me not think about production as much. It was pretty smooth. We’re doing the next record in June and they’re all coming here to New Orleans, so we’ll do it one more time, but this time in New Orleans. I love the chorus on “Fields of Honey.” It’s like reflecting on your sobriety, right? Yeah. I’ve been married almost 20 years and my wife Sarah keeps bees in our backyard. You don’t set out to be an addict or alcoholic. You don’t think, “Oh, it’s in my family.” I got to a place where I thought, ‘Wow, most of my memories are I did this and that and then we drank. Then I did this and I got drunk. Then I did that and I was high.’ Then you start looking at, ‘Now I have this.’ I started from scratch in my mid-40s, started to learn different social skills, different vocabulary, I had to learn very basic stuff. When you start drinking at 14 or 15 hard, you’re not making any progress. Emotionally, you’re just sitting in place. Every time you feel too much, you do something. The song is a reflection of how I feel like I’ve lost so much and I’m not really sure of what I’ve gained. So I started playing and asking “What do I have?” And the answer is, “I have everything I need and would ever want.” Sobriety is a lot of work because you have to deal with your emotions every friggin’ day. You can’t just say “All right I’m shutting it off.” There’s no “off.” You have to constantly look for the new off switch and from time to time it pisses me off that there’s no off switch. I’ve been sober 10 years. It’s hard work to be alive. I don’t care about my career at all. It’s a play, acting out that part of your life. What you’re looking for is the right people, inspiration, creativity, beauty, sensitivity in others and yourself. You’re not looking for a career, you’re looking for an experience that fills you with completeness. The record is very spiritual. Looking back on American Patchwork, and certainly Ash Wednesday Blues and Living Room before that, you were writing a lot about the pain and suffering you were experiencing as you tried to work your way through all this. And now this is more philosophical, an acceptance of your life. I’m interested in trying to not worry any more. I watch some of my mentors and they have a lightness to them, even if they’re ill. I want to attain some of that feeling. It’s 30 years since your first record, on Rabadash. How does that record seem to you now? Very young. Surprisingly, I can hear my style, even though it’s covered up in all my influences. Then on the other hand you can hear my influences on the new one, too. But I think the key thing is the topics: life is strange; love songs, romantic ideas; wondering about my existence. Nothing’s really changed. Looking back, I think I made music based on a much smaller universe, but now I write much more intimately. Now when I write and make music, my thought process is ‘What kind of stuff do people need to hear?’ For my fans and my crowd, who are all now 35 to 75-plus, you’ve got cancer, divorce, addictions, children dying, parents who have died, as opposed to younger concerns like living hard, not making enough money, struggling with what’s going on. Now my passion is to be the philosopher and poet that spent enough quality time by the window thinking about this and try to voice that for people that don’t have the time to do this, so they can say, “I know I’m not alone in this.” It’s not something I take pride in; it’s more JUNE 2019

a matter of giving something back, because the gift of music, you think it’s for yourself. As a young man I thought it was an entitlement, I’m good at this. Now I know it’s a gift for me to give to others. Also I think the boundaries should be moved by the artist, otherwise you’re just an entertainer. An artist will lose his job, his listeners, fans, gonna lose money, relationships, because of the art. If you commit to art you lose a lot of stuff from time to time. It’s part of your job. An entertainer is supposed to provide a little lightness to everyday toil. Each time I made a change in my lineup for the music there was a drop-off in the audience—every time. When I started with Kirk Joseph and Tim Green everybody ragged on me, saying, “What the hell are you doing? You’re a brass band now?” Then when I left Kirk Joseph and Tim Green everyone wanted them to stay in the band. Taking a different tack, we just finished the 50th Jazz Fest. Do you remember your first Fest? I got here in ’85 just after the World’s Fair, so the first one was ’86. It was four bucks to get in. The masters of several of the lineages, they were still present. The people I met in the first three years, like Johnny Vidacovich, George Porter, Tommy Ridgley, Snooks Eaglin, Earl King, I truly met and played with them and they were completely embracing. They never asked me where I was from. It never came up. I started playing Jazz Fest in ’92. I played the Ray Ban stage. They opened the trunk, it was still so small that they literally had a car back stage, and you picked out what sunglasses you wanted. There were no tour buses. There was one year where we lost power on the Fox/Polaroid stage, it’s called Gentilly now. I It was probably ’96, we performed 40 minutes with no PA, just jumped out to the front of the stage. We were screaming and playing, I grabbed an acoustic, we had an

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accordion, it was amazing. And everybody stayed. There was one at the Fais Do Do with Johnny Sansone and John Fohl in the pouring rain, it was pretty great. We played “Louisiana Rain.” There was a West African band a year after me and my wife got together. She was pregnant. We kicked off our Birkenstocks and it was dusty as it can get on Congo Square, just clouds of light brown dust, and we danced the whole afternoon. I played Economy Hall with Kirk in a tribute to his father. I played banjo, and Dave Torkanowsky kept playing my parts on the piano, saying “You’re doing it wrong.” Dirty Dozen in ’88 at the Jazz Tent blew my mind. I could hardly grasp what I was hearing. The notes were balancing in a way I’d never heard before. Many times at Fais Do Do. That’s my favorite stage, just wander there and hang the whole time. You played a bunch of different gigs during the festival in a lot of different contexts. When you played on the biggest stage, the Acura stage, I was watching you and thinking, ’You came here longing to be part of this thing, this magical Grail that you were seeking to change yourself and become part of, and now you represent it.’ You’re able to tell the crowd, “It’s all Louisiana music today! Isn’t that great?” The voice of authority. And at the other extreme, your show at the Louisiana Music Factory, solo acoustic, was so intimate. At one point in that show you referred to yourself as an old man. And I thought, ‘That’s like your grandfather when he told you about New Orleans.’ Do you feel like a grandfather, sort of, in that now you have the experiences to tell other people about? I’m not sure I’m a grandfather. What I feel like is there’s room for someone to be something in the music community, from New Orleans. Right now. I think I’m applying for the job. O

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Al Fresco Enjoying outdoor dining in New Orleans.

Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits

PhotoS COURTESY OF THE RESTAURANTS

n a region named in honor of the Sun King of by Michael Dominici proposition: a wine and cheese bar in the most remote France, it’s no surprise that locals love every corner of the Bywater, with an outdoor area that opportunity to enjoy their dining experiences outdoors. Here, classics had all the charm of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Over the years, like Commander’s Palace and Napoleon House are joined by newcomers Bacchanal miraculously became a smash success with a vibrant outdoor Cowbell and Cavan. Whether you are looking for a casual sun-kissed dining scene and a refurbished building that includes indoor dining and a brunch or a moonlit tryst in a cozy courtyard, you’re sure to find a stand-alone kitchen that cranks out everything from fettuccini with green suitable destination here. peas, green garlic, and Grand Padana cheese, to Spanish style shrimp with sherry and red pepper, to whole fish. A fine selection of cheese is available Avo to go with the sea of wine bottles that festoon the tables in a spectacle that Third-generation Sicilian and New Orleans native, Chef Nick Lama’s is best described as bacchanalian! homage to his roots, Avo, (meaning grandfather or ancestor), is a cozy Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits: 600 Poland Ave., 948-9111. Uptown restaurant with a beautiful outdoor dining area. Avo’s menu Barú Bistro & Tapas includes charred octopus with black garlic, Calabrian chili and pineapple, Inspired by the cuisine of the Caribbean diaspora as well as the a classic panzanella salad with ciabatta croutons, local tomatoes, greens, Columbian coastal region, Baru is renowned for its tapas and crudo selecall Parmesan cheese, drizzled with an oregano vinaigrette. A savory chicken liver mouse is balanced out with blueberry gelee. Fried calamari tions. Shrimp remoulade receives a Colombian twist with salsa picante. is complimented with a carrot agrodolce and citrus pickled cukes. Pasta Lobster salad is bathed in an olive aioli and served with potatoes and quail offerings range from a heady short rib lasagna to squid ink fettuccini with eggs. Tuna tartare is livened up with bright mangos, and served with pecans a “corn carbonara.” Entrees include rabbit cacciatore served with gnocchi, and guacamole. Similarly, local P&J oysters get the cha cha treatment with mushrooms, and turnips, plus rarely served classics veal saltimbocca and tomatillos, and lime-infused hot sauce. Tapas highlights include fried oysters porchetta. with cilantro aioli and caramelized onions, lamb sliders, West Indian style Avo: 5908 Magazine St., 504-509-6550. crab cakes, and arepas con lechón. Hearty fare such as Columbian hen stew with root vegetables, whole fried fish with coconut rice and citrus mango Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits slaw, Caribbean bouillabaisse with lobster, clams, shrimp, fish, and yuca round This wine patio is perhaps the worst kept secret in town. Some of us out the menu at this tropical uptown hideaway. remember the days after Katrina when Bacchanal seemed like an absurd Barú Bistro & Tapas: 3700 Magazine St., 895-2225.

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Bayona Located in a charming Creole cottage in the French Quarter, Bayona has been the crown jewel in Chef Susan Spicer’s trio of restaurants for nearly three decades now. Some of the most memorable and flavorful dishes anywhere emanate from Bayona, including grilled shrimp with black bean cakes with coriander-citrus butter, sweetbreads with sherry mustard butter, the decadent multi-grain goat cheese crouton with Madeira cream, cream of roasted garlic soup, paneéd Pacific salmon choucroute with Gewürztraminer buerre blanc, fennel and pepper crusted lamb loin with herbed goat cheese and zinfandel sauce. Desserts will destroy you include the hazelnut and almond dacquoise ganache with espresso buttercream.. Bayona: 430 Dauphine St., 525-4455. Bayou Wine Garden This sprawling establishment in Mid-City piggybacks on the runaway success of Bayou Beer Garden. The wide-ranging, reasonably priced menu includes everything from tacos, sandwiches, burgers, salads, and sides, to intriguing fare such as mussels and fries, lamb and French onion potpie, to chorizo and cheese wontons. Crawfish are also offered when in season. That said, the real highlight here is the selection of over four dozen housemade, cured meats, assorted charcuterie, and artisanal cheeses from small farms stateside and of European origin, which go quite well with the incredibly well-thought-out wine list and great cocktail program. Bayou Wine Garden: 315 N Rendon St., 826-2925. Broussard’s Established nearly a century ago, Broussard’s has showcased classic New Orleans Creole cuisine from the onset. The spectacular courtyard is the largest in the French Quarter and certainly one of the grandest and most beautiful settings to be found; ideal for leisurely brunches and lingering dinner experiences. Broussard’s local offerings include shrimp remoulade, crabmeat ravigote, crab cakes, turtle soup, duck and alligator gumbo, trout almandine, bronzed redfish, BBQ shrimp, pompano Ponchartrain, and satsuma glazed quail. Broussard’s: 819 Conti St., 581-3866.

Napoleon House

Cavan Located uptown in a spectacular mansion built in 1883, Cavan is a dazzling restaurant featuring the coastal, regional cuisine of Thibodaux native and internationally-trained chef, Nathan Richard. Richard most recently presided over Kingfish and worked at R’evolution with Chef John Folse, where he made the best charcuterie in town, now available as an antipasti plate at Cavan. There’s no end to the deliciousness at Cavan: Crawfish queso, a seasonal gumbo, lima bean ‘risotto’ with pickled pork, salmon poke tacos, savory rabbit and kale caldo verde stewed with potatoes and parsnip in pork broth spiked with Portuguese flavors, are some of the outstanding appetizers. Raw oysters are served with a strawberry-champagne mignonette, and fried oysters are perched atop a classic Caesar salad. Entrees include Creole spiced shrimp draped with rum butter, whole fish with romescu, ribeye steak with mashed potatoes, and General Tso’s fried chicken with crawfish and crab fat rice. Cavan also features an incredible cocktail selection and boutique wines from all over the world. Cavan: 3607 Magazine St., 509-7655. Commander’s Palace This world famous enterprise founded by the late Ella Brennan saw the rise of Chef Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, and is currently under the capable hands of Chef Tory McPhail. The birthplace of the Jazz Brunch, Commander’s series of spectacular dining rooms is matched by the restaurant’s grand courtyard. The menu simply has it all. Turtle soup, gumbo, shrimp and tasso Henican, crawfish and Creole cream cheese gnocchi, chili-lemongrass glazed alligator, a litany of egg dishes, trout pecan, and of course, Bananas Foster prepared tableside, and Commander’s killer bread pudding soufflé. Of course, you must try the classic cocktails and peruse the incredible wine list. Bon appetit! Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221. Cowbell Located in a sweet spot on Oak Street near the Mississippi River, Cowbell brings the Uptown funk to the burger scene, offering everything from grass-fed burgers on toasted potato rolls, to ahi tuna, to a vegetarian ‘red beans and rice’ burger. Appetizer treats include “figgy toast” with andouille sausage, figs, and blue cheese croutons, chicken wings, and a roasted mushroom huitlecoche, and asadero quesadilla with salsa, and brussel sprouts with bacon and Marcona almonds. Besides their famous burgers, various permutations of tacos and steak offerings round out the robust menu. Cowbell: 8801 Oak St., 866-4222. Delachaise This cozy spot located on St. Charles Avenue has evolved over the years from being a wine bar that was one of the original ‘pop up’ restaurant spots in town, to a charming destination with an eclectic menu that includes a daily paté board, grilled eggplant cannolis, smoked salmon with corn cakes, Thai style shrimp Clemenceau, Cuban pork with mojo and yuca, mofongo, and ribeye steak with blue cheese butter, served with fries cooked in goose fat. Delachaise also has an impressive selection of wine and spirits. Its sister restaurant, Chais Delachaise takes a similar approach but has a different menu including gems like fried oysters with melted brie over wilted spinach, steak bruschetta, lamb burger, and Indian spiced cauliflower stewed with potatoes, cashews, and chickpeas. Delachaise: 3442 St Charles Ave., 895-0858.

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Lilette Located in the heart of beautiful Uptown New Orleans, Lilette is one of the most romantic and charming restaurants in town. Chef John Harris’ menu is a love letter to France and Italy, featuring Italian Wedding Soup, luscious escargot in Calvados cream, duck confit with crispy marrow, gnocchi with brown butter and sage cream, saffron pappardelle, king crab claws with passionfruit butter, and arugula salad with curried almonds. Entrees include grilled herbed squab, duck breast with roasted shallot sauce, roasted salmon with couscous, and the bistro classic grilled hanger steak with bordelaise sauce and thin cut fries. At the adjacent casual concept restaurant, Bouligny Tavern, Chef Harris brings forth deviled eggs, gougers, bruschetta with burrata, anchovy toast, raw oysters, charcuterie, and cheese plates, short ribs, and burgers. Outside dining is available at both establishments. Lilette: 3637 Magazine St., 895-1636. Napoleon House This storied national treasure recently passed hands from the Impastato family to Ralph Brennan, and is presided over by the talented and passionate Chef Chris Montero. To the delight of its loyal fans, the menu has remained intact! Apps include boudin with orange mustard sauce, a generous charcuterie board, spinach and artichoke dip, and gumbo. New Orleans staples such as red beans and rice, jambalaya, and a full slate of sandwich offerings capped off by their signature warm muffuletta, remains part of the experience, as does the Pimm’s cup, which was popularized there. Napoleon House: 500 Chartres St., 524-9752. O OF F B E AT.C OM

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offeats AMERICAN Poppy’s Time Out Sports Bar & Grill:1 Poydras St., 247-9265 Port of Call: 838 Esplanade Ave., 523-0120

MUSIC ON THE MENU Banks Street Bar & Grill: 4401 Banks St., 486-0258 Buffa’s: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038 Chickie Wah Wah: 2828 Canal St., 304-4714 BARBECUE Gattuso’s: 435 Huey P Long Ave., Gretna, The Joint: 701 Mazant St., 949-3232 368-1114 House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068 COFFEE HOUSE Café du Monde: 800 Decatur St., 525-4544 Howlin’ Wolf’s Wolf Den: 907 S. Peters St., 529-5844 Morning Call Coffee Stand: 56 Dreyfous Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., Dr., 300-1157 895-8117 CREOLE/CAJUN Little Gem Saloon: 445 S. Rampart St., Cochon: 930 Tchoupitoulas St., 588-2123 267-4863 Cornet: 700 Bourbon St., 523-1485 Maison: 508 Frenchmen St., 289-5648 Galatoire’s: 209 Bourbon St., 525-2021 Mid City Lanes Rock ‘N’ Bowl: 4133 S. Gumbo Shop: 630 St. Peter St., 525-1486 Carrollton Ave., 482-3133 New Orleans Creole Cookery: 508 NOLA Cantina: 437 Esplanade Ave., Toulouse St., 524-9632 266-2848 Palm Court: 1204 Decatur St., 525-0200 FINE DINING Rivershack Tavern: 3449 River Rd., 834-4938 Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Siberia Lounge: 2227 St. Claude Ave., Ave., 899-8221 265-8865 Josephine Estelle: Ace Hotel, 600 Southport Hall: 200 Monticello Ave., Carondelet St., 930-3070 835-2903 Mr. B’s Bistro: 201 Royal St. 523-2078 Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 FRENCH Three Muses: 536 Frenchmen St., 298-8746 Café Degas: 3127 Esplanade Ave., 945-5635 NEIGHBORHOOD JOINTS La Crepe Nanou: 1410 Robert St., 899Cake Café: 2440 Chartres St., 943-0010 2670 Dat Dog: 601 Frenchmen St., 309-3362; GERMAN 5030 Freret St., 899-6883; 3336 Bratz Y’all: 617-B Piety St., 301-3222 Magazine St., 324-2226 Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant: GROCERY STORES 701 Tchoupitoulas St., 523-8995 Breaux Mart: 3233 Magazine St., 262-6017; Parkway Bakery and Tavern: 538 Hagan Ave., 2904 Severn Ave. Metarie, 885-5565; 482-3047 9647 Jefferson Hwy. River Ridge, 737Sammy’s Food Services: 3000 Elysian Fields 8146; 315 E Judge Perez, Chalmette, Ave., 948-7361 262-0750; 605 Lapalco Blvd., Gretna, Tracey’s: 2604 Magazine St., 897-5413 433-0333 Mardi Gras Zone: 2706 Royal St., 947-8787 Ye Olde College Inn: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683 INDIAN PIZZA Nirvana: 4308 Magazine St., 894-9797 Midway Pizza: 4725 Freret St., 322-2815 JAPANESE/KOREAN/SUSHI/ Pizza Delicious: 617 Piety St., 676-8482 THAI Slice Pizzeria: 1513 St. Charles Ave., 525Sukho Thai: 4519 Magazine St., 373-6471; 7437 2200 Royal St., 948-9309 Theo’s Pizza: 4218 Magazine St., 894-8554; Wasabi: 900 Frenchmen St., 943-9433 4024 Canal St., 302-1133; 1212 S Clearview, 733-3803 LOUISIANA / SOUTHERN Mondo: 900 Harrison Ave., 224-2633 SEAFOOD Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., Crazy Lobster Bar & Grill: 1 Poydras St. 943-3934 569-3380

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MEDITERRANEAN Mona’s Café: 504 Frenchmen St., 949-4115

Deanie’s Seafood: 841 Iberville St., 5811316; 1713 Lake Ave. Metairie, 834-1225

MEXICAN/CARIBBEAN/ SPANISH Barú Bistro & Tapas: 3700 Magazine St., 895-2225 El Gato Negro: 81 French Market Place, 525-9846; 300 Harrison Ave., 488-0107; 800 S Peters St., 309-8804 Juan’s Flying Burrito: 2018 Magazine St., 569-0000

SOUL Praline Connection: 542 Frenchmen St., 943-3934 VIETNAMESE Namese: 4077 Tulane Ave., 483-8899 WEE HOURS Buffa’s Restaurant & Lounge: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038

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diningout

Domenica Review by Michael Dominici

decade back, Chef John Besh partnered with Chef Alon Shaya to create Domenica Restaurant in the Roosevelt Hotel, inspired by the regional cooking of Italy. (Both chefs are no longer affiliated with the restaurant). Although New Orleans has its share of Italian restaurants, it’s fair to say most of them serve Italian-American cuisine, much of it Sicilian-inspired. From the onset, Domenica took a different approach, and has been a smashing success ever since. A grand-scale enterprise, Domenica set out to offer a completely new template, rethinking and redefining the contemporary Italian restaurant in New Orleans, starting with a robust in-house charcuterie selection, complemented by artisanal imported cheese and bread made in house, served with various condiments. Chef Shaya went to Italy to perfect his pizza-making skills, and so pizza became an integral part of the menu at Domenica. Partnerships were made with local producers such as Covey Rise (in Husser, LA) and Compostella Farm (Picayune, MS); those relationships blossomed and

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created a pathway for Domenica to offer seasonal local produce, and specialties like Mangalitsa pork, that’s been called the Kobe beef of the pig world. Various kinds of pasta are also made in-house, rounding out an impressive array of menu items. The sleek design of Domenica, with its sky-high ceilings, modern art and a sea of glass facing Carondelet Street, sets a dramatic stage. The brightness as one enters the room is offset by the dark wood of the dining room. Just on the left side of the dining room behind a marble top counter is an espresso machine and a state-of-the-art slicer, used to produce thin, heavenly slices of Prosciutto di Parma for the salumi boards. The salumi and formaggi constitute the first of seven sections of the menu that also contain outstanding mortadella, various sliced meats, and the most amazing chicken liver paté I’ve ever had (served with cheese selections with amazing torta fritta puffed bread made with lard). Various condiments include mostarda, candied pecans, dried fruit, varied pickled vegetables, and olives. The high level of attention to detail, balancing textures with impeccably fresh flavors is prominent throughout the menu and so typical of authentic fine Italian cuisine. From the antipasti section, the

ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms served with a spring onion pesto were incredibly vibrant and simply divine. The signature dish of roasted cauliflower with sea salt and whipped feta was a monument to simplicity. Always a show-stopper, Roman-style artichokes with green garlic aioli were also a treat. The fried Tuscan kale with pine nuts and tomatoes didn’t last long enough on the table to contemplate. Domenica also knows when to leave well enough alone, as demonstrated with a humble dish of bruschetta with fava beans and burrata cheese— rustic and satisfying. Similarly, the meatballs set over a bed of creamy polenta is a perfectly satisfying combination. The creamy asparagus soup with Parmesan and croutons also hit the spot. Ten different pizzas are offered at Domenica, and they are simply outstanding. The thin-crusted pizzas spend about two minutes in the rotating wood-fired pizza oven and feature combinations ranging from fresh clams with Parmesan, to asparagus with Meyer lemons, ricotta and basil, to an array of meat and cheese toppings. “Tutto Carne” showcases fennel sausage, salami, and bacon, while the “Quattro Formaggi” is a classic presentation of assorted gooey cheeses. The popularity of Domenica’s pizza inspired an offshoot enterprise, Pizza Domenica, which opened a few years ago. From the primi section, the Gulf shrimp risotto with asparagus was unbelievably delicious, as was the stracci with braised lamb, broccoli rabe, and ricotta salata. The homemade tagliatelle with braised

rabbit and porcini mushrooms speaks to my soul. On the eclectic side, the squid ink tagliolini with blue crab is one of the more ambitious and adventurous dishes that scream for a glass of light, Italian white wine. The secondi section features a double-cut pork chop with caramelized bok choy and Lambrusco wine jus, that adds just the right amount of contrast to the savory, salty flavors. The Wagyu hanger steak is a hedonistic flavor bomb offset by lima beans and radicchio, sweetened with the twang of balsamic vinegar. Desserts at Domenica get equal billing, and they are some of the best in town. We were totally knocked out by the restaurant’s incredible tiramisu presentation, and the gianduja (the original basis for what’s marketed commercially as Nutella) pudding with coconut cream and chocolate bark was every bit as ridiculously delicious as it sounds. The affogato vanilla gelato with a shot of espresso and biscotti will set you right, day or night. The wine list at Domenica is well-crafted and focuses on both classic and eclectic Italian wines that match the cuisine. Over the years, I have enjoyed everything from bright, fruity wines such as Dolcetto, Barbera, and sparkling Lambrusco, to robust reds from Sicily. Domenica remains one of the very top restaurants in New Orleans, and continues to set the highest standard for Italianinspired cuisine. O Domenica Restaurant, 123 Baronne St., New Orleans, LA 70112. (504) 648-6020. Open Daily: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Brunch on Saturday and Sunday); Happy Hour Daily: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

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

Oozing with catchy, ear-wormy melodies

Greg Schatz Amoebotics (Hot Spazz Records) Greg “Schatzy” Schatz has made a name for himself as one of New Orleans’s key singersongwriters and, ironically, he got there by tearing himself down. Schatz was among the first in the vanguard of mid-2000s rootsrock party bands that specialized in blackly humorous tales about their own inability to be responsible. And it struck a simultaneous sad and funny chord. Schatz practically constructed a cottage industry based on hangovers. His latest solo album isn’t much different on the surface. It leads off with a red herring called “Not Even Close” that has Greg’s fingerprints all over it: rock, country, jazz, blues, R&B, that little touch of Latin he always spices things up with, and at the literal heart of it all, a girl he’s never going to be worthy of. But then he pulls the camera

back and spends the rest of his time painting the entire species as terminally flawed, with the threat of robotics and digital-age automation as The Guy She Tells You Not to Worry About. On “Amoebotics” the girl we don’t deserve is the future itself. The loping, insanely catchy, vaguely Tex-Mex, “I’m Building a Robot” (“who’ll take my place building robots”) establishes the theme, while the other half of his thesis is the equally ear-wormy “I’m an Animal.” There’s also a pair of matching instrumentals in the buzzy, farty algorithms of “Mechanism” and the relaxed lounge and squirming guitar of “Protoplasm.” “Amoeba” is probably the most charming song ever written about the brain-eating amoeba. “All I Do Is Ooze” is definitely the most charming song sung from the point of view of a brain-eating amoeba. Greg’s not outlining a dystopia, just having some fun with the inevitable, which is why his de-evolution ultimately lands him in the source of all life, “The Water”—to which, he seems to suggest, we’re destined to return. —Robert Fontenot

Uncle Nef Love Songs (Ropeadope) You wouldn’t think the world needed another version of “St.

James Infirmary” at this point, but the one that closes out Uncle Nef ’s first full album isn’t like any you’ve heard before.

It’s guitar-driven blues-rock, but steeped in a punkish White Stripes aesthetic, with a couple of distortion-heavy guitar solos,

Let’s Get It On Mia Borders Good Side of Bad (Blaxican) Since Mia Borders is wellsteeped in classic soul, you might say that her latest disc (either a short album or a long EP at 24 minutes) is her version of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.The first song disposes of an ex-partner—not the first album of hers to begin this way—but the remaining five are all about the physical and emotional thrills of a fresh relationship. The rejuvenation extends to the music, accenting the swagger that’s been in her delivery all along. The love songs have appropriately slinky grooves (“Dangerous to Know” gets a supple bassline from Jesse Morrow), the funkier tunes get a kick from her wah-wah guitar, and her vocals are persuasive throughout (taking another hint from Gaye, she overdubs herself into a chorus on “Voodoo,” something I wish she’d try more often). Love and sex may be the oldest topics in the world, but she comes up with a few new things to say about them: The breakup song “Poison Love” includes a kiss-off line (“Time will tell if I wish you well, but we ain’t there”) that pretty much ends the argument. “Thirsty” opens with an equally sharp come-on: “First time I saw you babe, like a tall drink of water on a hot-ass day.” “Goddamn (Strong Black Man)” sings her love’s praises to a chorus that sounds like a goddamn hit single. And “Last Night” says everything about afterglow that can be said in a PG-rated lyric. The tune’s sensual feel makes it a perfect soundtrack if you’re ever in that frame of mind yourself. —Brett Milano

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

JUNE 2019

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pen-and-crayon creatures on its album cover (courtesy of bassist/bandleader John Joyce), Smoking Time Jazz Club’s tenth album, Contrapuntal Stomp, is all about fun. While their previous album, Take Your Time and Fly, was moody and sultry, this album is driven by joie de vivre. Sarah Peterson has a real open space in the arrangement, close-miked drums, and an organ that pounds a single chord throughout. This setting gives the song new life while making it the most ominous it’s sounded in a long while. True to their name, Uncle Nef is an uncle and a nephew: the former is celebrated drummer (and here singer) Shannon Powell, the latter is young guitar-slinger Darren Hoffman (some tracks add sax or organ, but there’s notably no bass). The cross-generational lineup means that it’s largely about absorbing each other’s influences: On one hand, the duo’s original tune “Beat to Eat” is classic-model New Orleans R&B, while the song “It Hurts” (which has echoed guitar, a recited lead vocal and a droning violin) sounds like U2 at their most experimental. They find common ground on “Jam 292,” a Hendrix piece that allows for furious solos by both leaders. Another instrumental, “Tourette’s” is two minutes of tense intro followed by two minutes of outburst. Most of the tracks are tied together by ambient sound effects that add to the anything-goes feel of this album—not just a credible take on blues-rock, but a surprisingly quirky one as well. —Brett Milano

Smoking Time Jazz Club Contrapuntal Stomp (Independent) Much like the whimsical OF F B E AT.C OM

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe Gnomes and Badgers (Seven Spheres Records) The comical cover illustration of the grouchy gnome and the feisty badger pointing fingers at each other is practically an uncaptioned political cartoon. Left to interpretation, it could symbolize the partisan nature of politics these days, where things rarely get worked out between party lines. Conceptually inspired by Stevie Wonder’s 1980 Hotter Than July LP that advocated for a Dr. Martin Luther King national

holiday, Denson has a few things to say as well. “Change My Way,” co-written with Anders Osborne and Ivan Neville, addresses the

Top-Notch knack for infusing her vocals with a winking cheekiness that gives songs like “Snake Hip Dance,” “You Made Me Love You,” and “My Baby” the period-specific campiness they need. She can also be wonderfully sincere as she is on “Everything I’ve Got Belongs to You” There’s some tight musicianship on this album. The ensemble, skillfully led by Jack Pritchett on trumpet, is naturally cohesive. Russell Ramirez nails his slippery trombone feature on both “Trombone Slide” and its reprise. Joe Goldberg excels instrumentally and vocally on “Characteristic Blues,” as well a perfectly rendered “Si Tu Vois Ma Mere.” The rhythm section (John Joyce, Mike Voelker, and Brett Gardner) is solid and suppor tive: the true marker of a good band. The song choices are an effective balance of familiar and unique, with several to burn up the dance floor and some to sway to. Contrapuntal Stomp is a heaping dose of what Frenchmen Street (for now) is all about.

Tuba Skinny Some Kind-A-Shake (Independent) Tuba Skinny has gone all out on the band’s tenth album, Some Kind-A-Shake. Recorded at the swanky The Living Room Studio, the band sounds better than ever. With a full line-up, including Erika Lewis back again on vocals, and British reed phenom Ewan Bleach, it’s a solid 14 songs of what Tuba Skinny does best. Moldy figs will love their beautifully arranged versions of the King Oliver tunes “Too Late” and “Stealing Love,” as well as the Lonnie Johnson/Eddie Lang tune “Deep Minor Rhythm Stomp,” and the May Aufderheide classic “Thriller Rag.” This is the stuff Tuba Skinny fans travel sometimes thousands of miles to hear. One of the hallmarks of Tuba Skinny is that its members are effortlessly versatile. Or rather, they just disregard genre barriers. They may anchor themselves in classic jazz tunes, but they’ll also do Ellington numbers like “Jubilee Stomp” and “Saturday Night Function,” as well as dance favorite, “Ballin’ the Jack,” and two wonderfully crafted originals from Shaye Cohen and Ewan Bleach: “Some Kind-A-Shake” and “Berlin Rag,” respectively. If jazz is the bread, then the blues is the butter for Tuba Skinny. Blind Blake’s “You Gonna Quit Me” and Memphis Minnie’s “I’m Going Back Home” are perfect platforms to showcase vocals from Erika Lewis and Greg Sherman, as well as the hauntingly harmonized song “Wee Midnight Hours,” perhaps the most affecting tune on the album. Everything on Some Kind-A-Shake, from the top-notch musicianship to the thoughtful arrangements to the kick-up-yourheels album art by Shaye Cohen, is just splendid. —Stacey Leigh Bridewell

—Stacey Leigh Bridewell

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An Embarrassment of Riches Various Artists Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Smithsonian Folkways) One of the beauties of the five-CD box set, Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, is that on the very first cut on disc one, The Golden Eagles open with the Black Indian prayer, “Indian Red,” magnificently led and improvised by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux. Starting a festival day with the Mardi Gras Indians is a ritual among many festival regulars as it sets a spiritual tone to carry one through the rest of the day. Likewise, the final cut on disc five features the Neville Brothers closing out the Acura Stage in 2001 with Aaron’s stunningly trilled vocals on “Amazing Grace” leading into “One Love” that can be considered an “amen” to the Fest. As always, producer Quint Davis steps to the microphone to announce the end of Jazz Fest and introduces each of the iconic siblings while the crowd cheers. It’s a moment that so many folks have shared through the decades. Between these significant cuts are some 50 selections, most of which were recorded live at the Fair Grounds and credited to community radio station WWOZ, the Michael Murphy Collection, or Munck Mix. Several gems, like Earl King’s “Trick Bag” and Professor Longhair’s “Big Chief,” were caught in 1974 at the now-defunct Warehouse

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at the Professor Longhair Fire Benefit. A nice touch in the mix is the addition of the voice of radio personality and record producer Larry McKinley, who was known as the “Voice of Jazz Fest,” welcoming folks to the festival—a recorded announcement that once greeted them at the Fair Ground gates. Visually and informationally, the 135-page book fills out the musical tour. Impressively, not only are the years and stages that the performances took place given, but often the complete list of the band members. Also included are short bios and information on the songs on the discs. Music journalist Keith Spera provides a very comprehensive history of Jazz Fest, some of which comes from his personal experience of covering the event for various publications during several decades. He knows of what he writes. The historic photos, of course, take the reader through time and are both featured at the beginning of the book, or accompanying the musicians’ individual contributions. There’s a smiling pianist/vocalist James Booker in 1978 with his young protégé Harry Connick Jr. who was ten years old when the prolific photographer Michael P. Smith captured the image. Smith, whose work is prominent in the beautifully conceived book, also snapped a classic of Quint Davis standing between the Chenier brothers, rubboard master Cleveland and his sibling, accordionist/vocalist/composer Clifton Chenier, the King of Zydeco. Veteran photographer, the late Jules Cahn, is responsible for the 1975 picture of the Hurricane Brass

Band, while Sandra Russell Clark took a rather rare 1977 photograph of the Wild Tchoupitoulas. The earliest recordings included in the collection come from the aforementioned Warehouse benefit as well as those credited to the NPR such as the Zion Harmonizers’ outrageously incredible 1976 performance of “I Want to Be at That Meeting/ Golden Gate Gospel Train.” One can relive the dynamic power of leader Sherman Washington when he was feeling the spirit. The House of Blues Stage, in the vicinity of where the Jazz & Heritage Stage now stands, was a rich source for the recordings of artists like vocalist Tommy Ridgley, who in 1998 got down on the tune “Double-Eyed Whammy.” “Hit me with one, Charlie,” he yells to trumpeter Charlie Miller, who immediately responds with an inspired solo. Miller is back performing with Dr. John at the Acura Stage in 2007. The good doctor takes the listener through a medley of the elegant “Litanie des Saints” that eventually leads to his signature “Walk on Gilded Splinters,” all backed by his ace band. To hear a duo performance of pianists and vocalists Champion Jack Dupree teamed with Allen Toussaint performing “Bring Me Flowers While I’m Living/Rub a Little Boogie,” recorded live in 1990 from the Music Heritage Stage and preserved by the Jazz & Heritage Foundation, is a real wow.

It must have been quite a feat determining which artists to include in this 50th anniversary package. Of course, the obvious New Orleans legends like Irma Thomas, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, John Boutté, Snooks Eaglin and Raymond Myles are there. When questioning the choices, it’s important to consider that portable recording devices, especially those that could produce a quality product as heard on these CDs, were not available in the Fest’s early years. Still, one might ask where is Ernie K-Doe, the Emperor of the Universe, and why wasn’t a Danny Barker cut chosen that teamed him with his wife Blue Lu and featured his guitar and banjo prowess? It’s odd that trumpeter/vocalist Kermit Ruffins performs with his fine, yet short-lived, big band, rather than with his Barbecue Swingers or the Rebirth which he founded with brothers tuba man Phil Frazier and bass drummer Keith. Perhaps they and other beloved acts and important performances will be found on a future edition of a Jazz Fest box set. —Geraldine Wyckoff

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border war battle while “Can We Trade” calls for unity, a message also felt on the horn-strutting “Time to Pray.” Here Denson favors subtly imparted messages that aren’t overbearing or heavy handed, though it’s still a groove-centric

already looking at it, features a little girl and her stuffed companion, both of whom are wearing gas masks. It’s a jarring image to be sure, especially since the title is ostensibly about life in the future. But dystopias are not on Sanders’ mind—he’s looking at the possible future of jazz, specifically what happens when the lines get blurred between jazz and classical, modal and harmonic, mainstream and experimental, solo and group, written pieces and pure improvisation. In the past, the Trio has been compared to Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols, but here it’s all about those jarring juxtapositions—like, say, a stuffed rabbit Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe wearing a gas mask. record, the band’s first in five. Many of these songs lurch With its hardened guitar funk fearlessly between not only edge, slippery, snaky horns, crazy moods but also tempos and rapid-fire beats, and Denson’s arrangements. “The Number 3” authoritative, occasionally abstract may be the most jarring example: sax solos, Karl Denson’s Tiny wild waves of cacophony broken Universe comes at you full blast up with a main theme of manic and never lets up on the throttle. triplets, pausing, backtracking, The background vocals are also in and ducking out when least full force here, sometimes ringing expected. “Manic Maniac” with gospel-ish overtones. perfectly describes drummer Besides Neville and Osborne’s Connor Baker’s role: crashing involvement on two tracks (the right behind Sanders’ piano, he instrumental blowout of “Millvale, sounds like he’s interpreting a PA” being the other), the guest madman. Two prepared-piano list here includes guitarist Lukas pieces reflect the duality of this Nelson and percussionist Mike album’s nature, both done with Dillon. Denson’s bandmate finishing nails slipped between from the Rolling Stones’ touring the piano strings a la John Cage: ensemble, Chuck Leavell, jams the “Prepared for the Blues” (get ivories on “Smart Boy.” With its it?) is so evocative of empty city nonstop dance vibe and shift in streets it’s practically film noir, songwriting, Karl Denson’s Tiny but “Prepared for the Accident” Universe continues to expand its swings all the way in the other galaxy. direction, exploring the piano —Dan Willging as percussive instrument. But lest this scare you off, you can Nick Sanders Trio relax in the calmer waters Playtime 2050 of the perfect post-bop title (Sunnyside) track or the stately, elegiac “#2 The cover of the Nick Sanders Longfellow Park.” Trio’s third album, if you’re not —Robert Fontenot OF F B E AT.C OM

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express These listings are abbreviated. For complete daily listings, go to offbeat.com. These listings were verified at the time of publication, but are of course subject to change. To get your event listed, go to offbeat.com/add-newlistings or send an email to listings@offbeat.com. 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

THURSDAY MAY 30

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper (JV) 5p, Fr. Ron and Friends (VR) 8p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): Antoine Diel Jazz Quartet (JV) 5p, Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 8:30p d.b.a.: Hash Cabbage (VR) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Shawan Rice (SO) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Water Seed (FK) 6p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger and Crescent City Joymakers (JV) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis Ensemble (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Salvatore Geloso Trio (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Muses:Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (VR) 8p Tipitina’s: Marty Gras Concert to Benefit Marty Hurley Endowment at Brother Martin High School (VR) 6p FRIDAY MAY 31

Buffa’s: Dr. Sick (VR) 6p, Greg Schatz Trio (VR) 9p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone):

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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

Robin Barnes Jazz Quartet (JV) 5p, James Martin Band (JV) 9p d.b.a.: Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses (JV) 6p, Deltaphonic (FK) 10p Gattuso’s: Soul Express (VR) 7p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Stone Mecca, Quarx (RK) 10p Kerry Irish Pub:Tim Robertson (FO) 5p, Beth Patterson (FO) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis and Palm Court Jazz Band (JV) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy Forest Treeaux (JV) 2p, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings (JV) 6p, the Rhythm Stompers (JV) 10p Three Muses: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 5p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Series feat. Billy Iuso and Restless Natives, the Quickening (VR) 10p SATURDAY JUNE 1

Buffa’s:Tchopsley (VR) 6p,Yakimeiniacs with Jamie Bernstein and Dave Easley (VR) 9p d.b.a.: Steve DeTroy and the Swing Revue (JV) 4:30p, Little Freddie King (BL) 11p Howlin’ Wolf: Drew Lynch (CO) 7 & 10p

Find complete listings at offbeat.com—when you’re out, use offbeat.com/mobile for full listings on any cell phone.

Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Neshia Ruffins (RB) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p,Will Dickerson (FO) 9p Palm Court Jazz Cafe:Will Smith and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Amanda Ducorbier (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Astral Project (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Giselle Anguizola and the Swinging Gypsies (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, James Martin Band (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): DJ Soul Sister (FK) 11:30p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Keith Burnstein (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Rickie Lee Jones (SS) 9p SUNDAY JUNE 2

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot! (JV) 11a, Pfister Sisters (JV) 5p, Steve Pistorius Jazz Quartet (VR) 7p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p, Sam Price and the True Believers (RK) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge:TBC Brass Band (BB) 6p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 8p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Mark Braud and Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Will Smith (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: James Singleton Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Aurora Nealand and the Reed Minders (JV) 2p, Robin Barnes and the FiyaBirds (JV) 7p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, the Clementines (JV) 8p MONDAY JUNE 3

Buffa’s: Dirty Rain Revelers (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (VR) 8p House of Blues: the Lemonheads, Tommy Stinson (RK) 7p Kajun’s Pub: Karaoke (KR) 5p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit

Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: NOLA Swing Dance Connection (SI) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamey St. Pierre (SS) 8p SideBar NOLA: Instant Opus Series feat. Dave Easley, Nick Benoit and Jeff Albert (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 10p TUESDAY JUNE 4

Buffa’s:Tacos,Tequila and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 7p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p,Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p House of the Blues (the Parish): Rooney (PO) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Cyril Neville Jam Session (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars with Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Lynn Drury (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Olivier Bou Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Three Muses: Andre Bohren (PI) 5p, Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 8p WEDNESDAY JUNE 5

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin Band (JV) 8:30p d.b.a.:Tin Men (RK) 7p,Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Gasa Gasa: Sam Craft, Gal Holiday, Alex McMurray, Micah McKee,Travers Geoffray (SS) 8p House of Blues (Foundation Room): O F F B E AT. C O M

Brett Weller (BL) 6p House of Blues: Stryper (ME) 7p Kerry Irish Pub:Will Dickerson (FO) 8:30p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Johnny J and the Hitman Rockabilly Swing Quartet (SI) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Amanda Walker (PI) 8p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Terrance “Hollywood” Taplin (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 Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 8p THURSDAY JUNE 6

Buffa’s: Rebecca Leigh and Harry Mayronne (JV) 5p,Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p d.b.a.:Tav Falco and Panther Burns, the Royal Pendletons, Planchettes (VR) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Gabrielle Cavassa Duo (JV) 6p House of the Blues (the Parish): Draco Rosa (RK) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Howlin’ Wolf:Wine and Crime Podcast (VR) 9p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Ogden After Hours feat. Jasen Weaver Band (VR) 6p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 7p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie (ZY) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Bobby Campo Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Salvatore Geloso Trio (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Harlequeen presents Honor Thy Mother (VR) 9p Three Muses:Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Mia Borders (JV) 8p FRIDAY JUNE 7

Buffa’s: Davis Rogan (VR) 6p, Dave Ferrato (VR) 9p OF F B E AT.C OM

d.b.a.: Swinging Gypsies (JV) 6p, Ike Stubblefield Trio feat. Steve Masakowski and guest (JV) 10p Fillmore: Joey Diaz (CO) 7p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (FO) 7p Jazz Playhouse: Shannon Powell Jazz Quartet (JV) 7:30p,Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Hugh Morrison (FO) 5p, the One Tailed Three (FO) 9p New Orleans Jazz Market: the Music of Prince by Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (VR) 7:30p One Eyed Jacks: DJ Soul Sister’s Purple Takeover: A Prince Celebration (FK) 10p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Kevin Louis and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Lynn Drury Band (JV) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy Forest Treeaux (JV) 2p, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings (JV) 6p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): 1Social and Red Clay Soul present the Living Room Experience (JV) 9p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Dan Cutler (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Concert Series feat. Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Aaron Benjamin, Spencer Whatever (VR) 10p SATURDAY JUNE 8

Buffa’s: Freddie Blue and the Friendship Circle (VR) 6p, HG Breland (VR) 9p d.b.a.: Frog and Henry (JV) 4:30p, Tuba Skinny (JV) 7p, Dave Catching’s Birthday Bash with Rancho de la Lunatics, Pink Slip (RK) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Palm Court Jazz Cafe:Will Smith and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Amanda Ducorbier (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Ike Stubblefield Organ Trio with Herlin Riley and Steve Masakowski (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, James Martin Band (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): NOJO 7 (JV) 9:30p, DJ Chris Stylez (VR) 11:59p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Teddy Lamson (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p JUNE 2019

express Tipitina’s: AudioVisual: Presented by AbstractNOLA (VR) 10p SUNDAY JUNE 9

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (JV) 11a, Ella Blue (JV) 5p, Steve Pistorius Jazz Quartet (JV) 7p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p Fillmore: Drag Diva Brunch (VR) 10:30a Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge:TBC Brass Band (BB) 6p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Mark Braud and Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor:Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin CD-release show (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Jamey St. Pierre and the Honeycreepers (JV) 2p, Robin Barnes and the FiyaBirds (JV) 7p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, the Clementines (JV) 8p MONDAY JUNE 10

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay and Charlie Wooton (VR) 5p, Dayna Kurtz (VR) 8p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a Gasa Gasa: the Felice Brothers, Johnathan Rice (FO) 9p Kajun’s Pub: Karaoke (KR) 5p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Hugh Morrison (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Jazz Masters feat. Leroy Jones (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars with Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: NOLA Swing Dance Connection (SI) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamey St. Pierre (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, New Orleans Swinging Consensus (JV) 10p Three Muses: Bart Ramsey (JV) 5p, Washboard Rodeo (JV) 8p TUESDAY JUNE 11

Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park):

JUNE 2019

Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p,Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Cyril Neville Jam Session (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Lynn Drury (SS) 8p SideBar NOLA: Helen Gillet, Brad Walker and Michael Ward-Bergeman (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Stanton Moore Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel):Think Less Hear More (VR) 8p Three Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p, Josh Gouzy (JV) 8p WEDNESDAY JUNE 12

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin Band (JV) 8:30p d.b.a.:Tin Men (RK) 7p,Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jeremy Joyce (SS) 6p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Karaoke (VR) 6p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 8:30p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Amanda Walker (PI) 8p 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 Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 8p

Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub:Will Dickerson (FO) 8:30p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Ogden After Hours feat. Papa Mali Trio (VR) 6p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 7p Rock ‘n’ Bowl:Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys (ZY) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Saenger Theatre:Weird Al Yankovic (VR) 8p Snug Harbor: Jasen Weaver Band (BL) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Salvatore Geloso Trio (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): the Parlor with Mykia Jovan (JV) 8p Three Muses:Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (JV) 8p FRIDAY JUNE 14

Buffa’s:Tiffany Pollack with John Fohl (JV) 6p, Greg Schatz (VR) 9p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin Band (JV) 9p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, Jack Oblivion, the Redondo Beat (RK) 10p Fillmore: A Day to Remember (RK) 7p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (FO) 7p House of Blues: the Prince Experience (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 5p,Van Hudson (FO) 9p One Eyed Jacks: Sebadoh,Waveless (ID) 9p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Kevin Louis and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Groovy 7 (VR) 9:30p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Hyperphlyy (JV) 9p Snug Harbor: Jason Marsalis and the GBQ Expedition (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy Forest Treeaux THURSDAY JUNE 13 (JV) 2p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio Buffa’s: Andre Bohren (PI) 5p,Tom (BL) 6p, Dr. Brice Miller’s BukuNOLA McDermott and friends (JV) 8p (JV) 10p d.b.a.: Alexis and the Samurai (ID) Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Big Easy 7p, Jamaican Me Breakfast Club (VR) Brawlers (BB) 9p, Late Night Snacks 10p with G-Cue (VR) 11p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Cardboard Cowboy (VR) 6p Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p House of Blues: Xavier Wulf (HH) 7p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Concert Series feat. Stooges Brass Band, Brass Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Lightning (VR) 10p Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p

SATURDAY JUNE 15

Buffa’s: Royal Rounders (VR) 6p, Cricket and the 2:19 (VR) 9p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.:Tuba Skinny (JV) 7p, Steve DeTroy and the Swing Revue (JV) 4:30p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Kennedy Kuntz and the Men of the Hour (FO) 7p House of the Blues (the Parish): Nita Strauss (ME) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Mikey Duran (SS) 10p Howlin’ Wolf: K. Flay, Missio, Matt Maeson (PO) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Lynn Drury (FO) 9p New Orleans Creole Cookery: Ed Barrett Trio (JV) 6p Palm Court Jazz Cafe:Will Smith and Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Brass with Mark Braud (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Mark Braud (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Amanda Ducorbier (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Quiana Lynell (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Russell Welch’s Band (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): La Noche Caliente with Muvelo and Mambo Orleans (LT) 9p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Chris Christy (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Street Music with Kings of Brass, Da Truth Brass Band, Big 6 Brass Band,TBC Brass Band (VR) 10p SUNDAY JUNE 16

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (TJ) 11a, Molly Reeves and Nahum Zdybel (JV) 5p, Steve Pistorius Jazz Quartet (JV) 7p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p Fillmore: Drag Diva Brunch (VR) 10:30a House of the Blues (the Parish): She Wants Revenge (PK) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kerry Irish Pub:Will Dickerson (FO) 8p Palm Court Jazz Cafe: Mark Braud and Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 7p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Will Smith (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn O F F B E AT. C O M

Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Roderick Harper Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Antoine Diel and Arsene DeLay (JV) 2p, Robin Barnes and the FiyaBirds (JV) 7p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, the Clementines (JV) 8p MONDAY JUNE 17

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay and Charlie Wooton (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (VR) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Joe Lastie’s New Orleans Sound (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars with Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamey St. Pierre (SS) 8p SideBar NOLA: Instant Opus Series feat. Nahum Zdybel, Alex Canales and Murphy Smith (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 10p Three Muses: Andre Bohren (JV) 5p, Esther Rose (JV) 8p TUESDAY JUNE 18

Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p,Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Cyril Neville Jam Session (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars with Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Lynn Drury (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Stanton Moore Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Dana Abbott (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Sinking City Selects (VR) 8p Three Muses: Keith Burnstein (VR) 5p WEDNESDAY JUNE 19

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie OF F B E AT.C OM

Sanchez (SS) 7p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin Band (JV) 8:30p d.b.a.:Tin Men (RK) 7p,Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (JV) 6p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat. Rickie Monie (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Amanda Walker (PI) 8p Smoothie King Center:Twenty One Pilots (RK) 7p 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): SONO presents Shape of Jazz to Come (JV) 9p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Schatzy (JV) 8p THURSDAY JUNE 20

Buffa’s: Rebecca Leigh, Harry Mayronne and Chris Wecklein (VR) 5p,Tom McDermott and friends (JV) 8p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Alexis and the Samurai (ID) 7p, Little Freddie King (BL) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Sababa Jazz (JV) 6p House of the Blues (the Parish): Jake Shimabukuro (VR) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Howlin’ Wolf (the Porch): Kompa Konnesction (RE) 9p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Ogden After Hours feat. Ross Newell (VR) 6p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Darrian Douglas and the Session (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Salvatore Geloso Trio (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Muses:Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, JUNE 2019

express St. Louis Slim (JV) 8p FRIDAY JUNE 21

Buffa’s: Calvin Johnson (JV) 6p, Charlie Wooton (VR) 9p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin Band (JV) 9p d.b.a.: Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 6p, MainLine (BB) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (FO) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Body Theif, Artica, and Catbamboo (RK) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Porch): Alfred Banks 10-Year Celebration feat. Alfred Banks, Michael P. Black, Prosper Jones, M Shah (HH) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Hugh Morrison (FO) 5p, Paintbox with Dave James and Tim Robertson (FO) 9p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Jamie Lynn Vessels Band (JV) 9p SideBar NOLA: Mia Borders (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Maid of Terra (JV) 2p, New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings (JV) 6p, Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Pinkies Up with DJ Kemistry (VR) 10p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Concert Series feat. Dave Jordan and the NIA, Motel Radio (VR) 10p SATURDAY JUNE 22

Buffa’s: Marla Dixon (JV) 6p, Marina Orchestra (VR) 9p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a Central City BBQ: NOLA Caribbean Festival (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Frog and Henry (JV) 4:30p, BrassA-Holics (BB) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (FO) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den):WordPlay and YANRAN (HH) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Porch): Klean: All White Affair (RE) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Shannon Powell Jazz Quartet (JV) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Neshia Ruffins (RB) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Kerwin and Geoff Coats (FO) 5p, Paul Ferguson (FO) 9p New Orleans Creole Cookery: Ed Barrett Trio (JV) 6p

JUNE 2019

Preservation Hall: Preservation Brass with Mark Braud (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Mark Braud (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: 12 Stones, Akadia (RK) 9:30p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Hyperphlyy (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Jorge Luis Pacheco Direct from Cuba (MJ) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Jazz Band Ballers (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 10p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Teddy Lamson (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p SUNDAY JUNE 23

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (TJ) 11a, Meryl Zimmerman (JV) 5p, Steve Pistorius Jazz Quartet (JV) 7p Central City BBQ: NOLA Caribbean Festival (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (JV) 6p Fillmore: Drag Diva Brunch (VR) 10:30a House of Blues: Old 97’s, Bottle Rockets (RK) 6p House of the Blues (the Parish): New Year’s Day (PK) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge:TBC Brass Band (BB) 6p Kerry Irish Pub:Traditional Irish Session (IR) 5p, Beth Patterson (FO) 8p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Will Smith (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Paul Thibodeaux Organ Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: John Lisi and Delta Funk (JV) 2p, Robin Barnes and the FiyaBirds (JV) 7p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, the Clementines (JV) 8p MONDAY JUNE 24

Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay and Charlie Wooton (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (VR) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Joe Lastie’s New Orleans Sound (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars with Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamey St.

Pierre (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, New Orleans Swinging Consensus (JV) 10p Starlight: Kirk Duplantis Trio (JV) 6p, Justin Donovan (SS) 9p, Shindig with Keith Burnstein and Amanda Walker (SS) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Simple Play Networking Happy Hour (VR) 5p Three Muses: Bart Ramsey (JV) 5p TUESDAY JUNE 25

Buffa’s: call club (VR) 7p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p,Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Gasa Gasa: the Appleseed Cast (RK) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Cyril Neville Jam Session (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars with Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Lynn Drury (SS) 8p Snug Harbor: Oscar Rossignoli Trio (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Dana Abbott (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p WEDNESDAY JUNE 26

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin Band (JV) 8:30p d.b.a.:Tin Men (RK) 7p,Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (JV) 6p House of the Blues (the Parish): Ocean Alley (RE) 7p Kerry Irish Pub:Will Dickerson (FO) 8:30p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat. Rickie Monie (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Charlie Gabriel (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Amanda Walker (PI) 8p

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 Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p, Joy Patterson and Matt Bell (JV) 8p THURSDAY JUNE 27

Buffa’s: New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp (JV) 5p,Tom McDermott and friends (JV) 8p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Andrew Duhon (SS) 7p, Green Demons, Chris Lee Band (FK) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Kerry Irish Pub:Vincent Marini (FO) 8:30p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (BB) 11p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Ogden After Hours (VR) 6p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat. Gregg Stafford (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Lucien Barbarin (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Chubby Carrier and Bayou Swamp Band (ZY) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Jasen Weaver Band (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Salvatore Geloso Trio (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Three Muses:Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (JV) 8p FRIDAY JUNE 28

Buffa’s: Gordon Towell (VR) 6p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, Cedric Watson and Bijou Creole (KJ) 10p Dmac’s: Hyperphlyy (CW) 9p Fillmore: Steel Panther (RK) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (FO) 7p Kerry Irish Pub:Tim Robertson (FO) 5p, Beth Patterson (FO) 9p Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Shannon Powell (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Amanda Ducorbier (JV) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) O F F B E AT. C O M

8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy Forest Treeaux (JV) 2p,Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 6p, Soul Brass Band (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Brass and Beats: Kings of Brass with DJ Raj Smoove (BB) 9:30p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Free Friday Concert Series feat. Khris Royal and Dark Matter, Gravy (VR) 10p SATURDAY JUNE 29

Buffa’s: Jerry Jumonville and the Jump City Jammers (JV) 6p, Marc Stone (BL) 9p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Steve DeTroy and the Swing Revue (JV) 4:30p, Soul Rebels (BB) 11p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Mighty Brothers (ID) 7p, Matt Scott (VR) 10p Howlin’ Wolf:Taylor Williamson (CO) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave Hickey (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Preservation Hall: Preservation Brass with Mark Braud (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat. Mark Braud (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Monty Banks (JV) 6p, Hyperphlyy (VR) 9p Saenger Theatre: Rob Thomas (RK) 7p Snug Harbor: Herlin Riley Quartet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Jazz Band Ballers (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, the Catahoulas (JV) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): DJ RQ Away presents Happy Feelins with TonyaBoyd Cannon (SO) 9:30p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p SUNDAY JUNE 30

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (TJ) 11a, Nattie Sanchez’s Songwriter Circle (SS) 5p, Steve Pistorius Jazz Quartet (JV) 7p Café Beignet (Musical Legends Park): Steamboat Willie Jazz Band (TJ) 10a d.b.a.: Palmetto Bug Stompers (SI) 7p, Carlo Ditta Band feat. Freddie Stahle CD-release show (VR) 10p Fillmore: Drag Diva Brunch (VR) 10:30a Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge:TBC Brass Band (BB) 6p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8p OF F B E AT.C OM

Preservation Hall: Preservation Legacy Band feat.Will Smith (TJ) 5p, Preservation All-Stars feat.Wendell Brunious (TJ) 8p Royal Frenchmen Hotel: Jamie Lynn Vessels (RK) 8p Snug Harbor: Jonathan Freilich Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Giselle Anguizola and the Swinging Gypsies (JV) 2p, Robin Barnes and the FiyaBirds (JV) 7p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, the Clementines (JV) 8p FESTIVALS May 31-June 1

The Cathead Jam music festival takes place in Jackson, Mississippi at the Cathead Distillery with live music and food and drink vendors. CatheadJam. com June 1-2

The New Orleans Oyster Festival at the Woldenberg Riverfront Park features live music, food and drink vendors, and oyster-eating and shucking competitions. NolaOysterFest.org June 8

The inaugural Bluesberry Festival at Bogue Falaya Park in Covington includes blues music, food and drink vendors, and an arts market. TheBluesberryFest.com June 8-9

The French Market’s Creole Tomato Festival features live music, food and drink vendors honoring the tomato, cooking demonstrations and more. FrenchMarket.org June 20-23

The NOLA Caribbean Experience includes a two-day festival at Central City BBQ, a parade on Canal Street and others events. NolaCaribbeanFestival. com June 22-23

The Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival at Armstrong Park features music by regional Cajun and Zydeco bands, food and drink vendors and an arts market. JazzAndHeritage.org/Cajun-Zydeco SPECIAL EVENTS June 23-28

The New Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp takes place at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.TradJazzCamp.com Ongoing

The “Drumsville!: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat” exhibit is on display at the New Orleans Jazz Museum. NOLAJazzMuseum.org JUNE 2019

backtalk

Mitch Woods talks back

Photo OURTESY of Conqueroo

inger-pianist Mitch Woods found his thrill in by John Wirt mances with local musicians led to the 2008 CD/DVD release, Big Easy Boogie. Woods recruited Domino’s the pre-rock and roll music of blues shouter producer and co-writer, Dave Bartholomew, to produce the album, Wynonie Harris, the boogie-woogie pianists Meade Lux which features Domino band members Herb Hardesty, sax, and Lewis, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson, and the Latin tingedEarl Palmer, drums. His 2010 album, Gumbo Blues, is a tribute to blues-boogie of Professor Longhair. Of course, Fats Domino Smiley Lewis, the New Orleans singer-guitarist and Domino peer inspired him, too. Woods celebrates Domino with his new album, who released a major R&B hit in 1955, “I Hear You Knocking,” as A Tip of the Hat to Fats. In 2018, Woods and his band, the Rocket well as the original recording of Domino’s 1956 crossover hit, “Blue 88s, recorded the album in front of a full house at the New Monday.” Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival’s Blues Tent. The Rocket 88s A Tip of the Hat to Fats features Domino songs, Woods’ rendifeature saxophonists Roger Lewis (the Dirty Dozen, Fats Domino), tions of Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88,” and the jump blues classic Amadee Castenell and Brian “Breeze” Cayolle (Allen Toussaint), “The House of Blue Lights,” as well as his tribute to Professor guitarist John Fohl (Dr. John), bassist Cornell Williams (Jon Cleary), Longhair, “Mojo Mambo.” Woods’ previous album, 2017’s Friends and drummer Terence Higgins (Dr. John, Toussaint, George Porter Along the Way, pairs him in duets with Van Morrison, John Lee Jr.). Hooker, Taj Mahal, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Ruthie Foster, Although the San Francisco Bay Area-based Woods didn’t and Maria Muldaur. perform at the 2019 Jazz Fest, he played “breakfast boogie” sets at Ahead of his West Coast album-release shows, and summer the Bywater Bakery concurrently with the event, plus A Tip of the festival dates in Poland and France, Woods spoke to OffBeat from Hat to Fats album release show at the Louisiana Music Factory. his home in Marin County, California. Woods’ association with New Orleans began in 1981, the year he first visited the city. By then, he’d already been a professional During your 2018 set at the Jazz Fest, you told the musician for more than a decade. In his teens, Woods performed audience it was one of the greatest days of your life. with rock and roll bands in his native New York City. He particiYeah, I don’t lie on stage. The reception was great, the musicians pated in the Buffalo music scene during his college years. From were killing it. Everybody played great solos. And I could let them 1971 on, he based his eventually international career out of the really go and do it, like the stuff Roger [Lewis] used to do on stage San Francisco Bay Area. with Fats. He really stretched out on “Jambalaya.” During Woods’ inaugural trip to New Orleans, he opened You didn’t originally plan for your 2018 Jazz Fest perforfor James Booker, the pianist many consider the city’s greatest mance to be the concert album A Tip of the Hat to Fats? keyboardist, at the Maple Leaf Bar. Woods later lived in New It wasn’t in the works, but Munck Music does live recordings out Orleans often enough to regard it as his second home. Perfor-

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backtalk there. And I had my all-star band and we had a packed house. It’s a great showcase for what I do with the band, and it’s a tribute to Fats Domino, who is, of course, one of my heroes. And New Orleans is a piano town. That’s something that attracted me to New Orleans. As opposed to any other city in the country, New Orleans respects piano players. Do you remember when you first heard a Fats Domino record? Back in the day, Mad Magazine put these little humorous records inside the magazine. They had a record about spacemen invading Earth, with all these snippets of songs on it. There was a snippet of a Fats song. It stuck in my mind. I finally saw him play in California and then I saw him on the Riverboat President during Jazz Fest. That got me hooked on Fats. When did you hear boogie-woogie piano for the first time? My mom was a single parent. She hired our building superintendent, Mr. Brown, to take me to and from school. I guess I was in the first or second grade when we stopped at his relatives’ house and a guy was playing boogie-woogie piano there. I said, “I want to do that.” You began piano lessons at 11, but those were actually classical piano lessons? That was good for the basics, but I got bored with it. So, we found a bebop musician who taught me popular music and jazz, improvisation, chords. It got me inspired again and I stayed with it. When did you start playing the jump blues, boogie-woogie and R&B styles that you’ve based your career on? I was going to the University of Buffalo and there were a lot of small clubs and musicians around there. When I started sitting in with people, they said, “Oh, you sound like the old boogie-woogie guys.” And I heard about Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson. I got all the records by them I could find. And Champion Jack Dupree was one of my first explorations. I didn’t know he was from New Orleans then, but I loved what he did. It’s very rustic, you might say. I got to meet him later, and I love his stuff to this day. Although you studied those boogie-woogie records, you didn’t want to copy them exactly? I played along with the records, but I never tried to do exactly what those guys did. I did it how I could do it. One of the singers and musicians from New Orleans you love, Smiley Lewis, played guitar, not piano. Your Gumbo Blues album is a tribute to him. Dave Bartholomew and Herb Hardesty, they said Smiley Lewis should have been much more successful, but he never got the breaks. Fats’ version of “Blue Monday” was very similar to Smiley’s, but in a warmer style that could cross over to white audiences. Domino’s singing style can be like an intimate conversation, inviting the listener in. Whereas Lewis had such a powerful,

projecting voice. Dave and Herb talked about Smiley Lewis like he was an opera singer. They said he could blow the roof off without a microphone. He had this big voice. So, when I did the album, Gumbo Blues, it was about my voice. What do you like about Lewis and his music? I love the songs. There’s a lot of jump blues in there, really the beginnings of rock and roll. And I thought he was an underrated artist who people would love if they heard his stuff. What was your experience in the studio with Dave Bartholomew like? So, initially I got the band together—Earl [Palmer], Herb [Hardesty], Ervin Charles and the others. And Earl and Herb kept saying, ‘You gotta get Dave in on it.’ I tried, but Dave wasn’t easy. He said he wasn’t interested. But then—and I think Earl and Herb spoke with him—he finally agreed. Dave came to the session and stayed on the side for a while. After we started recording, he came in a little closer. Before I knew it, he was in charge. That’s what I wanted him to do. He created all these great hits that will last forever. I wanted him to do that for me. What did Bartholomew contribute to your performance? There’s a segment on the DVD, where Dave is right at the piano, in my face, telling me how to sing. He says, ‘Open your mouth boy! Open your mouth!’ ‘Yes, sir.’ It was like having the best teacher in the world. He was “The Chief,” and everyone respected him as such. I also learned how vital Dave was in creating the Fats Domino catalog. He was working with all these great musicians, but they weren’t organized. Dave knew how to whip them into shape. To see that happen in person, it was priceless. For instance, when Dave told Herb, an incredible saxophone player, to do a solo, he’d say, ‘Okay, now. You open the door. Now close the door.’ And then we’d get that perfect solo that fits on the record. That was one of the biggest musical educations of my career. I’ve taken it with me. And Dave helped me with my singing and projecting, and how to formulate a song and get it concise in the studio. The Big Easy Boogie CD/DVD features you with three key players from New Orleans’ classic rhythm and blues and early rock and roll era: Dave Bartholomew, Earl Palmer and Herb Hardesty. The great thing about that project was becoming friends with all of those musicians and making music with the creators of rock and roll. But during your set at the 2011 Jazz Fest, you experienced a scary incident involving Herb Hardesty? In the middle of the set, Herb keels over on the stage. I lost it. The best moment of my life, playing Jazz Fest, turned into the worst moment of my life. And they pretty much dragged Herb off the stage. It turned out he had heatstroke and passed out. But then I knew he was better because, at the end of the set, his son came over and said, “Herb wants his money now.” O

My mom was a single parent. She hired our building superintendent, Mr. Brown, to take me to and from school. I guess I was in the first or second grade when we stopped at his relatives’ house and a guy was playing boogie-woogie piano there. I said, “I want to do that.”

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