OffBeat Magazine May 2018

Bayou Time:

Bayou Boogaloo Guide & Stage Schedules Page 23

Cha Wa J'wan Boudreaux's family tradition continues in a new generation of Mardi Gras Indian funk bands.

NEW ORLEANS MUSIC, FOOD, CULTURE—MAY 2018 Free In Metro New Orleans US $5.99 CAN $6.99 £UK 3.50

Backtalk with Tony Hall ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons Passport P • Charles Neville Big Sam's Funky Nation

PHoto: elsa hahne

We’re Comin’ for Ya!

BLAST FROM THE PAST "Chief Smiley Ricks & Donald Harrison, Jr.: The Mardi Gras Indian Connection"

Cha Wa creates a mashup of Mardi Gras Indian chants and brassy horns.

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LETTERS

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MOJO MOUTH

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Five Questions with filmmaker and photographer Danny Clinch; Celebrating 30 Years: Alex McMurray; Five Questions with MidCitizen's Reid Martin.

OBITUARY

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Trombonist Corey “Passport P” Peyton considers rap.

300 SONGS FOR 300 YEARS

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This month’s installation of classic songs features four of the city’s cornerstone keyboardists.

CHIEF OF CHIEFS

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Robert Nathaniel Lee and the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, 1915-2001.

SHARP DRESSED MAN ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on taming that beast.

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BAYOU BOO

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OO GUIDE

IN THE SPIRIT

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Margot Denman at N7 mixes up a Tokyo Refresher for Walter “Wolfman” Washington.

Charles Neville

TRAVERSING THE MAP

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OFFBEAT EATS

By Jonathan Tabak February 2001 33

Chef Nina Compton of Compere Lapin dishes on her Curried Goat while Peter Thriffiley reviews DTB.

REVIEWS

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Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Billy Iuso & the Restless Natives, Keith Frank & The Soileau Zydeco Band, The Junior League, Chas Justus & the Jury, Tephra Sound, Brittany Purdy and more.

LISTINGS

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BACKTALK with bassist Tony Hall

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“This country has a long history of violence, in almost every walk of life, from politicians starting wars to the cowboys; so the Indians have had their share of violence, but [...] there is an entity still left in America that keeps a certain thread back to the people who had everything taken away from them.”

—Donald Harrison, Jr. MAY 2018

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Letters

“I was lucky enough to see Charles and his brothers perform on their regular tours down under. From all music fans god bless Charles and the Neville Nation.”

—Craig Strath, Caloundra, Queensland, Australia

Dancing Man 504 Your response [Letters to the Editor, April 2018] ignores an important but seemingly obvious distinction between Mardi Gras Indian culture and the more general New Orleans parade traditions. The second line tradition is essentially an invitation to participate. Isn’t the whole point of an invitation to step off the sidewalk and join in? Mardi Gras Indian tribes on the other hand are not open clubs. Quite the opposite they have historically been somewhat secretive, even within their own communities, and thus fit into the age-old tradition of masking that lives on in New Orleans. I think the fact that the culture remained insular amongst the rest of New Orleans Mardi Gras culture over the years is the reason they still command a reverence today.

—Hugh Teatsworth, Eagle Rock, California

Tuba Skinny Erika sings Louisiana but does not talk it, is she changing for the atmosphere, no complaints just asking. Yes I love their music and I do buy their CDs. —Tim Sutton, Greensboro, North Carolina

Commitment Needed The following letter is in response to Jan Ramsey’s blog post, “Commitment Needed,” asking for support for musicians.

I have never written a letter to a magazine but I had to respond to Jan Ramsey’s Mojo Mouth piece, “Commitment Needed” (April 2018). I couldn’t agree more. My only addition to the editorial is that perhaps OffBeat could provide a guide of specific ways that New Orleanians and all readers of OffBeat can love and support the music, the musicians themselves and the culture of New Orleans. Ramsey writes, “There’s lip service on music’s importance in our lives… [but] Where is the passion?” Beyond a very simple and obvious first step of paying for music and putting money in the tip jars (which we should of course keep doing) there are

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May 2018 Volume 31, Number 6 Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jan V. Ramsey, janramsey@offbeat.com Managing Editor Joseph L. Irrera, josephirrera@offbeat.com

numerous amazing organizations, charities, institutions that need our support—by volunteering time, energy, skills and money.

A very partial (and please excuse me) inevitably incomplete list might include such groups as Tipitina’s Foundation, New Orleans Musicians’ Assistance Foundation/Musicians’ Clinic, Roots of Music, Make Music NOLA, Ashé Cultural Center, Cajun Music Preservation Society, Threadhead Cultural Foundation, Trombone Shorty Foundation, the Ellis Marsalis Center, WWOZ, the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans and on and on. If we are honest about loving the music and the musicians, we need to put our money and our bodies where our mouths are.

—Julie Nalibov, New Orleans, Louisiana Very well said. Over the years—while trying to promote New Orleans and Louisiana music and musicians for over 30 years—we’re convinced that local residents and business’ overall support for our music is still lacking.

We don’t really promote this overtly, but we should let you know that the OffBeat Music and Cultural Arts Foundation’s Best of the Beat Music and Music Business Awards events are produced by a non-profit that needs support from the people who love music. Without the help of the community and our sponsors, OMACAF would not be able to keep the events going. It is not a revenue-producing venture; it only exists to make the musicians and music infrastructure businesses feel that they are doing something special and worthwhile.

We suggest you add OMACAF to your list of groups that deserve your support.—Ed.

Charles Neville This saddens me greatly. I live in Australia and whilst there is a huge distance I was lucky enough to see Charles and his brothers perform on their regular tours down under.

From all music fans god bless Charles and the Neville Nation.

—Craig Strath, Caloundra, Queensland, Australia

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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Louisiana Music, Food & Culture

Consulting Editor John Swenson Food Editor Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Listings Editor Katie Walenter, listings@offbeat.com Contributors Nick Benoit, Frank Etheridge, Elsa Hahne, Amanda Mester, Brett Milano, Jennifer Odell, Peter Thriffiley, Christopher Weddle, Dan Willging, John Wirt, Geraldine Wyckoff Cover Elsa Hahne Art Director/Food Editor Elsa Hahne, elsahahne@offbeat.com Web Editor Amanda Mester, amanda@offbeat.com Copy Editor Theo Schell-Lambert, theo@offbeat.com Advertising Sales/Promotions Coordinator Camille A. Ramsey, camille@offbeat.com Advertising Design PressWorks, 504-944-4300 Business Manager Joseph L. Irrera Interns Danika Andrade, Raphael Helfand, Devorah Levy-Pearlman 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 © 2018, OffBeat, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. OffBeat is a registered trademark of OffBeat, Inc. First class subscriptions to OffBeat in the U.S. are available for $45 per year ($52 Canada, $105 foreign airmail). Back issues are available for $10, except for the May issue for $16 (for foreign delivery add $6, except for the May issue add $4). Submission of photos and articles on Louisiana artists are welcomed, but unfortunately material cannot be returned.

MOJO MOUTH

We Need More

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s I work and write this, I’m listening to Bonerama pump out an in-store at the Louisiana Music Factory downstairs. How lucky are we OffBeaters that we get to listen to all the in-stores while we work?

We also always get to see massive numbers of music fans who stray in during Jazz Fest week and come up to visit OffBeat. It’s a joy talking to people who are like-minded: They love New Orleans, they love our music. And they are all from outside New Orleans, every one of them. This morning we had folks in from New York, Italy and Australia—locals don’t really pop in to visit during Jazz Fest.

I was explaining this fact to one of our visitors who was simply

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amazed that more New Orleanians didn’t love their music as fervently as those people from out of town do. These people are dyed-in-thewool members of the “Church of New Orleans” (one of our visitors is starting a website by that name!).

But a good majority of the people from New Orleans ironically don’t belong to the church.

Last week, Joseph and I went to buy some flowers for our garden at a local nursery and in talking to one of the young guys who worked there, we asked what day he was going to Jazz Fest. Guess what? He had never heard of Jazz Fest. Sad but not surprising. How can a culture that is so fascinating to and revered by so many people

By Jan Ramsey outside New Orleans get short shrift in its hometown?

Honestly, I think it’s because our educational system doesn’t put any emphasis on the uniqueness of our culture. Music and arts instruction isn’t institutionalized. Our culture isn’t taken seriously by most people who live here.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have that “Jazz Fest” vibe all year long vis-à-vis our music and culture? We’ve already got a strong relationship to food that transcends being a local or a tourist. What do we need to do as a city that will elevate the love of music to that of food?

What can we do to elevate locals’ participation in our musical culture

to an every-day occurrence, not just a seasonal “Jazz Fest” awareness? And even more importantly, how does music and culture get the same respect and support that sports teams do?

The answer is pretty simple: money.

This city should commit more of its monetary resources to creating a committed populace of existing citizens—and a future market—that recognize the importance of our music and culture. The fact that we have a plethora of festivals—like Bayou Boogaloo—to celebrate music and food is a very good thing; it keeps us mindful of why we love living here.

But we need more.

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Photo: michael alford

Bo Dollis, Jr. at Downtown Super Sunday 2018

SOUNDCHECK

OffBeat.com

Photo courtesy of the artist

Five Questions with Danny Clinch, Music Photographer and Documentary Filmmaker

SWEET TWEETS

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hat is your connection to New Orleans music?

Several years before Katrina, my wife and I were invited down to Jazz Fest. We had the time of our lives, as you do when you go to Jazz Fest for the first time, and fell in love with New Orleans and the vibe there. When Katrina happened, my friends at Superfly organized the Big Apple to the Big Easy fundraiser to help replace instruments. I was photographing during soundcheck and taking pictures of the reflections of Radio City Music Hall in Ben Jaffe’s tuba while he was rehearsing. We talked and completely hit it off. That began my friendship with Ben. Once I had friends that deep in New Orleans culture, I was hooked.

What did you learn about Cuban musical traditions from the A Tuba to Cuba project?

What was really interesting was the big connection between New Orleans and Cuba because of trade before the embargo [enacted in 1962 by President Kennedy]. And the influence that the slaves had musically and culturally to both places. We realized the rhythms that had come from Africa and seeped into Cuba, seeped into New Orleans, were a direct link between the two cultures.

What was your favorite moment from working on the film?

Our first time going somewhere to photograph a meeting between the guys in Pres Hall and Cuban musicians was when we went to a jazz social club on the outside of Havana that had long been a meeting place for jazz musicians.

They introduced Charlie Gabriel to this 90-year-old man who had taught himself to tap dance listening to pirate radio from the USA and had tap danced in performance with Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie and all these incredible jazz musicians who had come through Cuba. They introduced this man to Charlie and they had a jam: Charlie started playing his clarinet and the man started tap dancing along with him. It was such a pure musical conversation.

What do you hope audiences take away from A Tuba to Cuba?

I would hope people understand how important traditional music is to the two cultures. There’s a strong sense of passing on these traditions to the younger generations. What is important and exciting in that regard is what Ben Jaffe is doing with Preservation Hall Jazz Band—honoring the tradition but also pushing the envelope wide open, knocking down walls, musically and culturally, to bring Pres Hall to a new place.

How does music translate into a visual medium?

I think there’s a strong connection. Music informs emotion and visuals inform emotion. You put the two of them together, they become more than the individual parts. They become something bigger.

—Frank Etheridge

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@akadrjohn Rest in peace to Dr. John’s brother in music Charles Neville, who carved his first walking stick. @BrianWBoyles The funkiest thing I ever heard live was Charles Neville playing sax with a band of Angola inmates on a version of The Gap Band’s “Early in the Morning.” RIP. @jeffalbert Just spent 20 minutes cleaning the steam wand on the espresso machine, then opened the fridge to find we are out of milk. @CWaddington504 Amazing show. So glad @OffBeatMagazine previewed David Murray in New Orleans. Snug Harbor rules during @jazzfest !! @BeyondBourbonSt (Mark Bologna) When you can’t decide @jazzfest—don’t!

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CELEBRATING

January 2004 1988-2018 “I Love Alex McMurray, Everybody’s Favorite Songwriter —Back from Tokyo”

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ffBeat Magazine is celebrating 30 years and reached that milestone with our November 2017 issue. To mark the anniversary, over the next 12 months OffBeat will re-publish excerpts from features and interviews from the past 30 years.

In our eighth installment, from our January 2004 issue, Christen Hardy interviews Alex McMurray, who is playing Bayou Boogaloo this month:

“For months McMurray walked around the amusement park performing in front of tourists who had no idea what he was singing. ‘It was as close to madness as I ever want to be.’”

After the breakup of Royal Fingerbowl, McMurray decided to take a job that most musicians would call unorthodox. He flew to Tokyo, and picked up the alter ego of Captain Sandy, a sea shanty singing “atmosphere guy” at Tokyo Disney Sea. “It’s right next to Tokyo Disneyland.” For months McMurray walked around the amusement park performing in front of tourists who had no idea what he was singing. “It was as close to madness as I ever want to be,” McMurray says. “The loneliness was incredible.”

Asked about his experience in Japan, he gave these responses: The Japanese Passion for Costuming: “In Yoyogi Park every Sunday, there’s this whole goth girl parade. The Japanese look great in costumes. Plus, they’re all wearing uniforms. Everybody’s in uniforms every day—the ‘Salary Man’ wears a uniform, the ‘Office Lady’ wears a uniform, the school kids wear uniforms and their grandmothers wear uniforms. Costumes are an escape.”

Japanese Fetishism: “The Japanese are fetishists. There’s a pocket of fandom for everything. You see boom-box Elvises in the parks—these guys in greaser outfits: black t-shirts, black jeans, motorcycle boots and these pompadours sticking out this far. For eight hours, they would twist in a circle. One guy would go in the middle and shake it, then he would go back to the perimeter and another guy would go in the center and dance. For eight hours.” www.OFFBEAT.com

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SOUNDCHECK

Max Bonanno, Tavia Osbey, Reid Martin

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imple Play Presents’ artist-management team of Reid Martin, Tavia Osbey and Max Bonanno has announced the launch of a new firm, MidCitizen Entertainment. With a roster including Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas, Naughty Professor, Alfred Banks and more, the fledgling Mid-City operation places heavy emphasis on consistent, strategic touring regimens for those artists. Martin has worked in the industry for over a decade, including stints as tour manager for the Soul Rebels, helping found Gasa Gasa and managing the award-winning Tank and the Bangas since their inception.

What is MidCitizen’s primary goal in the music industry?

In a nutshell it is to build sustainable international careers for New Orleans artists. My strategic place in the industry is to have a line on what is happening in New Orleans, but have the connections in the hubs of L.A., New York and Nashville to know what dots to connect for our artists.

How did the idea for MidCitizen Entertainment come about?

Tavia, Max and I, who started MidCitizen, were all already doing artist management for Simple Play Presents. When Ron [Simple Play founder Ron Richard] got a job as a talent buyer for One Eyed Jacks, we thought it made sense to split off the artist-management division since that’s what the three of us were doing exclusively, anyway.

What is your area of focus for your clients, specifically?

Our first goal is to get them established as a touring artist. In New Orleans, you’re not going to make it as a musician if you don’t have an incredible live show. The obstacle that I encounter more so than I would in other cities is I get artists who have an amazing live show who just don’t know how to make a great record yet. It makes sense that their focus should be on generating revenue from being a live performer. Everything else, we build around their touring career.

Is there a lack of infrastructure in New Orleans to help artists develop a well-rounded career?

One-hundred per cent. There’s Basin Street Records, but there is a lack of labels here. There’s a lack of booking agents. There’s a lack of management firms. What we do have here is the live music business.

We’ve got all the promoters; we’ve got tons of clubs, tons of festivals.

So that’s a great breeding ground for folks to cut their chops.

On a personal level, what do you hope to accomplish?

You can’t pay attention to the ebbs and flows of the music business. You just have to do what’s right by your artists. The goal is to build careers, so they can create music their whole lives. I don’t give two shits about what’s hot right now.

—Amanda Mester

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Photo: katie sikora

Five Questions with MidCitizen Entertainment Co-founder Reid Martin

IN MEMORIAM

Charles Neville 1938-2018

Photo: jef jaisun

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axophonist Charles Neville—forever known to fans as “Charlie, the horn man”—was the secret ingredient in the Neville Brothers’ mix, the brother whose jazz instincts took them to another level. Neville, who died last month of pancreatic cancer at age 79, was also a link to the fabled days of the Dew Drop Inn, where he began performing in the ’50s.

As the one Neville who didn’t sing and seldom talked onstage, Charles may not have gotten as much spotlight as his brothers Art, Aaron and Cyril. But his instrumental tunes, which bridged the gap between bebop and modern funk, were a key part of Nevilles shows; and the sax/guitar duel on “Yellow Moon” was a consistent highlight. Charles was also front and center on “Healing Chant,” the Yellow Moon instrumental that gave the Nevilles their only Grammy as a group.

The second son of Arthur Lanon Neville Sr. and Amelia Neville, Charles left the family’s Valence Street home at age 15 to tour with the Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel Show. As part of the Dew Drop house band he later played with Johnny Ace, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter and other legends, before serving in the Navy 1956-58—a period that he said was highlighted by his getting stationed in Memphis and discovering Beale Street. There he met B.B. King and Bobby Blue Bland, with whom he toured on sax, and was also a touring member of Larry Williams’ band. The ’60s and early ’70s found him playing countless jazz and R&B sessions, ultimately moving to New York.

Harder times came as well: Though he acknowledged a decades-long struggle with heroin addiction, it was a marijuana charge that landed him at Angola during the early www.OFFBEAT.com

1960s. During his incarceration he worked on his music, playing with James Booker among others. At the behest of his uncle George Landry (Big Chief Jolly), Charles returned to New Orleans to take part in 1976’s landmark Wild Tchoupitoulas sessions that led to the Brothers’ formation as a band, and in 1986 he embraced sobriety; his avuncular presence became one of the Nevilles’ trademarks. In a recent OffBeat interview, George Porter Jr. noted that Charles was an inspiration to him when he too was getting sober.

Charles’ work outside the Neville Brothers attests to his far-ranging musical interests. 1990’s aptly titled album Diversity, recorded with a band of that name, reinvents Gershwin, Jobim and Charlie Parker material along with a handful of originals, in a lineup that includes violin, cello and harp.

Later in the ’90s he co-founded the Songcatchers, a band fusing African, Indian and Native American music, and appeared with them on Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD tour. His final solo work, Safe in Buddha’s

Palm, continued his interest in the spiritual aspects of jazz.

Charles’ daughter Charmaine Neville has also emerged in the past few decades as a top-flight jazz vocalist. Though the Neville Brothers played their last official show at the Saenger Theater during Jazz Fest 2015, Charles continued to tour as a regular member of brother Aaron’s band. In recent years he spearheaded a jazz circuit in western Massachusetts, where he moved with his wife Kristin later in the ’90s.

Among his many area gigs was the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, which is produced by Kristin’s nonprofit, Blues to Green. A benefit for Charles was held last February at Northampton’s Academy of Music, including Branford Marsalis and Aaron among others.

Tributes to Charles began pouring in during the first weekend of Jazz Fest, where one of his musical colleagues, the great saxophonist Charles Lloyd, began his set with an “ascension” piece in Neville’s honor. “We go back a long way, Charles—thank you for the love and kindness,” tweeted Harry Connick Jr. In his own tribute, Mac (Dr. John) Rebennack credited Charles with carving his first walking stick.

His brothers also paid tribute.

Said Aaron Neville on Facebook, “My dear brother Charlie the horn man, just want you to know that if I would’ve had the choice of picking my brothers, I would definitely choose you. You were a great brother. You’ll always be in my heart and soul, like a tattoo.”

Added Cyril Neville in an official statement, “My brother… is not only a great musician but one of the most amazing human beings that ever lived. He brought love and light everywhere he went. I will miss his physical presence but his spirit will continue to guide me.”

—Brett Milano MAY 2 018

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Traversing the Map The Soul Rebels trombonist Corey “Passport P” Peyton raps with global ambition.

PHoto: german roque

“I

’m looking at life through a wider frame,” Corey “Passport P” Peyton says in the intro track of his new solo rap project, Global Ambition. It’s a reflection of the broadened horizons resulting from a career largely built on the road.

The 30-year-old New Orleans East native has crisscrossed most continents, first as a trombonist in Hot 8 Brass Band and now as one of the newest members of the Soul Rebels, whose current résumé boasts collaborations with hip-hop giants like Rakim, Nas, DMX and more.

“When I first started going overseas, it broadened my view a lot. And that’s what my new project is about—looking at things from a different perspective, because I understand how fortunate I am to have traveled to all these places.”

But even before informing that expanded perspective, his travels quite literally assigned him his identity. “The name ‘Passport P’ came from me losing my passport while on the road. I was with Hot 8 at the time. It was a joke at first, because I was just getting high and losing my passports. I lost it in London once. A bunch of times I had to get a new one expedited. I came back home one day and got on Facebook and changed my name to Passport P to remind myself about my passport issues. Then... it stuck, and people started calling me that in public. To this day, some people come to a Soul Rebels show and call me Passport P. And I haven’t lost my passport in a while [laughs].”

Drenched in panache and fueled by a ceaseless drive, Peyton and his sense of personal style inform the music he makes as Passport P, which may best be described as “swag-rap,” a term he admittedly hates to use. “I’d

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By Amanda Mester

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PASSPORT P say my sound is stylish. I’m kind of a stylish person, not to toot my own horn. There’s a lot of nuances of that stylishness and the swagger thing. But because of me being a musician, there’s a lot of melodic shit, too.”

His musicianship is certainly a token of his New Orleans upbringing; as a member of one of the world’s dominant brass bands, he traffics in the export of the New Orleans “sound” around the world. But with his rap music, he’s eager to dismantle preconceived notions. “New Orleans is eclectic but you do have the people who think they know what New Orleans rap is supposed to sound like, and they’re doing that. Where I fit in is, it’s different,” he explains. “First of all, I just do what I feel. I don’t feel like I have to say ‘I gotta keep it New Orleans.’ I know what New Orleans sounds like.”

Peyton first picked up the trombone at 11 years old, and by 14, was producing hip-hop beats. “At the time, all my friends

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used to get together and rap and I wanted to be a part of that. I would record their stuff to instrumentals we downloaded off of LimeWire and Kazaa.

We used old computer booths and blankets and a computer mic and we’d go to work right there, in the house. My mom had a computer and somebody told me about FruityLoops and I downloaded it for free,” he says.

“Since then, I’ve been interested in the [recording] process. I would hear songs and it would amaze me how good the song sounded and how they got to that point, from a production standpoint. I didn’t know what engineering was at the time, but I was always amazed by how a record would come together.”

During his tenure at Sarah T. Reed High School, he “dibbledabbled with production” before eventually being bitten by the rapping bug. All the while playing his horn, his two passions began to dovetail.

“I was playing music at the same time and making a little money, so the rap stuff was more like a hobby. I never had any intention of making shit happen with it, but I knew that if I learned the process of recording, I could one day make it happen.

When I wasn’t playing music, I was always making songs on the side or helping people put songs together.” He studied music production at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston and, in 2014, self-released his self-produced and self-mixed debut mixtape, Epic Vibez.

“I just was always selfsufficient,” he tells me about the innate nature of his aspirations. “I watched my parents work hard.

I was fortunate in that situation, because a lot of my friends grew up in single-parent homes. I had both of my parents, and a lot of my friends didn’t. That had a big effect on me. I started Da Truth [Brass Band] way back in high school, with a couple of friends

that’s still in the band. I was always the one that tried to make all my friends believe that the shit was possible, because I believe that if you put in the work, you can make things possible. I’m a testament to that. So I had to be inspiring for my friends.”

When I ask him if he ever thinks about his rap career overshadowing that of his hornplaying, he’s not reticent in his response. “It comes across my mind all the time. I love playing my horn and I’ve done a lot playing my horn. But I feel like there’s a lot more to be done. I want to try something new but, at the same time, I’m not going to abandon my [other career].”

Whether he’ll ever have to make that choice remains to be seen, but what is evident now is that Global Ambition is proof-positive that Passport P’s determination will continue to present him with options. “I guess all those years of dibbledabbling paid off.”

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300 SONGS

300 Songs for 300 Years

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he piano is an enduring constant in New Orleans music, and this month’s installation of classic songs features four of the city’s cornerstone keyboardists—six in fact, since the Dr. John track includes Allen Toussaint and Art Neville. Most of these songs went into the standard repertoire: Dr. John’s was a high-water mark for local music on the charts; Booker’s was the miracle moment of a fraught session, Newman’s is a song that, for better or worse, is now ingrained with local history.

Finally we have a latter-day Cleary classic informed by all the above.

—Brett Milano

James Booker

“Louisiana 1927” Randy Newman, 1974 It all depends on whether you’re talking about “Louisiana 1927” before or after Katrina.

The song itself never really changed, but the context irrevocably did. As originally recorded for Newman’s Southern concept album Good Old Boys, “Louisiana 1927” was an historical period piece—certainly a poignant song, and with one of Newman’s most haunting melodies, but still a song you could listen to dry-eyed. The original lyric was indirectly about Huey Long, who used fallout over the 1927 flood to stoke local resentments and help get himself elected; so it’s as much a campaign song as a lament.

But after 2005, the issue of government inaction after a natural disaster became a lot more resonant.

Everyone who follows New Orleans music probably has a memory of seeing a local artist do an emotional version of “Louisiana 1927” in the months

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that followed. For me it was Marcia Ball, who’d already been doing the song for years, but not with quite so much intensity.

For many others it was John Boutté, whose performance of “Louisiana 1927” at the 2006 Jazz Fest ranked with the celebrated Springsteen set as one of that festival’s most cathartic moments. Both Ball and Boutté saw fit to underline the parallels by replacing President Coolidge’s name with President Bush; Boutté went a step further and sang, to much applause, of Bush flying over Louisiana “with about 12 fat men with double martinis in their hand.”

Ball and Aaron Neville, among others, sang “this poor people’s land” (or in Boutté’s case, “this poor Creole’s land”) instead of

Newman’s more caustic “this poor cracker’s land.”

Newman himself had the last word: When he played the song at Jazz Fest in 2008, he first invoked the government’s “shameful, disgraceful” response to Katrina, then delivered the song with such audible anger that his voice cracked. Randy Newman’s voice absolutely never cracks.

—Brett Milano

“Classified” James Booker, 1982 The story behind this one is fairly legendary by now: Producer Scott Billington, then a young hotshot with the Rounder label, finds himself in the studio with an irascible genius. He’s only got three days to make a James

Booker album, and the first two are outright disasters. “He chose a number of classic, somewhat obscure New Orleans R&B songs that he wanted to record,” Billington recalls. “And when we got into the studio, all of that went out the window. On the second day in the studio he wouldn’t speak to anybody. In one of his rare moments of speaking to me, he said that he wanted Earl King and Cyril Neville in the studio. Somehow we got them, and he wouldn’t speak to them either.” On the third morning Billington showed up at the studio to find a good-natured Booker waiting at the door, ready to play. Most of what made up the Classified album—one of only two proper studio albums that Booker ever cut—was recorded over the next four hours. www.OFFBEAT.com

Image by Michael P. Smith, Copyright The Historic New Orleans Collection

Keyboardists.

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Producer Scott Billington... finds himself in the studio with an irascible genius. He’s only got three days to make a James Booker album, and the first two are outright disasters.

“Classified”—a song he had performed onstage, but not that often—was one of many songs that got sprung without warning that day, and the released version was the first and only take. While it shares a few licks with the Dr. John song “Qualified”—a song they probably played together when Booker toured in Rebennack’s band—Booker takes it further out. The two-minute intro spins dizzying variations on a rhythm riff, and the lyric, though largely different, shares the defiant feel of the Dr. John song (“Some say I’m crazy, some say I’m dumb/ That doesn’t mean they know where I’m coming from”). Billington got out with a close-to-definitive Booker

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record, and a few life lessons as well. “It certainly caused me a few sleepless nights, but it was the first time I could look at a musician and say, ‘This is what a genius is.’”

—Brett Milano

“Right Place, Wrong Time" Dr. John, 1973 This track was a high-water mark for New Orleans music in the ’70s, putting Dr. John, Allen Toussaint and the Meters into the Top Ten at once (the single peaked at number nine). Unlike all other Dr. John albums, the two he made with Toussaint (In the Right Place and Desitively Bonnaroo)

were full collaborations that featured Rebennack mainly just as writer and singer; the funky electric piano on this song was Toussaint and the Meters provided the groove (the guitar solo was a New York session guy, David Spinozza). The Doctor had some high-profile help with the lyrics pf this song: According to his autobiography, Bob Dylan came up with “I was on the right trip, but it must have been the wrong car”; Bette Midler followed with “My head was in a bad place, I don’t know what it’s there for”; Texas legend Doug Sahm kicked some words in as well. The daringfor-the-charts line about “the right vein, must have been the

wrong arm” was apparently Rebennack’s own. He also claimed that the line about “needing a little brain salad surgery” (yes, the line Emerson, Lake & Palmer borrowed for an album title) was Ninth Ward neighborhood slang for oral sex, but it’s hard to imagine anybody else dreaming that one up.

In the wake of the album’s success Dr. John joined the ranks of rock royalty, recording with a couple of Beatles (albeit in their most shambling sessions, including John Lennon’s with Phil Spector), touring with the Allman Brothers, and even doing a few benefit shows for the Black Panthers. The peak of this era, however, was a 1974

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As a ’60s child in Kent, England, Cleary was soaking up U.S. imports while his friends were still at home with their Beatles and their Stones. episode of the PBS music show Soundstage that he hosted with Professor Longhair, the Meters and Earl King, all at the top of their form. The show was only briefly released on video and was never on DVD, so thank God for YouTube.

—Brett Milano

“Bringing Back the Home” Jon Cleary, 2016 Pianist Jon Cleary took a lot from New Orleans, and in this small epic of a song, he gave it all back. One of the later explicit Katrina songs, this appeared 10 years after the flood, on Cleary’s GoGo Juice album; it begins as a stately dirge and ends as a funky

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second line. Cleary’s aim here is to celebrate the music that New Orleans gave the world, and the closing chant of “Jazz, funk, rhythm-and-blues and soul” does the trick.

“Everyone was making Katrina songs and they were all depressing, a bit maudlin,” Cleary told us. “What I wanted to say came from something Bonnie Raitt told me one night, about New Orleans music being a gift to the world. So what the song says—and it says this in a long, Proustian run-on sentence—is that the music is the heart and soul of the people of New Orleans, and that’s the greatest gift America gave the world. Which is to say, it’s all

about the normal people of New Orleans, and that’s the resource that was lost when people didn’t come back after Katrina.

It’s about the heartbeat of the funk, which is what you see just by walking down St. Bernard Avenue.”

As a ’60s child in Kent, England, Cleary was soaking up U.S. imports while his friends were still at home with their Beatles and their Stones. He also devoured John Broven’s music book Walking to New Orleans—“I read it until those names were imprinted in my mind,” he said—so he knew he was in the right place when he came to town in the late ’70s, stopped by the Maple

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Leaf and saw Earl King onstage.

Cleary absorbed the local piano traditions and took his place in the funk frontlines, usually leading the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

GoGo Juice got Cleary his only Grammy for Best Regional Roots Album—an experience he associates with chewing gum. “I was just sitting there daydreaming when they called my name. And somebody had given me a stick of gum, which is something I never normally do. So I got up there and gave a garbled speech with this big piece of gum in my mouth. I couldn’t very well stick it under the podium.”

—Brett Milano

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Chief of Chiefs

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obert Nathaniel Lee, renowned as Big Chief Robbe, tells of his lifelong journey in the Mardi Gras Indian tradition as carefully as author Al Kennedy does in capturing it in Chief of Chiefs. Robbe, who sewed his first suit in 1929 as a member of the Creole Wild West, makes a point of differentiating between events that he experienced or heard about firsthand from reliable sources, which were many, and tales and dates that he makes sure to say he can’t confirm. In other words, Big Chief Robbe was a man of integrity who brought his solid values to his work ethic and daily life, and to his involvement in the Black Indian Nation.

Because of Robbe’s deep respect and admiration for his mentor, Big Chief Brother Tillman, Chief of Chiefs could almost be considered his oral biography about the legendary Mardi Gras Indian who was vital in the culture beginning in the 1920s.

Through Robbe’s words, readers are privileged to follow both lives simultaneously from the time, as a young boy, Robbe would seek out the powerful Tillman just to hear him speak and watch him sew until, due to age and illness, Robbe’s Big Chief of the Creole Wild West was forced to give up the streets. It was thought that Robbe would take over the gang, in which he then held the position of spy boy, however, Brother Tillman had one request: “Baby boy, don’t take my name.”

Of course, Robbe respectfully honored his entreaty.

For one year, Robbe stood as the Big Chief of the Golden Blades, after which he and his many followers formed the White Eagles. Interestingly, the name was inspired by a 1932 movie,

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White Eagle. Chief Robbe, who donned his last suit in 1962, went on to “pull” two other gangs, the Ninth Ward Hunters and the Golden Arrows.

Those and many other, little-known facts are revealed in Kennedy’s numerous conversations with Robbe. For instance, the introduction of the “falling crown,” a headdress on which the feathers move, came about when a man named Isidore Clark brought back from Oklahoma a crown made by Native Americans. Tillman and other Black Indians disassembled it to see how it was constructed and then reassembled it again.

Since that time, falling crowns, which “open and close,” have been regularly created and worn by the Mardi Gras Indians.

Robbe was skilled at working with a needle and thread sewing and beading his suits, though admits he wasn’t good at drawing. He explains that using the money he saved from the

By Geraldine Wyckoff

many jobs he did in his Uptown neighborhood, he would buy comic and coloring books to trace the images of Native Americans to use on his suits. Following in the footsteps of Tillman, Robbe remained a traditionalist reserving his respect for those Mardi Gras Indians who constructed their entire suits from crown to shoes.

Like his mentor, he also didn’t approve of those who, after use, would sell their suits. “Brother Tillman never would sell anything he had—I don’t care how broke he was,” Robbe remembers.

“Before he’d sell it, he’d tear it up because he didn’t want the other fellows to get ahold of it.”

Back in the day when neighborhood butcher shops were plentiful, the Indians would stop in to collect turkey feathers to adorn their suits. White feathers were particularly sought as they were best for dying.

Ostrich plumes became popular in more recent times, though Robbe was always firmly against

their use. “The first Indians had never saw an ostrich, so they couldn’t wear plumes,” he says.

“Every feather that the native Indian wore was off a bird that could fly. Nobody ever saw an ostrich flying…”

To further the conversation, Kennedy turned to several other, now deceased Black Indians, Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr. of the Guardians of the Flame and Isaac “Mr. Ike” Edward, both of whom knew Big Chief Robbe during the times he masked Indian as well as the era in which he lived. The quotes from Harrison come primarily from the author’s equally important book, Big Chief Harrison and the Mardi Gras Indians. Edward, who died in 2017, came up under Big Chief Brother Tillman, followed Robbe into the Golden Blades and helped him and Lawrence Fletcher establish the White Eagles.

One doesn’t necessarily need to be a follower of the Black Indians to fully appreciate the worth of Chief of Chiefs. It stands solidly as a fascinating history of New Orleans from the perspective of a black man fully engaged in its culture and the day-to-day struggle to hustle (often backbreaking, jobs) while dealing with racial antagonism and often hostile police.

Big Chief Robbe, who was born on May 21, 1915, began losing his sight at age 62, a condition his sister blamed on sewing in dim light. On St. Joseph’s Night in 1962, he donned an Indian suit for the last time to lead an estimated four or five gangs from Uptown to Downtown—an unprecedented event.

The Chief of Chiefs, as declared by the Mardi Gras Indian Council, passed away on January 19, 2001.

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PHoto: detail from the book cover

Robert Nathaniel Lee and the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans, 1915-2001.

ZZ TOP

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Sharp Dressed Man

SAENGER THEATRE Sunday, May 20 7:30 p.m.

PHoto courtesy of the artist

ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on taming that beast.

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illy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, collectively known as ZZ Top, probably are the only intact major rock band from the 1960s still firing on all cylinders. Since their formation in 1969, ZZ Top’s blues-based sound has yielded international sales of 30 million records and the classicrock staples “La Grange,” “Legs” and “Sharp Dressed Man.” ZZ Top’s May 20 show at the Saenger Theatre is a makeup date for November 12, when bassist Dusty Hill’s stomach illness led to the cancellation of the show. OffBeat interviewed ZZ Top singer-guitarist Billy Gibbons in September, a few weeks after the band’s hometown, Houston, had been devastated by floods that accompanied Hurricane Harvey.

On September 10 in Sugar Land, Texas, ZZ Top played the first major concert in the Houston area after Hurricane

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Harvey. Was it a concert unlike any you’ve played before?

It was a unique experience, a homecoming to a hometown that was devastated but not down for the count.

Many first responders attended your show in Sugar Land at the Smart Financial Centre. What was your take on the overall vibe, atmosphere and spirit in the audience?

Surprisingly upbeat. The abiding feeling was one of moving forward.

Folks there needed a break from the magnitude of the disaster experience.

The show seemed to provide some momentary enjoyment. I mean, what ZZ Top does is based on the blues and it’s often said that the blues is there when you need ’em. We were happy to provide that at a time of real need.

You scheduled your Sugar Land show many months ago, so it

By John Wirt

seems to be destiny that ZZ Top played that particular date. Are you pleased that Texas band ZZ Top performed the first big rock concert in the area after the flood?

Absolutely! We personally knew a significant percentage of the audience, so if ever the term “friends and family” would apply, this was it. We were encouraged by their spirit and resilience.

ZZ Top launched from Houston.

Do you think the band would exist as we know it today if not for your musically formative years in Houston and the Gulf Coast region?

Most likely the sound would have been quite different if things had coalesced elsewhere. There’s the Gulf Coast vibe, the blues tradition and easy access to border radio. Houston is a blues town that attracted so many innovators, like Lightnin’ Hopkins. There’s a reason stars like Ray Charles and B.B. King

came to Houston to further their careers. It’s something special.

Has Hurricane Harvey and the flooding, and the people’s response to the disaster, inspired you to write a song or songs?

We’re in the midst of a flurry of writing and recording, so what that hurricane wrought might have an impact on that. We’ll see what the power of introspection lays down.

On May 20, you’re playing at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans. During Hurricane Katrina, the Saenger experienced wind damage and subsequent flooding. It’s beautifully restored now. New Orleans is a famously musical city not far from Houston.

Were you deeply affected by the 2005 flood in New Orleans?

Nobody from the greater Gulf Coast area and beyond wasn’t affected in some way by that calamity.

New Orleans has always represented www.OFFBEAT.com

ZZ TOP a cultural mecca to us, so it was monstrous to see what happened in ’05. We’ll not soon forget.

After you, Dusty and Frank have played together through these many years, do you have a groove and chemistry that’s instinctive?

Beyond instinctive. It’s downright telepathic. We don’t know beforehand when one of us is going to twist off into uncharted territory, yet something kicks in and preserves the groove. Muscle memory!

You formed ZZ Top in Houston in 1969. Why and how have you guys kept ZZ Top cruising so strong for so many years?

As Sun Ra used to say, “Space is the place.” We give each other enough space to be our own individual selves.

Of course, when we’re together, it’s a three-headed monster that we can’t control on our own. It takes a collective effort to tame that beast!

Do you have plans yet for your 50th anniversary year, 2019?

People are starting to ask this question. We’re starting to ponder an appropriate answer. Playing louder is what we’ve come up with.

You played the first ZZ Top gig on February 10, 1970, at a Knights of Columbus Hall in Beaumont. At that gig, or when you guys first got together, did you know that you had something good?

That was our first real gig, so Beaumont holds a special place in our collective memory. But we clicked before that gig, when we initially got together to see if we had any chemistry. What was supposed to be a 30-minute audition turned into a ferocious, three-hour jam session. That got the party started. It’s really still the same.

Beyond being bandmates, are you, Dusty and Frank best friends?

We’re all best friends with ZZ Top. Each of us has a unique relationship with the other, but it’s hard to define “best.” We’re best friends with the sound we make together. That keeps us quite close.

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PHoto: erika goldring

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We’re Comin’ for Ya!

Cha Wa creates a mashup of Mardi Gras Indian chants and brassy horns.

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hen a Mardi Gras Indian striding down a New Orleans street yells, “Cha wa!” he’s warning nearby Mardi Gras Indian gangs, “We’re comin’ for ya!” It stands as a signal of his tribe’s arrival on a block or in a community. For the Cha Wa band, co-led by vocalist J’Wan Boudreaux, the grandson of the Golden Eagles’ noted Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, and drummer/percussionist Joe Gelini, it’s a declaration of its serious intent to carry on as well as revisit the rich street cultures of the Black Indians and brass bands that flourish here. As heard on its latest release, Spyboy, which features personnel from both traditions, Cha Wa creates a sound that successfully mashes up Mardi Gras Indian– based esthetics with brassy horns direct from a second line parade.

“It’s one big culture,” J’Wan declares, adding that there are guys who mask Indian and also play in brass bands. “On Super Sunday you have both—the second line [organizations] and Indians in one parade.”

“I think it’s a connection with the drums—the rhythms,” he continues. “Sometimes you’ll hear the beat that the bass drum and the snare drum play with the brass bands and you hear it in Indians too. And they sing Indian songs like ‘Shoo Fly,’ ‘Li’l Liza Jane’ and ‘Shallow Water.’ They took some of the songs from the Indian culture and made them into brass band songs.”

At age 20, J’Wan boasts an incredibly long history of masking Indian, having put on his first suit at age two as a spyboy with the Golden Eagles, led by his grandfather Monk Boudreaux. His mother, Wynoka Boudreaux, who in recent years became Monk’s Big Queen, helped him build his suits until about the time he reached his teens. “There is no greater pleasure than putting on a freshly done suit on Mardi Gras Day,” J’Wan declares with deep sincerity that typifies this thoughtful young man.

J’Wan is the lead vocalist on the new album though during many years with the Golden Eagles he simply observed his grandfather’s vocal and storytelling talents and the contributions made by other members of the gang.

“I wasn’t always a singer,” he admits. “I was watching everybody else sing and I said, ‘Yeah, that’s what I want to do.’ When I started sewing I guess that’s when I started really singing. Eventually, my voice started developing and I started doing it, sometimes back by the drums and singing the response part then in the lead.”

“I went to one of J’Wan’s gigs and he shocked me—I didn’t know he could sing like that,” says Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, who is a very special guest on Spyboy. He and his grandson are heard together on two cuts on the new album, the provocatively intense “Visible Means of Support,” on which Monk forcefully tells of when he was a teenager and he would be sent to jail for not having proof of employment even though he worked from the time he was 14. The www.OFFBEAT.com

BAYOU BOOGALOO Sunday, May 20 Urban South Lafitte Stage 1:10-2:20 p.m.

By Geraldine Wyckoff

policemen’s words, “If you don’t pay the fine, you must do the time,” ring throughout his commentary while J’Wan sings the chorus. On the prayerful “Indian Red,” which opens dirge-like and includes Nigel Hall on keyboards, Monk and J’Wan trade off on carrying the lead vocals.

“This is the first time I’ve ever recorded with him so this was a whole different experience,” J’Wan says. “He was well experienced on recording and I was just getting the feel of it. When he came, he just laid down his part. He did what he had to do and left. He didn’t hang around too much or listen to it or nothin’.”

“Monk is a one-track wonder,” agrees Gelini, who has also paid his dues in the Mardi Gras culture playing drums both on and off the street backing Big Chief Monk and the Golden Eagles. “It was amazing to be in the room when Monk and J’Wan got to do “Indian Red” together. That really felt like a special moment watching them trade verses and then sing together and watching Monk and seeing how proud he was. It was an amazing experience to be witnessing the next generation and culture progressing.”

Gelini, 40, the elder and founder of Cha Wa, grew up on the east coast and got to know New Orleans through his father’s love of the city and its music. “My dad was a huge influence on me and helped me discover New Orleans,” says Gelini, adding that his father would talk about New Orleans when he returned from business trips here. “When I was growing up, he used to tell me about this place called Tipitina’s. He exposed me to the Neville Brothers and Dr. John and a lot of the music that I listen to now like Louis Armstrong and traditional jazz. He brought me down here when I was 18 and I came back every year after that for Jazz Fest.”

One time in particular that Gelini remembers is when the plan was to meet his dad in the city. His father’s instructions were quite exact: “When you get off the plane, take a cab and tell them to take you to a place called Snug Harbor and I’ll be there.”

Gelini moved to New Orleans immediately after graduating from Boston’s Berklee College of Music and jumped into the music scene.

He recalls his first encounter with the Mardi Gras Indians at Tipitina’s where the Wild Magnolias with Big Chief Bo Dollis and Big Chief Monk Boudreaux were performing.

“I was just blown away by the whole thing,” he remembers with the excitement of the experience still in his voice. “It was sort of like I had found what I was searching for. It was really mind expanding. In listening to the Wild Magnolias, I heard all of the influences that I had listened to in the Neville Brothers, Dr. John and the Meters. It was an ‘a ha’ moment—oh, it comes from this. I made that connection.”

As it often goes in New Orleans, Gelini hooked up with musicians as he began working around town and, fortuitously, he did some subbing for artists who were managed by Reuben Williams. Williams, MAY 2 018

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a vocalist who managed and continues to manage Monk, also led a reggae band called the Uppressors and Gelini started playing drums with the group. On occasion, Monk would sit in on some of the Uppressors’ gigs and thus, Gelini, who was already intrigued by the Black Indians, got to meet Monk, one of the most respected chiefs in the Indian Nation.

“I started going to his house and going with him on Mardi Gras,” Gelini recalls. “He told me to go check out Geechie [noted bass drummer Norwood Johnson, who is a guest on Spyboy] at the Handa Wanda bar. That’s when I got into doing the street stuff because I felt I needed to understand that to really make the connection of how it developed into the funk rhythm section with Willie Tee and the Gaturs backing the Wild Magnolias [as heard on the 1970 single ‘Handa Wanda.’] I always say you can’t really do the modern funk stuff if you don’t understand the street stuff. Then I got a chance to play with the Wild Magnolias when Monk and Bo [Big Chief Bo Dollis Sr.] got back together.”

“Joe drifted way into it,” says Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of Gelini’s entrance into the music and culture of the Mardi Gras Indians.

“Drummers they can play what they teach you at school but when you get up there with the Indians that’s a different story. That’s got to come from the heart. He had to learn the street music first before he could play it on stage.”

In 2010, Gelini formed what he calls the “first gathering” of Cha Wa, an ensemble that has gone through a number of personnel changes. Only he and J’Wan remain in the lineup heard on the band’s first album, 2016’s Funk ‘N’ Feathers.

“It started out because I selfishly was so infatuated with the music I wanted to play it more,” Gelini explains on putting the group together.

“We would only play with Monk [and the Golden Eagles] a handful of times a year. I started it [Cha Wa] with J’Wan’s uncle, Eric Boudreaux, his nickname is Yedi, and he was the singer and Colin Lake was the

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first guitar player. And then Honey Bannister [Creole Wild West gang flag Irving Bannister] started singing with us for a while.” Gelini goes on to add that after J’Wan graduated from high school, he and Bannister would both sing lead parts.

One of the contributing factors in Cha Wa’s change of instrumentation and thus sound was the sudden loss of keyboardist Stephen Malinowski, who passed away in June of 2016. “That really rocked our world and it also precipitated the change from playing with like a funk rhythm section to a brass band rhythm section,” Gelini explains. “I thought that was the most representative of where J’Wan was coming from. He second lines with the Young Men Olympian [Benevolent Association] so he’s involved with the second line community too. We wanted that to be represented in our voices more.”

“I started off-and-on with the Young Men Olympian (YMO) before Katrina and I’ve just been back with them for two or three years,” J’Wan offers. “I’m with the fifth division—the Untouchables with Norman Dixon Jr. and the TBC Brass Band.”

Likewise, Monk was also a member of YMO parading in the fifth division, then called the Big Jumpers. He remembers once, sometime in the 1980s or ’90s, when he had a gig with the Golden Eagles out in California and after driving clear across the country, he arrived in New Orleans at 7 a.m. on the same day of the Young Men Olympian’s annual anniversary parade.

That meant four hours of dancing in the street. Monk recalls thinking to himself, “I can’t keep doing this.” The decision of what to eliminate was a no-brainer. Big Chief Monk Boudreaux is an Indian for life.

The mix of brass band musicians and Mardi Gras Indians permeates the membership of Cha Wa. Many second line regulars will recognize Joe Maize, who the band has nicknamed Jose to differentiate him and Joe Gelini, as blowin’ trombone with the TBC (To Be Continued) Brass Band. He and J’Wan co-wrote the first cut, “Cha Wa,” which is obviously a rather sophisticated variation on the traditional “Injuns, www.OFFBEAT.com

PHoto: elsa hahne

“I always say you can’t really do the modern funk stuff if you don’t understand the street stuff.”

—Joe Gelini

COVER STORY

Here Dey Come.” It opens with the sousaphone of Clifton “Spug” Smith who runs with the Black Hatchet Indian gang and also plays the large horn with the Big 6 Brass Band alongside Cha Wa trumpeter Eric Gordon who’s a member of the Golden Comanche Mardi Gras Indians. Rounding out this Indian/brass connection is vocalist Thaddeus “Peanut” Ramsey, another member of the Big 6 who also holds the position of spyboy with the Black Feathers.

The thread that lovingly ties the New Orleans musical community together continues in Cha Wa with Haruka Kikuchi, a trombonist who is often heard playing in traditional jazz bands. Rounding out the core group, new arrival to the Crescent City, guitarist Ari Teitel boasts solid creds in jazz, funk, Mardi Gras Indian music and beyond.

According to Ben Ellman, who produced both of Cha Wa’s albums, it was by design that Spyboy sounds brassier than the band’s first album. “We took a different approach on recording the brass on this record,” says Ellman, a saxophonist with the rock/funk band Galactic and a busy producer, having worked with Trombone Shorty, the Revivalists, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and co-producing Galactic. “The other record was recorded sort of tight and isolated.

On this record we went for a sort of roomy horn sound—having all of the horns playing in one room together at the same time and the musicians standing next to each other. On a sonic level that was a very conscious decision to make the horns sound less studio—a more complete sound. We were really going for the big horn room sound.”

“Watching the transformation of J’Wan was amazing,” Ellman continues on his experience producing Cha Wa’s second release.

“Between the two records, to me, it showed that he’s been studying and practicing and taking vocal lessons and taking being a singer seriously. He’s become so much stronger because I think that he decided that’s what he’s going to do. I figured it’s something that he’s always known he was going to do.”

Spyboy presents more original material than Cha Wa’s debut CD and the band’s smart choices of cover tunes hit the spot. They include “Hey Baby,” the 1961 hit by Bruce Channel that always gets a crowd singing along. “It’s usually used for weddings and parties so everybody just knows it,” J’Wan says explaining its popularity in the brass band community and noting that on the album it features vocalist Danica Hart.

Cha Wa also selected Bob Marley’s classic “Soul Rebel,” in part, says Gelini, because the group wanted the album to have some “protest vibe” represented in both the covers and originals like the aforementioned “Visible Means of Support” and J’Wan’s “Chapters,” on which he sings, “You don’t know about me… you don’t know nothing about what’s in my book.”

“I felt that ‘Soul Rebel’ kind of fit under that [protest vibe] moniker of being able to be a free thinker and not being marginalized by the sort of crazy regime that’s happening in our country right now— racism, police brutality and all that shit,” Gelini says.

“We used to do a [reggae] mix of ‘One Love,’ a reggae version of ‘Brother John’ and ‘Three Little Birds,’” says J’Wan, while also acknowledging his grandfather’s love and use of reggae in his music.

“Bob Marley was his idol. He actually went down to Jamaica and recorded a whole reggae album.” (According to Monk, the album www.OFFBEAT.com

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“We know so many of the traditional songs and we’ve played them for so long that we’re taking that root system and we’re sort of flipping the script a little bit and augmenting it with more contemporary music.”—Joe Gelini

still needs finishing up so it hasn’t been released yet. Incidentally, Monk Boudreaux was with Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias when they opened for Bob Marley & the Wailers at the Warehouse on July 30, 1978.)

Gelini reminds us that there have always been a lot of similarities amongst the call-and-response Mardi Gras Indian songs, offering as an example the relationship between “Shoo Fly” and “Injuns, Here Dey Come.” “We know so many of the traditional songs and we’ve played them for so long that we’re taking that root system and we’re sort of flipping the script a little bit and augmenting it with more contemporary music that we listen to.

‘Spy on Fiya,’ has the chord changes of ‘Wade in the Water’ and we did it as a straight-up Afrobeat groove.

It was definitely Fela Kuti–inspired.”

The saxophone of Yirmeyahu Yisrael, a talented musician who’s worked with Trombone Shorty and others, definitely brings a very modern edge to this traditional song. “‘Can’t Cage a Bird,’ ‘Chapters,’ and ‘Visible Means of Support’ were not derivative of the traditional songs, just highly influenced by them,” Gelini adds.

Beyond performing at local clubs, events and festivals, Cha Wa has been touring nationally and internationally for the last three years. “They were hugging us when we got off the stage at the Blue Note in Tokyo,” Gelini fondly remembers.

“J’Wan is really good about explaining to the audience at the beginning of the show what the story is with us. That we’re not just coming up here trying to pretend like we’re Native Americans, and that there’s a whole bloodline history—he’s a direct descendant of the Cherokee and Choctaw [tribes]—and how runaway slaves were harbored by the Native Americans.

“My grandfather didn’t really talk about it [our Native American ancestry],” J’Wan points out. “We’d either have to ask him or we just had to research it. I feel that it’s touching. We took a trip to Taos, New Mexico and really got to talking to the Native Americans.”

A special moment of that trip came when a man named Patrick “Mountain Bird” Trujillo explained Native American drum beats to the visitors. “He played that beat while we sang ‘Indian Red,’” Gelini remembers with pleasure.

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“I think the intention of the drum is the same,” says Gelini, speaking of the Native American and Black Indian cultures. “I think you’re trying to get in touch with and tap into whatever you want to call it—the spirit—or whatever that universal energy is.” For the Mardi Gras Indians the importance and spirituality of the drum, an instrument that boasts a great voice, goes back to its African source.

Gelini feels confident in the stability of Cha Wa’s current membership as it has remained intact since the reorganization of the band soon after the group’s first recording. “This is the most ensemble-based group that we’ve had in our history,” declares its founder.

“I had been thinking for a while about having it be a more street-based, streetinfluenced band. We drew the new members from our friends—it’s not like six degrees of separation. It’s a pretty tightly knit friendship of people. It’s not like just hired guns.”

On the cover of Spyboy, J’Wan Boudreaux, donning his pretty, jeweled, beaded and feathered red suit that he wore on Mardi Gras 2018, stares resolutely with a fabricated hatchet in hand as if to say, this spyboy is here to stay. Inside the CD’s jacket, many great thanks are given to Big Chief Monk Boudreaux.

No words ring truer than the bow down to Monk and his huge and constant influence: “We would literally be nothing without you.”

“Every time I sing, he says, ‘Use your singing voice—you can’t sing like you talk,’” J’Wan says, relating just one of the many, many things that his grandfather has taught him. This advice helped the ascending young vocalist realize the difference between singing on the streets with just drums and being on the stage with more instruments.

“From Monk I learned how to not be afraid to be yourself,” Gelini says. “That the important part is the passion and the intent—just feel the spirit. Often I would describe him as a shaman on stage. He would be feeling this energy and he would just go to this place. The goal was to get to that place—not phoning it in. I think the thing that has been most enjoyable for me is seeing J’Wan carrying the torch and to see him develop from a teenager to a young man and become this amazing singer, bandleader and storyteller. That’s the thing I’m most proud of.”

“When he was a little boy, J’Wan always told me, ‘Grandpa, I want to be just like you.’ And he is just like me but he doesn’t know it yet. I tell my grandson what they told me: ‘Just keep doin’ what you’re doing.’”

O www.OFFBEAT.com

PHoto: erika goldring

CO V

EATS

“I

made a cocktail for Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington because when I first moved to New Orleans I got a job at Boucherie uptown and one of my regulars was Hank Staples of the Maple Leaf—such a sweet man. He’d come to the bar and have dinner and write his name on a paper napkin and we’d call them ‘hankies’ [laughs]. Anyway, he gave them to all of us on the staff so that after our shift we could go dancing and drinking at the Maple Leaf. You presented your ‘hanky’ at the door and the door people let us in for free so we could see some music. Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington played the first night I ever went out and that was the first time I had really seen music like that.

My parents lived here and went to medical school at Tulane.

They worked at Charity [Hospital]

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for a long time, so I heard so many crazy stories about New Orleans growing up in Portland, Oregon. They were working at Charity in the ’80s, so I heard some crazy shit. We had come down here to visit a few times, but I had this whole idea of New Orleans that was so magical.

Seeing Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington—awesome guy with a dangly earring—playing the coolest music... That was like, ‘What is this place?’ Then I started seeing him around town.

One of my favorite bars was Pal’s, and I’d see him at Pal’s all the time, just drinking, hanging out.

When I started working here at N7, since it’s a French-Japanese place, I started getting really interested in Japan. There, people drink chuhai, which is shochu mixed with soda or fruit juice or something.

By Elsa Hahne

So I made a chuhai for Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington—as if Pal’s was in Japan... We were joking and saying we should call this cocktail WWWWWD, or What Would Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington Drink? [laughs] But that was just too silly.

N7 is like the I-10, the N stands for ‘national’ in French—N7 is the name of the highway that bisects France. In August, people pack up their cars and families and hop on the N7 and stop on the way at farmhouses that do popups for hungry travelers. And it became such a big thing that the Michelin tire company made an index of the popups and gave them a star—a Michelin star, that’s the origin. So we do small plates for people who want to relax, hang out and drink wine. Lots of wine, or chuhai.”

photos: Elsa Hahne

Margot Denman/N7

Tokyo Refresher 3/4 ounce umeshu plum wine 1/4 ounce sudachi shochu 1/2 ounce green chartreuse 1/4 ounce yuzu juice 1/4 ounce simple syrup 1/2 ounce cucumber juice 2 ounces soda water Mix all ingredients in a rocks glass. Add an ice ball, large cubes or whatever ice you have.

Garnish with cucumber slices. www.OFFBEAT.com

Restaurant R’evolution: 777 Bienville St., 553-2277

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

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

GROCERY STORES Breaux Mart: 3233 Magazine St., 262-6017; 2904 Severn Ave. Metarie, 885-5565; 9647 Jefferson Hwy. River Ridge, 737-8146; 315 E Judge Perez, Chalmette, 262-0750; 605 Lapalco Blvd., Gretna, 433-0333 Mardi Gras Zone: 2706 Royal St., 947-8787

ICE CREAM/CAKE/CANDY Aunt Sally’s Praline Shops: 2831 Chartres St., 944-6090 Bittersweet Confections: 725 Magazine St., 523-2626 Sucré: 3025 Magazine St.,520-8311 Tee-Eva’s Praline Shop: 4430 Magazine St., 899-8350

AFRICAN Bennachin: 1212 Royal St., 522-1230

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

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

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

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

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

FINE DINING Bombay Club: 830 Conti St., 586-0972 Broussard’s: 819 Conti St., 581-3866 Commander’s Palace: 1403 Washington Ave., 899-8221 Kingfish: 337 Chartres St., 598-5005 Mr. B’s Bistro: 201 Royal St. 523-2078

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INDIAN Nirvana: 4308 Magazine St., 894-9797

Gattuso’s: 435 Huey P Long Ave., Gretna, 368-1114 Hard Rock Café: 125 Bourbon St., 529-5617 House of Blues: 225 Decatur St., 412-8068 Howlin’ Wolf’s Wolf Den: 907 S. Peters St., 529-5844 Le Bon Temps Roule: 4801 Magazine St., 895-8117 Little Gem Saloon: 445 S. Rampart St., 267-4863 Maison: 508 Frenchmen St., 289-5648 Mid City Lanes Rock ‘N’ Bowl: 4133 S. Carrollton Ave., 482-3133 NOSH: 752 Tchoupitoulas St., 581-7101 Palm Court: 1204 Decatur St., 525-0200 Rivershack Tavern: 3449 River Rd., 834-4938 Siberia Lounge: 2227 St. Claude Ave., 265-8865 Southport Hall: 200 Monticello Ave., 835-2903 Snug Harbor: 626 Frenchmen St., 949-0696 Three Muses: 536 Frenchmen St., 298-8746

NEIGHBORHOOD JOINTS Biscuits and Buns on Banks: 4337 Banks St., 273-4600 Cake Café: 2440 Chartres St., 943-0010 City Diner: 3116 S I-10 Service Rd E, 8311030; 5708 Citrus Blvd., 309-7614 Cowbell: 8801 Oak St., 298-8689 Dat Dog: 601 Frenchmen St., 309-3362; 5030 Freret St., 899-6883; 3336 Magazine St., 324-2226 Live Oak Cafe: 8140 Oak St., 265-0050 Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant: 701 Tchoupitoulas St., 523-8995 Parkway Bakery and Tavern: 538 Hagan Ave., 482-3047

ITALIAN JAPANESE/KOREAN/SUSHI/THAI

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

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

MEXICAN/CARIBBEAN/SPANISH Barú Bistro & Tapas: 3700 Magazine St., 895-2225 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

MUSIC ON THE MENU Banks Street Bar & Grill: 4401 Banks St., 486-0258 B.B. King’s Blues Club: 1104 Decatur St., 934-5464 Buffa’s: 1001 Esplanade Ave., 949-0038 Chickie Wah Wah: 2828 Canal St., 304-4714 Dmac’s Bar & Grill: 542 S Jefferson Davis Pkwy, 304-5757 Fontaine Palace: 218 S Robertson St., 525-3277

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

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

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

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

VIETNAMESE Namese: 4077 Tulane Ave., 483-8899

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

The Dish

Adolfo’s: 611 Frenchmen St., 948-3800 Chiba: 8312 Oak St., 826-9119 Mikimoto: 3301 S. Carrollton Ave., 488-1881 Sukho Thai: 4519 Magazine St., 373-6471; 2200 Royal St., 948-9309 Wasabi: 900 Frenchmen St., 943-9433

Sammy’s Food Services: 3000 Elysian Fields Ave., 948-7361 Tracey’s: 2604 Magazine St., 897-5413 Ye Olde College Inn: 3000 S. Carrollton Ave., 866-3683

Chef Nina Compton on Compère Lapin’s Curried Goat

Which of the dishes on your menu says the most about you?

The curried goat really encompasses me as a chef. Because goat is something I grew up with, it’s in my background, and you see it all around the Caribbean. I do it a little different with the sweet potato gnocchi, but the combination—that’s pretty much me on a plate.

It was one of those things—do I put this on the menu, do I take the chance? Many people are not familiar with goat, but they’re curious and it became our number-one selling dish so we just kept it on the menu.

Where did the pairing with sweet potato gnocchi come from?

The goat is quite spicy, so I wanted to have a little sweet on the plate to counteract that, and just something different. I really enjoy making Italian food. It came very natural to me. When you’re making pasta it’s pretty much just you and the pasta, if that make sense.

—Elsa Hahne MAY 2 018

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DINING OUT

DTB Over the past decade, the Oak Street corridor has evolved into one of the city’s most vibrant food and beverage scenes. Just over a year ago, DTB (acronym for Down the Bayou) opened its doors and added a refined dining option to the upscale watering holes Oak and Ale just down the block. Chef de Cuisine Jacob Hammel and Chef/Owner Carl Schaubhut, a native of River Ridge whose career began on the four square courts of Christian Brothers School and continued through a stint as sous chef at Commander’s Palace and as executive chef at Café Adelaide, created a menu of dishes rooted in local history but reinvented for modern tastes.

“T-Plates” are a dozen or so sharable options designed to evoke the communal and convivial spirit of coastal Cajun cuisine. The charbroiled oyster gratin is irresistible with plump smoked oysters bobbing under a parmesan béchamel

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topped with vibrant gremolata.

Mushroom boudin balls possess a smoky flavor reminiscent of top-notch barbecue (quite a feat for a vegetarian dish), while cauliflower rillettes display the unctuousness of head cheese without the pork. A salad of roasted beets, local navel oranges and goat cheese once again proves that such a triumvirate never ceases to delight (especially with the added crunch of barbecued pecans). The Southern staple of ground corn is transformed into tender gnocchi with surprising elasticity, paired with hot sausage and swiped through ham hock marmalade.

In the entrée category (otherwise known as “Beaucoup Plates”), the best choice is the seared red snapper with a layer of crisp skin protecting the moist flesh—a dish so expertly executed that it will serve as a reminder of the timeless deliciousness of a simply prepared filet of fresh fish. The 48-hour short rib in a pool of fermented pepper jelly jus is full of flavor but not as tender as one might expect. A nod to local Vietnamese influence is found in the rice bowl loaded with crawfish, shrimp and pork belly, but a heavy hand of salt mired the individual flavors.

Photo: max cusimano

EATS

The bright and modern dining room creates the perfect setting for large groups.

Especially during weekend brunch, when the crispy oyster croque madame and the brisket debris benedict are not to be missed.

Venerable cocktail queen Lu Brow is in charge of the beverage program, and her best work is found in the Silver Dollar—a refreshing mixture of tequila, watermelon juice, ginger and lime. The drink may not have been born on the bayou, but its flavor is pure Louisiana.

—Peter Thriffiley 8201 Oak Street, Suite 1; Brunch Fri– Sun 10:30a–2:30p, Dinner Sun–Thur 5p–10p, FriSat 5p–11p; (504) 518-6889; dtbnola.com

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

REVIEWS

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

A Perfect Soundtrack for a Party

Big Sam’s Funky Nation Songs in the Key of Funk, Volume 1 (Independent) The heavyweight champion of rocking, brassy NOLA funk, “Big” Sam Williams years ago shed the type of pounds that inspired his nickname and replaced them with those of chiseled muscle. His lean-and-mean frame now serves as a powerhouse vessel for Big Sam’s trademark trombone-blasting, hip-shaking and buckjumping blend of high-energy music that’s the perfect soundtrack for the party and the street parade.

Well established as a globally touring band that’s a perennial fan-favorite at Jazz Fest, Big Sam’s Funky takes it next level and reaches higher heights with this brand-new release. And boy oh boy, is it funky. Songs in the Key of Funk, Volume 1 hits hard right from the start in the opening track, “4 Da Funk,” and doesn’t let up throughout the course of its 10 original tracks, collectively forging a sound that draws from the Gap Band grooves, babymaking modern R&B, new-school hip hop, and second-line anthems—the first single “Pork Chop” swings on all the power of the band’s musical heritage, with its “Show me what you got for a pork chop” straight New Orleans slang. Yet, the band—joining Williams, Drew Baham (trumpet, vocals), Jerry Henderson (bass), Keenan McRae (guitar), Alfred Jordan www.OFFBEAT.com

(drums) and Kendrick Marshall (keys) manages here to create a unique, infectious groove that is cutting edge. With the album title homage to Stevie Wonder’s classic Songs in the Key of Life, Williams says this album aims “to keep the funk alive,” but is not “just repeating the past.” He also points out the album’s title as volume one, giving citizens of Big Sam’s Funky Nation hope for more of the same funk soon to hit their ears.

—Frank Etheridge

The Junior League Eventually Is Now (Independent) Recording as the Junior League, Eventually Is Now is the latest release from Joe Adragna.

Eventually Is Now is sometimes lush and experimental, but in all the right ways. Where some artists get lost in an experimental jungle, Adragna has a knack for cutting through the overgrowth and delivering solid, well-crafted pop songs. While Adragna plays most of the instruments on the record (bass, drums, percussion, guitar, vocals, keyboards and EBow guitar), he is joined by Scott McCaughey (piano, Mellotron, tubular bells, guitar and keyboards), Deni Bonet (strings), Michael Giblin (12-string guitar and keyboard) and J.J. Murphy (acoustic and electric guitar).

“Teenage Bigstar” is an excellent choice to kick things off. From the opening jangly guitars to the engaging story line of an encounter in a record store, “Teenage Bigstar” instantly draws the listener back in time and reminds us of the importance of both music and brick and mortar record stores.

This is simply pure pop paradise

and conjures up memories of the Continental Drifters.

While “Say Please And Thank You” is certainly more acerbic than the lighthearted “Teenage Bigstar,” it, like so many of Adragna’s songs, somehow manages to get stuck in your head. Up next is “The Wrong Kind Of Blue” which benefits from a nice string arrangement.

“You Didn’t Miss A Thing,” which features McCaughey on vocals, illustrates Adragna’s ability to start with a simple, sparsely crafted song and subsequently add enough psychedelic texture (especially Adragna’s EBow guitar) to make it sound like something that would be at home on Sgt. Pepper’s. “I Only Want To Begin Again” and “Someday” are the perfect accompaniment to a convertible ride along Lake Pontchartrain as the April sun sets across the glistening water. They make you feel good and hopeful, like things are right in the world.

All in all, Eventually Is Now is another fine recording from The Junior League, and fans of wellcrafted pop songs will find a lot to like with this record.

—Christopher Weddle

Keith Frank & The Soileau Zydeco Band Return of the King (Soulwood Records) After two consecutive live albums, Keith Frank delivers his first studio release in six years, a dense 20-track, 76-minute affair that’s his most provocative yet. While there are the familiar love and sex themes, Frank isn’t afraid to address harder-hitting issues like depression, rape, suicide and distraught, single mothers resorting to prostitution (“Angelina,”

“You’ll Never Be the Man Your Momma Was.”) It’s not all heavy, but the movie poster cover art and disc title could cause some bewilderment, leading some to believe Frank is laying a quick claim deed to the Kingdom of Zydeco. Rest assured, he’s not, just acknowledging his higher power.

Rather for Frank’s 30thsomething album, it’s all about balance, never staying with a particular theme or style for long.

You can see where he came from on the ’90s-styled “On the Rise Again,” but nearly everything else reveals how far he’s evolved.

There’s sans-accordion Southern soul (“It Ain’t What You Got,” “She’s Gifted”) but perhaps the most creatively engineered track is “Don’t Believe the Hype.” It opens with turntable scratches and a sampled, unidentified male vocalist wailing in Hebrew before Frank injects a trunk-rattling funky thrust with rapper Nathan “Pole” Brown.

But if you are looking for a clue regarding Frank’s artistic blueprint, the breezy “It’s okay to Be Different” sums it up perfectly: “It’s okay to be a little different/ It’s okay to have your own name.” Simple but meaningful, and to think Frank imparts messages like that with killer dance grooves.

—Dan Willging MAY 2 018

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Tephra Sound Horizon (Independent) Last March, cellist Helen Gillet convened some of the most talented voices in creative music working in and around New Orleans today to record her Tephra Sound project. They arguably ended up making the perfect springtime record. With its buzz of vibrant energy, creative use of rhythm and bounty of quirky surprises, this is definitely music in bloom.

Technically, Tephra Sound is Gillet plus drummer Nikki Glaspie, Jessica Lurie on sax and flute and Brian Haas on piano. Here, the quartet’s already kinetic interactions get an extra spark courtesy of Rex Gregory on sousaphone, flute and melodica, Weedie Braimah on djembe and Annie Ellicott on vocals. Throw in effects, loops, a “vintage” ’90s toy and engineer Andrew “Goat” Gilchrist’s careful maintenance of the intimacy afforded by recording in someone’s home and the result feels more like an improvisational orchestra than a quartet plus special guests.

As the disc gets rolling, the first highlight comes in the form of “Valles Caldera,” which plays out more like a suite in some ways than the “Elden Suite,” comprised of three short tracks just over one minute each. The title is an apparent reference to a national park whose footprint was created by a volcanic eruption, which is in turn a nod to the group’s name (a volcanic eruption creates “fragmental material” called “tephra”). Using her “megamouth” toy, Gillet lays down an addictive, borderline EDM beat that serves as an unorthodox base for what becomes a gorgeous exercise in accessible, avant-garde sound. The band’s collective sense of rhythm propels the tune; if a horn line veers out into free jazz territory, that resolute toy beat lures it back in. After a mid-song vibe change, Gillet’s bowing adds a new layer of complexity to what’s happening before the instruments grow quiet, leaving only the beat sample to fade out.

Other tracks showcase a more chamber jazz–ready feel, like the hushed “Capulin,” while the

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explosive “Krakatoa” transforms from the serenity of Gillet’s cello loops to an intense catharsis of sound. “Piton de la Fournaise” brings the album to an extended finish with another would-be suite that seems to tell a story of energy building, rising and erupting into a wall of effects before simmering into an elegant, faded close.

With so many paths for the listener to follow, each spin of the disc opens up a new set of possibilities. It’s a feast of an album.

—Jennifer Odell

Horace Trahan Until the End (Independent) Until the End marks the final chapter of Horace Trahan’s conceptual trilogy that began with 2010’s Keep Walking and continued with 2012’s All the Way. The title track cleverly concatenates all the titles to result in “we gotta keep walking yeah all the way until the end.” It’s another way of saying live life to its fullest but with plenty of “bon temps” in between.

“Bottom of the Boot” seconds that party vibe with an aptly described outdoor gathering replete with a raging bonfire, a simmering blackpot and “Cornbread” blaring on the radio. Trahan adds to the Mardi Gras repertoire with “Horace’s Mardi Gras,” which is somewhat African-sounding with Doug Garb’s piercing flute lines. With its comical, tongue-twisting lines, “Big Booty Judy” exhibits unstoppable grooves with electrifying accordion, saxophone and guitar rides.

But with this release, Trahan specializes in attention-grabbing songs like the cranking zydeco www.OFFBEAT.com

REVIEWS

Brittany Purdy

number “Legalize It,” an obvious pro-weed nod that has been a live staple for years. The opening line of the country weeper “Three Steps Behind” is initially startling when Trahan sings about quitting those goddamned pain pills and crystal meth but can’t abandon drinking and cigarettes. On the utopian “Stars Up Above,” he asks if money is the root of all evil, then why do churches beg for it?

To play it safe, Trahan released two versions of this disc, the family-friendly edition sans the weed and G-damned country tracks and the full version that’s still FCC clean. But as an artist, Trahan’s always at his best when he’s uncensored.

—Dan Willging

Welcome to Sazaraz (Independent) Welcome to Sazaraz, the debut EP from Brittany Purdy, has a lot to say, especially considering its short run time. A New York native calling New Orleans home since 2013, Brittany has been soaking in the local music osmotically, and has fused that with her experiences with pop, funk, and jazz up north. Having written music her whole life but only recently begun performing publicly, she came out full force with a residency at the Maple Leaf Bar. But it makes sense: Her vocal facility, keen ear for harmonies, thoughtful lyrics and songwriting prowess showcased on the EP fit right in on that historic

Deadhead Sensibilities Billy Iuso & the Restless Natives Home by the Sea (Independent) Of the seemingly infinite list of local talents somehow excluded from Jazz Fest’s regular roster of Louisiana musicians invited to play the Fair Grounds, guitar shredder Billy Iuso and his kindred spirits in the Restless Natives rank among the most egregious omissions. True, they have played Fest before: in 2008, not long after the band formed following New York native Iuso’s migration from Athens, Georgia, where he fronted popular touring act Brides of Jesus, to his heart’s home of New Orleans to continue his career, a move inspired by his connections with George Porter, Jr. and the funky Meters; and in 2014, when they filled in for a cancellation. These sparse festival bookings contrast starkly to Iuso’s status as both bandleader and hired gun, performing on big stages and in premier venues, which has earned him a solid local following. His seven original compositions on the sublime Home by the Sea, fresh off its (fitting) 4/20 release date, should change that. New Restless Natives Michael Burkart (Mikey B3, keys) and saxophonist extraordinaire Brad Walker provide for a rich, diversified texture to Iuso’s Deadhead sensibilities. Yet, the big revelation here is the eloquence of Iuso’s lyricism and song structure, notably on the tenderhearted “There’s a Gentleness about Her,” the brilliant imagery of “The Chosen One” and the emotive vulnerability of “Need You to Love Me.” Fans of the band, called BIRN Outs, need not fret about their man going soft, however: The freak flag is hoisted high with the smoothly psychedelic “Just You and Me,” the mod-rock monster “My Name Is Record Player”—which would sound at home on recent Jack White albums—and funky-as-fuck rhythms provided by long-time drummer Eddie Christmas, bassist Ken Turner and guest percussionist Mike Dillon on “Just You and Me.” Jam on, y’all.

—Frank Etheridge www.OFFBEAT.com

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REVIEWS stage, a place frequented by the first-call musicians fleshing out her songs. Strong soloists and groove purveyors all, here they demonstrate tasteful restraint and attention to accompaniment to showcase Brittany’s strengths.

Her main partner is bassist Charlie Wooton, a local favorite with a strong presence here: producing and playing, co-writing a couple of the songs, and performing regularly with Brittany in more intimate duo settings. The bass-forward approach consequently employed is a refreshing take on the singer-songwriter idiom and helps propel the music forward.

Brittany’s music stands on its own, but having such a strong musical partner with such evident chemistry certainly doesn’t hurt.

The musical diversity and depth adds another layer of interest: Keiko Komaki on organ, electric, and

acoustic pianos; Charlie playing bossa nova-style chordal accompaniment on one song and smooth Jaco Pastorius– influenced fretless lines on the next; Terence Higgins running the gamut of drum grooves from Brazilian to New Orleans–flavored Caribbean, second line to swing, shuffle to brush ballad; and the mellow flugelhorn lines of Eric Benny Bloom serving as a great foil to the normally bombastic New Orleans brass style that he’s more than capable of. Brittany’s intimate words and often subdued delivery, full of hope, joy, sensitivity and charm, could border on saccharine for some tastes, but one could never question her sincerity, skill, or thoughtfulness, all of which are exemplified by the coda to the EP, her love song to New Orleans. A promising debut—Brittany and her band have a lot more in store for us.

—Nick Benoit

In the Spirit of Bob Wills Chas Justus & the Jury Chas Justus & the Jury (Black Pot Records) When the reign of the western swing-centric Red Stick Ramblers ended and the next-gen band the Revelers launched with a completely different format, there was a void. Hence, the impetus for Chas Justus’ Jury, comprised mostly of Red Sticks and Revelers plus fiddler extraordinaire/RSR alumnus Kevin Wimmer.

In the spirit of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, Justus set out to record with minimal overdubs and eradicate the lines between western swing, jazz and honky tonk. Other than engineer Chris Stafford’s steel guitar on two tracks, this was all recorded live—impressive considering the tightly synchronized twin lines where two instruments play the melody in unison.

On “Along the Navajo Trail,” Daniel Coolik switched from twin fiddles with Wimmer to electric mandolin to twin with Justus (guitar) before switching back to fiddle, all without missing a lick.

“Twin Guitar Special,” “Airmail Special” and “Splanky” are major swing romps with saxophonist Chris Miller blending in perfectly with the stringed instruments with arty and unobtrusive jazz solos.

The highlights are many. Megan Brown gives a heart-melting, emotionally draining performance on the bilingual “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” in the spirit of Cléoma Breaux Falcon, while “Navajo Trail” ranks among the dreamiest versions ever. But after all the dust has settled, it’ll be the lone original, Justus’ “When Tomorrow Comes Along,” that’ll tug the heart strings the hardest. Clarinetist/vocalist Chloe Feoranzo delivers a stunning performance, hanging on long notes for a bone-chilling effect.

When it comes to this courtroom, there’s never a hung jury.

—Dan Willging

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

Listings

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-new-listings 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 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

WEDNESDAY MAY 9

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Circle Bar: the Iguanas (RK) 7p, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs, Chicken Snake (CW) 9:30p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p Fontaine Palace: Marigny Street Brass Band (BB) 9p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Delta Revues (BL) 6p, Owen Cook and the Afterschool Specials, Biglemoi, Matron (FO) 10p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (JV) 6p Jazz Playhouse: Michael Watson Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square feat. Bonerama, N’awlins Johnnys (VR) 5p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John with guest Tanya Boutte (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: MoFess (JV) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Mama T and the Tots (RB) 9p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Starlight: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 7p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): the Healing Room with Michaela Harrison and friends (VR) 9p

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Three Muses: Albanie Falletta (JV) 5p, Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

THURSDAY MAY 10

Armstrong Park: Jazz in the Park feat. Joe Krown with Walter “Wolfman” Washington (RB) 4p Buffa’s: Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Circle Bar: Dark Lounge feat. Rik Slave (VR) 7p, Gools, Bug Lord, Dabs, Lunasol (RK) 9:30p Contemporary Arts Center: Southern Sonic: A Sound Art and Experimental Music Festival (VR) 7:30p d.b.a.: Panorama Brass Band (BB) 10p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Of the Goldmine (ID) 9p Hotel Storyville: Y Ocho (LT) 7p House of Blues: Bringing Down the House Showcase feat. Aliyah, Bre Renee, Fantastic 8 Brass Band, Nowater, R.jRAP, T3, the Tainerz (VR) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Howlin’ Wolf: Of Montreal, Locate S, 1 (RK) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Will Dickerson (FO) 8:30p Le Bon Temps Roule: Soul Rebels (FK) 11p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (PI) 5p, John Mooney and Marc Stone with special guest (BL) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Richard Scott (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, Benny Bloom and Joe Ashlar (JV) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Tonya BoydCannon (SO) 6p Old U.S. Mint: FLOW feat. Will Ackerman, Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt and Jeff Oster (VR) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Sages Of Khelm (KZ) 9p Snug Harbor: Adonis Rose and NOJO Jam (JV) 8 & 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Little Cosmicana feat.

Neighbor Lady, Deltaphonic (VR) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Mia Borders (FK) 8p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Cajun Drifters (KJ) 5p, Nonc Nu and Da Wild Matous (KJ) 9p

FRIDAY MAY 11

Armstrong Park: Crab Festival feat. Michael Franks and Loose Ends (VR) 6p Buffa’s: Jerry Jumonville (JV) 6p, Albanie Falletta Jazz Band (JV) 9p Circle Bar: Natalie Mae (CW) 7p, Roman Gabriel Todd, Man-Alone, Team Enoch (PK) 9:30p Contemporary Arts Center: Southern Sonic: A Sound Art and Experimental Music Festival (VR) 7:30p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Hot Club of New Orleans (JV) 6p, Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton (VR) 10p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 8:30p, Dave Jordan and NIA (RR) 10p

Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: the Lighthouse and the Whaler, Vita and the Woolf (ID) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: the River Dragon (RK) 6p, Rich Jones, Curta (HH) 11p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues: Kick: the INXS Experience (RK) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Carolena and Y’Marii (SS) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Ashlin Parker Trio (JV) 5p, Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye (BQ) 11p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Guitar Slim Jr. (BL) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Lynn Drury (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Leroy Jones (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Tony Hall Band (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: King Tuff, Cut Worms (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Saenger Theatre: Chicago (RK) 8p Siberia: the Essentials (SO) 10p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Starlight: Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 7p, Bells and Whistles Burlesque (BQ) 10:30p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Loyola Grad Night feat. Dana Ives, Kayla Mims, Richard Rouke and the Voodoo Collective, Samwyse (VR) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jay B. Elston Band (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

SATURDAY MAY 12

Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Carmella Rappazzo (VR) 6p, Marc Stone (BL) 9p Contemporary Arts Center: Southern Sonic: A Sound Art and Experimental Music Festival (VR) 11a Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p d.b.a.: the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 7p, Little Freddie King (BL) 11p Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall: the Hank Mackie Band (JV) 6:30p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 8:30p, Mia Borders (FK) 10p, Les Getrex and the Creole Kitchen (BL) 11:59p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Pink Room Project (VR) 11p House of Blues (the Parish): Parker Millsap, Jillette Johnson (FO) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): the Hodgetwins (CO) 9p, the Ragcoats, Jordan Anderson and the Causeways (ID) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Daniel Meinecke (JV) 5p, Professor Craig Adams Band (JV) 8p Joy Theater: Bobby Bones, Brandon Ray (CO) 7p Kerry Irish Pub: Roux the Day (FO) 9p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Jay B. Elston (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Noah Young Band (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p

Republic: Midnight Tyrannosaurus, Boarcrok, Bawldy (EL) 10p Roussel Hall (Loyola University): FLOW feat. Will Ackerman, Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt and Jeff Oster (VR) 8p Siberia: Cauche Mar, Chardonnay (VR) 10p Snug Harbor: Quiana Lynell (JV) 8 & 10p Starlight: Shawan Rice (SO) 7p, Olio Ragtime Revue with the Slick Skillet Serenaders (JV) 10:30p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Russell Welch (JV) 9p Time Out: Andre Bouvier and the Royal Bohemians (VR) 11a Tipitina’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: the Troubadour (KJ) 1p, Bayou Cajun Swamp Band (KJ) 5p, T’Canaille (KJ) 9p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

SUNDAY MAY 13

Audubon Zoo: Mother’s Day Celebration with Irma Thomas (SO) 10a Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (TJ) 11a, Suzanne Ortner and Nahum Zdybel (JV) 5p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (JV) 7p Contemporary Arts Center: Southern Sonic: A Sound Art and Experimental Music Festival (VR) 2p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p, Bon Bon Vivant (VR) 10p Dragon’s Den: Open Jazz Jam with Anuraag Pendyal (JV) 7p, Church (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Hi-Ho Lounge: Fickle Flesh, Killer Dale (PK) 11p House of Blues (the Parish): Bilal (SO) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Little Tropical Isle: Frank Fairbanks (RK) 5p, Mark Parsons (VR) 9p Maple Leaf: Mikey B3 (FK) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Slim and the Beast (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Siberia: Sam Doores presents For the Sake of the Song (SS) 9p Snug Harbor: Evan Christopher: Tricentennial Series (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Psychostick, House of Goats (VR) 7:30p Spotted Cat: John Lisi and Delta Funk (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Starlight: Messy Cookers Jazz Band (JV) 3p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Juju Child and the Hypnotic Roots Band (BL) 9p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Time Out: the Moxie Kings (VR) 11a Tipitina’s: Dweezil Zappa (VR) 8p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p MAY 2 018

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MONDAY MAY 14

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Helen Gillet (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Alex McMurray (SS) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p Dragon’s Den: Monday Night Swing feat.

Renard Boissiere, Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, AudioDope with DJ Ill Medina (VR) 11p Fontaine Palace: Louie’s Do the Bar Lounge (VR) 6p Gasa Gasa: the Life and Times (ID) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p Howlin’ Wolf (the Porch): Coast 2 Coast (HH) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: 2 Sheets to the Wind (FO) 8:30p Maison Bourbon: Mark Wayne Rhythm and Blues Band (JV) 3p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: MC Chris, Bitforce (VR) 8p, Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p 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, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Starlight: Burlesque Bingo with Lefty Lucy (BQ) 7p Three Muses: Monty Banks (JV) 5p, Washboard Rodeo (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Original: Graham Robinson Band (RK) 5:15p, Trop Rock Express (RK) 9:15p

TUESDAY MAY 15

Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila, and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Circle Bar: Alex McMurray and his Band (RK) 7p, Witchjail (RK) 9:30p Crazy Lobster: AC and the Heat (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Dragon’s Den: the All-Star Covered-Dish Country Jamboree (CW) 9p Fontaine Palace: Soul Rotisserie (SO) 5p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: New Orleans Guitar Night feat.

Alex D’Onofrio, Jimmy Robinson, Nahum Zdybel, Max Bronstein-Paritz (VR) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Songwriter Sessions: Sydney Beaumont and Michael Hughes, the Twos (BL) 7p House of Blues: Pouya (HH) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Samantha Pearl Quartet (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 11p Siberia: Piano Night feat. Casey McAllister (PI) 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 Starlight: DJ Fayard presents Club 817 (FK) 10p Three Muses: Mia Borders (FK) 8p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Jay B. Elston Band (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY MAY 16

Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Meschiya Lake and Tom McDermott (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RK) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Fontaine Palace: Marigny Street Brass Band (BB) 9p French Market: Patrick Cooper and Natasha Sanchez (FO) 1:30p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Delta Revues (BL) 6p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (JV) 6p House of Blues (the Parish): Company of Thieves (ID) 8p House of Blues: YFN Lucci, Q Money, YFN Kay, YFN Trae Pound, Fayboy SSE (HH) 8p

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Jazz Playhouse: Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 8p Joy Theater: Dr. Dog, Son Little (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Tim Robertson (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square feat. Motel Radio (VR) 5p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John with guest Cole Williams (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Jay B. Elston (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Jordan Anderson and the Causeways (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Mama T and the Tots (RB) 9p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Terrance Taplin (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Starlight: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 7p Three Muses: Albanie Falletta (JV) 5p, Schatzy (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

THURSDAY MAY 17

Armstrong Park: Jazz in the Park feat. James Andrews (JV) 4p Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Mike Harvey’s Hot Club (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Andre Bohren (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Circle Bar: Dark Lounge feat. Rik Slave (VR) 7p, Anne Elise Hastings, Kaycee (ID) 9:30p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Revolt Music Series feat. TR3AL, Playboi L, TeeJay Foi, Bossman Beano (EL) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: Ashlin Parker Trio (JV) 6p, BrassA-Holics (BB) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (PI) 5p, Dr. Michael White and Gregg Stafford with Leroy Jones (JV) 7:30p Little Tropical Isle: Allen Hebert (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maison: Good for Nothin’ Band, Michael Watson Quintet, Dysfunktional Bone (VR) 4p Maple Leaf: CR Groover (PI) 7p, Stanton Moore and friends (FK) 10p Old Point Bar: Keith Stone and Red Gravy (BL) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Duke Heitger with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. G-String Orchestra (KZ) 9p Snug Harbor: NOCCA Jazz Ensemble with Michael Pellera (JV) 8 & 10p Starlight: Lynn Drury (SS) 7p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, St. Louis Slim (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Beach Combers (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

FRIDAY MAY 18

Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, Harmonouche (JV) 5p, Willie Green Project (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Phil the Tremelo King (VR) 6p, Soul ‘O Sam (VR) 9p Bullet’s: Original Pinettes Brass Band (BB) 9p Central City BBQ: Chris Broussard (VR) 5p Chickie Wah Wah: James McMurtry (VR) 8p Circle Bar: Natalie Mae (CW) 7p, BobbyRock, Spell Breaker, Gushers (PK) 9:30p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: MainLine (BB) 10p

Dragon’s Den: GPS Brazilian Jazz Project (JV) 7p, the Tipping Point with DJ RQ Away (HH) 10p; Upstairs: Comedy Fuck Yeah (CO) 7p, Latin Night (LT) 11p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 8:30p, Jonathon Boogie Long Guitar Fights feat. Keith Stone (VR) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: the Brevet, the Breton Sound (RK) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: the River Dragon (RK) 6p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): LouMuzik Live (HH) 10p House of Blues: Dru Hill, Sisqo (RB) 9p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Ben Ricketts, the Noise Complaints, the Bummers, Jack and the Jackrabbits (RK) 9p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4:30p, Shannon Powell (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Vali Talbot (FO) 5p, Hurricane Refugees (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Toubab Krewe (FK) 11p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: DJ Soul Sister presents Soulful Takeover (FK) 10p Orpheum Theater: the LPO presents Carmina Burana (CL) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Tumbling Wheels, Black Suzie, the Light Set (FO) 10p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Starlight: Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 7p, Bells and Whistles Burlesque (BQ) 10:30p Three Muses: Royal Roses (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Foundation Free Fridays feat. New Orleans Suspects, Noisewater (FK) 10p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jay B. Elston Band (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

SATURDAY MAY 19

Abita Springs Town Hall: Abita Springs Opry feat. Last Chance Bluegrass Band, Daryl, Daryl and My Cousin Daryl, Sheryl Cormier Cajun Band, Miss Sophie Lee (VR) 7p Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, Red Organ Trio (JV) 4p, Jasen Weaver Band (JV) 7:30p Bombay Club: Banu Gibson (JV) 8:30p Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Davis Rogan (VR) 6p, Royal Rounders (VR) 9p Chickie Wah Wah: Alvin Youngblood Hart and Muscle Theory (BL) 9p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Roamin’ Jasmine (JV) 7p, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes (FK) 11p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 8:30p, Little Freddie King (BL) 10p, Les Getrex and the Creole Kitchen (BL) 11:59p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: Kuwaisiana album-release show, Neon Mountain, Matron (RK) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): the Green, Iya Terra, DJ Green Thumb (RE) 8p House of Blues: Bustout Burlesque and the Bustout Jazz Band (BQ) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Stoked (CO) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Stefan Moll (JV) 5p, Luther Kent (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Mike Kerwin and Geoff Coats (FO) 5p, Beth Patterson (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7 & 9p Maple Leaf: Sunpie’s Birthday Bonanza (ZY) 11p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: the Quickening, Mynah Bird (VR) 9p

Orpheum Theater: the LPO presents Carmina Burana (CL) 7:30p Palm Court Jazz Café: Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Pontchartrain Vineyards: Jazz’n the Vines feat. Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (SI) 6:30p Saenger Theatre: Joe Bonamassa (BL) 8p Siberia: Holy Knives, Biglemoi, Fickle Flesh, Dusty Tupelo (RR) 10p Snug Harbor: Wolff and Clark Expedition with Michael Wolff, Mike Clark and Ben Allison (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Russell Welch’s Mississippi Gypsy (JV) 2p, Panorama Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Starlight: Shawan Rice (SO) 7p, Olio Ragtime Revue with the Slick Skillet Serenaders (JV) 10:30p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): La Noche Caliente with Muevelo and Bookoo Rueda (LT) 9p Time Out: Andre Bouvier and the Royal Bohemians (VR) 11a Tipitina’s: Graduation Throwdown feat. Sexual Thunder, Aaron Benjamin, Miss Mojo (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Original: Down River (RK) 1p, the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

SUNDAY MAY 20

Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (JV) 11a, Ben Batalla and friends (SS) 5p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (VR) 7p Bullet’s: Teresa B. (RB) 6p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin (JV) 8:30p Chickie Wah Wah: Meschiya Lake and the Little Big Trio (JV) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Hotel Storyville: Flashpoint (GS) 12p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Jake Landry and the Right Lane Bandits (BL) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Will Dickerson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Maple Leaf: Bert Cotton Trio (JV) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Marina Orchestra (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Saenger Theatre: ZZ Top (CR) 7:30p Siberia: Fawn, Casper Allen, Justin Dye (RR) 10p Snug Harbor: Evan Christopher: Tricentennial Series (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Jamey St. Pierre and the Honeycreepers (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Starlight: Messy Cookers Jazz Band (JV) 3p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Time Out: the Moxie Kings (VR) 11a Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Brandon Moreau and Cajungrass (KJ) 2p, Bayou Cajun Swamp Band (KJ) 7p Tropical Isle Bourbon: BC and Company (RK) 1p, Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p UNO Lakefront Arena: KEM, Johnny Gill (RB) 8p

MONDAY MAY 21

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Helen Gillet (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Alex McMurray (SS) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p Fontaine Palace: Louie’s Do the Bar Lounge (VR) 6p Funky Pirate: Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): Marcy Playground, Local H (RK) 8p House of Blues: Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, Just Juice, Joey Cool, King Iso (HH) 8p

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LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Jazz Playhouse: Michael Watson (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 8:30p Little Tropical Isle: Frank Fairbanks (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p 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, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Starlight: Burlesque Bingo with Lefty Lucy (BQ) 7p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): the Monday Get Right with DJ Chinua (VR) 4p Three Muses: Bart Ramsey (JV) 5p, Leo Forde (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Beach Combers (RK) 9p

TUESDAY MAY 22

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Mark Weliky (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila, and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 10p Fontaine Palace: Soul Rotisserie (SO) 5p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Combsy, Doombalaya (VR) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Songwriter Sessions: Dustin Cole, Eric Woods, Joe Burns, Andrew Weitz and Jake Gindy (BL) 7p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: James Rivers Movement (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: NOLA Dukes (VR) 7p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 11p Old U.S. Mint: Javier Olondo Quartet, Steve Masakowski with Geovane Santos (VR) 7p One Eyed Jacks: Dina Martina (CO) 7p Siberia: Piano Night feat. Casey McAllister (PI) 9p Smoothie King Center: Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers (CR) 7:30p Snug Harbor: Mahmoud “Mood” Chouki from Morocco (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, the Little Big Horns (JV) 6p, Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 10p Starlight: DJ Fayard presents Club 817 (FK) 10p Three Muses: Sam Cammarata (JV) 5p, Josh Gouzy (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Jay B. Elston Band (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY MAY 23

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Jesse Morrow (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Meschiya Lake and Tom McDermott (JV) 8p Circle Bar: the Iguanas (RK) 7p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RK) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Fontaine Palace: Marigny Street Brass Band (BB) 9p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Delta Revues (BL) 6p, the Serfs, Goth Dad, Hand Out (VR) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Michael Liuzza (JV) 6p House of Blues: Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul (RK) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 8:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Dave Hickey (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square feat. Maggie Koerner, Naughty Professor (VR) 5p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John with guest Romy Kaye (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Jordan Anderson and the Causeways (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Old U.S. Mint: Evan Christopher (JV) 2p

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Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Sam Doores presents For the Sake of the Song (SS) 9p Snug Harbor: Uptown Jazz Orchestra with Delfeayo Marsalis (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Upon A Burning Body, Volumes, Convictions, the White Noise, Daemon Grimm (VR) 6p Spotted Cat: Chris Christy (JV) 2p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 6p, Antoine Diel and the New Orleans Power Misfits (JV) 10p Starlight: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 7p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p, Dave Bandrowski (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Original: Debi and the Deacons (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

THURSDAY MAY 24

Armstrong Park: Jazz in the Park feat. Big 6 Brass Band (BB) 4p Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Mike Harvey’s Hot Club (JV) 7:30p Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski Duo (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Gumbo Cabaret (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Aurora Nealand (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Chickie Wah Wah: Jason Ricci (SS) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Little Freddie King (BL) 11p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: BabyBoy Bartels presents TripleBandTheBs, Jillian K and the Goods, Miranda (VR) 10p House of Blues (the Parish): the Steel Woods, Ross Cooper (CW) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): the Honky Tonk Man’s Shake, Rattle, and Roll Comedy Tour with Greg “the Hammer” Valentine (CO) 8p Jazz Playhouse: Ashlin Parker Trio (JV) 6:30p, Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8p Joy Theater: David Crosby and friends (CR) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Van Hudson (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (PI) 5p, Madeline Ford Trio (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Bill Malchow (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, June Yamagishi and Keiko Komaki (JV) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Cha Wa (FK) 6p Old Point Bar: Shawn Williams (CW) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Ben Polcer and Tim Laughlin with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. Backyard Balkan Brass Band (KZ) 9p Snug Harbor: Carl Leblanc Presents New Orleans Music TriCentennial (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Starlight: Lynn Drury (SS) 7p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Walter “Wolfman” Washington (BL) 9p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p, Arsene DeLay (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Nate Hancock and the Declaration album-release party, Noelle Tannen Band, Jordan Anderson and the Causeways (VR) 9p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

FRIDAY MAY 25

Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, Harmonouche (JV) 5p, Willie Green Project (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Sherman Bernard Ole Man River Band (VR) 6p, Jeremy Joyce (VR) 9p Bullet’s: Original Pinettes Brass Band (BB) 9p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Smoking Time Jazz Club (JV) 6p, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers (ZY) 11p Dixon Hall (Tulane University): Eliot Fisk (CL) 7:30p Dos Jefes: Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots (ZY) 10p

Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 8:30p, Bywater Rock Group (RK) 10p, Knucklebone Oscar (RK) 11:59p Gasa Gasa: Black Pistol Fire, Loudness War (RK) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: the River Dragon (RK) 6p, Sam Howden Research Group (PO) 10p House of Blues: So Far Gone: Drake Night (HH) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Joe Krown (JV) 4:30p, Quiana Lynell (JV) 7:30p, Trixie Minx’s Burlesque Ballroom feat. Romy Kaye (BQ) 11p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 5p, Annual Bob Dylan Tribute with Foot and friends (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Lilli Lewis (PI) 5p, Naydja Cojoe (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Percy J (SO) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Levity (VR) 8p Orpheum Theater: New Orleans Ballet Theater presents Giselle (DN) 8p Palm Court Jazz Café: Kevin Louis with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Happy Talk, Ever More Best, Young Valley (VR) 9p Snug Harbor: Ellis Marsalis Quintet (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Andy J. Forest (JV) 2p, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (JV) 6p, James Martin (JV) 10p Starlight: Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 7p, Bells and Whistles Burlesque (BQ) 10:30p Three Muses: Matt Johnson (JV) 5:30p, Doro Wat Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: Foundation Free Fridays feat. Dave Jordan and the NIA, the Crooked Vines, the N’awlins Johnnys (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jay B. Elston Band (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

SATURDAY MAY 26

Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, Red Organ Trio (JV) 4p, Jasen Weaver Band (JV) 7:30p Blue Nile: Washboard Chaz Blues Trio (BL) 7p Buffa’s: Doyle Cooper and the Red Hot Jazz Band (JV) 11a, Marla Dixon (JV) 6p, Marina Orchestra (VR) 9p Cafe Istanbul: Glamarama (RK) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: John “Papa” Gros Band (FK) 8p Crazy Lobster: the River Gang (VR) 11a, Poppy’s Poppin’ Saturday Review (VR) 4p Creole Cookery: Trad Stars Jazz Band (JV) 11a d.b.a.: Vapors of Morphine (VR) 11p Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall: Andrew Duhon and the Lonesome Crows (SS) 6:30p Fontaine Palace: Louie Fontaine and the Beat Machine (VR) 8:30p, Knucklebone Oscar (RK) 11:59p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 2p, Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Hi-Ho Lounge: Pink Room Project (VR) 11p House of Blues: 90s Tribute Night: Nirvanna, Rise Against the Machine, the Kurt Loders (CB) 9p Jazz and Heritage Center: Jesse McBride and the Next Generation (JV) 8 & 9:30p Jazz Playhouse: Daniel Meinecke (JV) 5p, Shannon Powell (JV) 8p Joy Theater: Buckethead (VR) 9p Kerry Irish Pub: Paul Tobin (FO) 5p, Lonestar Stout (FO) 9p Little Gem Saloon: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7 & 9p Little Tropical Isle: Jay B. Elston (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Darcy Malone and the Tangle (RR) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Simple Sound Retreat albumrelease show, Barrantes-Rosewood, Mikayla Braun, DJ Gorgeous (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Will Smith with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 8p Siberia: Alex McMurray (SS) 6p, Esqueleto, Naughty Palace, Fantasy Non Fiction (RR) 10p

Snug Harbor: Astral Project (JV) 8 & 10p Southport Hall: Wonderwall: New Orleans Oasis Tribute feat. Terry McDermott, Justin Molaison, the Breton Sound (VR) 8p Starlight: Shawan Rice (SO) 7p, Olio Ragtime Revue with the Slick Skillet Serenaders (JV) 10:30p Three Muses: Chris Christy (JV) 5p, Debbie Davis (JV) 6p, Shotgun Jazz Band (JV) 9p Tipitina’s: the Continental Drifters (VR) 10p Tropical Isle Original: Down River (RK) 1p, the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

SUNDAY MAY 27

Bacchanal: the Tangiers Combo (JV) 12p, the Tradstars (JV) 4:30p, Georgi Petrov and the Lost Jazz Po’boys (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Some Like It Hot (TJ) 11a, Ashley and the Odd Ditties (JV) 4p, Steve Pistorius Quartet (JV) 7p Carousel Bar (Hotel Monteleone): James Martin (JV) 8:30p Crazy Lobster: the Gator Bites (VR) 11a, the Neon Shadows (VR) 4p d.b.a.: Palmetto Bugs Stompers (SI) 6p, Feufollet (KJ) 10p Funky Pirate: Mark and the Pentones (BL) 4p, Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Hi-Ho Lounge: the Eskimo Brothers (RC) 8p House of Blues: Trivium (ME) 7:30p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Hot 8 Brass Band (BB) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Germaine Bazzle (JV) 8p Kermit’s Mother-in-Law Lounge: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 5:30p Kerry Irish Pub: Beth Patterson (FO) 8p Little Gem Saloon: Little Freddie King (BL) 11a Maple Leaf: Joe Krown Trio feat. Walter “Wolfman” Washington (RB) 10p Morning Call City Park: Billy D. Chapman (JV) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Patrick Shuttleswerth Plays You Records (VR) 9p Palm Court Jazz Café: Mark Braud with Sunday Night Swingsters (TJ) 8p Siberia: Willy Gantrim, Carver Baronda, Golden Ours, Lonesome Leash (FO) 9p Snug Harbor: Evan Christopher: Tricentennial Series (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Gouzy Band (JV) 2p, Kristina Morales and the Inner Wild (JV) 6p, Pat Casey and the New Sound (JV) 10p Starlight: Messy Cookers Jazz Band (JV) 3p Superdome: Bayou Country Superfest feat.

George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves, Midland (CW) 4p Three Muses: Raphael et Pascal (JV) 5p, Linnzi Zaorski (JV) 8p Tipitina’s: Paris Avenue, Neutral Snap, Lip Candy (VR) 9p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Brandon Moreau and Cajungrass (KJ) 2p, Bayou Cajun Swamp Band (KJ) 7p Tropical Isle Bourbon: BC and Company (RK) 1p, Rhythm and Rain (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

MONDAY MAY 28

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Helen Gillet (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Arsene DeLay (VR) 5p, Antoine Diel (JV) 8p Chickie Wah Wah: Alex McMurray (SS) 8p Crazy Lobster: the Insta-Gators (VR) 5p Fontaine Palace: Louie’s Do the Bar Lounge (VR) 6p Funky Pirate: Willie Lockett Band (BL) 8p Hi-Ho Lounge: Bluegrass Pickin’ Party (BU) 8p, Instant Opus Improvised Series (MJ) 10p Jazz Playhouse: Gerald French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Roy Gele (FO) 8:30p Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop: Lucky Lee (SS) 9p Little Tropical Isle: Frank Fairbanks (RK) 5p, Reed Lightfoot (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: George Porter Jr. Trio (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a One Eyed Jacks: Blind Texas Marlin (VR) 10p Snug Harbor: Charmaine Neville Band (JV) 8 & 10p

www.OFFBEAT.com

LIVE LOCAL MUSIC Southport Hall: Nonpoint, Butcher Babies, Cane Hill, Sumo Cyco (VR) 5:30p Spotted Cat: Royal Street Winding Boys (JV) 2p, Dominick Grillo and the Frenchmen St. All-Stars (JV) 6p, Jazz Vipers (JV) 10p Starlight: Burlesque Bingo with Lefty Lucy (BQ) 7p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Cajun Drifters (KJ) 7p Tropical Isle Original: Graham Robertson (RK) 5:15p, Trop Rock Express (RK) 9:15p

TUESDAY MAY 29

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Mark Weliky (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Tacos, Tequila, and Tiaras with Vanessa Carr (VR) 8p Circle Bar: Alex McMurray and his Band (RK) 7p d.b.a.: Dinosaurchestra (JV) 7p, Treme Brass Band (BB) 9p Dos Jefes: Tom Hook and Wendell Brunious (JV) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: Second Hand Street Band, Afrodiziac’s Jazz, Dzakpa Ewe Ensemble (VR) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): Mighty Brother (ID) 6p House of Blues: the Front Bottoms, An Horse (RK) 8p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Beast (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: James Rivers Movement (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Jason Bishop (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Yoshitaka Tsuji Trio (JV) 7p Little Tropical Isle: Mark Pentone (RK) 5p, Frank Fairbanks (RK) 9p Maple Leaf: Rebirth Brass Band (FK) 11p Siberia: Hot Blood Orkestar (KZ) 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 Starlight: DJ Fayard presents Club 817 (FK) 10p Three Keys (Ace Hotel): Birdfoot Festival: Late Nite Rite (FO) 10p Three Muses: Josh Gouzy (JV) 8p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Jay B. Elston Band (RK) 9:15p

WEDNESDAY MAY 30

Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Jesse Morrow (JV) 7:30p Buffa’s: Open Mic Night with Nattie Sanchez (SS) 7p Circle Bar: the Iguanas (RK) 7p Crazy Lobster: Ken Swartz and the Palace of Sin (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Tin Men (RK) 7p, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters (BL) 10p Davenport Lounge (Ritz-Carlton): Jeremy Davenport (JV) 5:30p Fontaine Palace: Marigny Street Brass Band (BB) 9p Funky Pirate: Blues Masters feat. Big Al (BL) 8:30p Gasa Gasa: A Place to Bury Strangers, Prettiest Eyes, Trashlight (RK) 9p Hi-Ho Lounge: Delta Revues (BL) 6p Jazz Playhouse: Nayo Jones Experience (JV) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Patrick Cooper (FO) 8:30p Lafayette Square: Wednesday at the Square feat. Robin Barnes and the Fiya Birds, Shamarr Allen (VR) 5p Little Gem Saloon: Anais St. John with guest Banu Gibson (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Jordan Anderson and the Causeways (FK) 10p Morning Call: Valerie Sassyfras (VR) 10a, Krewe du Two (VR) 1p Palm Court Jazz Café: Lars Edegran and Topsy Chapman with Palm Court Jazz Band (TJ) 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 Starlight: Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue (CW) 7p

www.OFFBEAT.com

Three Keys (Ace Hotel): SONO presents Jasen Weaver record-release show (FK) 9p Three Muses: Leslie Martin (JV) 5p Tropical Isle Bayou Club: Cajungrass (KJ) 7p Tropical Isle Bourbon: Jezebels Chill’n (RK) 5p, Debi and the Deacons (RK) 9p

THURSDAY MAY 31

Armstrong Park: Jazz in the Park feat. Little Freddie King, Tamara Goldinella (BL) 4p Bacchanal: Raphael Bas (JV) 12p, Mike Harvey’s Hot Club (JV) 7:30p Bombay Club: Kris Tokarski Duo (JV) 8p Buffa’s: Krewe De Bechet (JV) 5p, Tom McDermott and Chloe Feoranzo (JV) 8p Bullet’s: Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers (JV) 7p Circle Bar: Dark Lounge feat. Rik Slave (VR) 7p, Lonesome Leash (ID) 9:30p Crazy Lobster: the Spanish Plaza 3 (VR) 5p d.b.a.: Deltaphonic (FK) 10p Fontaine Palace: Daryl Johnson (VR) 10p Hi-Ho Lounge: Marina Orchestra (RK) 9p House of Blues (Foundation Room): the Yat Pack (SI) 7p House of Blues (the Parish): Ultravox’s Midge Ure (SS) 8p House of Blues: Chon, Polyphia, TTNG, Tricot (RK) 7:30p Howlin’ Wolf (the Den): Comedy Gumbeaux (CO) 8:30p Jazz Playhouse: Ashlin Parker Trio (JV) 6:30p, Brass-A-Holics (BB) 8p Kerry Irish Pub: Chip Wilson (FO) 8:30p Little Gem Saloon: Monty Banks (PI) 5p, Madeline Ford Trio (JV) 7:30p Maple Leaf: Tom Worrell (PI) 7p, Johnny Vidacovich, Mike Dillon and George Porter Jr. (JV) 10p Ogden Museum of Southern Art: Spencer Bohren (FO) 6p Palm Court Jazz Café: Tim Laughlin and Clive Wilson with Crescent City Joymakers (TJ) 8p Rock ‘n’ Bowl: Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Tymers (ZY) 8:30p Siberia: Eastern Bloc Party feat. New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars (KZ) 9p Snug Harbor: Amina Scott’s Tribute to 1970s Jazz Masters (JV) 8 & 10p Spotted Cat: Up Up We Go (JV) 2p, Miss Sophie Lee (JV) 6p, Jumbo Shrimp (JV) 10p Starlight: Lynn Drury (SS) 7p Three Muses: Tom McDermott (JV) 5p Tipitina’s: Marty Gras feat. Stanton Moore and friends, Johnny Vidacovich, Peabody Reunion Show, Bucktown All-Stars (VR) 6p Tropical Isle Original: the Hangovers (RK) 5:15p, Late As Usual (RK) 9:15p

FESTIVALS MAY 10-13 The Contemporary Arts Center presents Southern Sonic, a new festival of experimental music, sound art and sound-based visual art featuring performances, panels and workshops.

Cacno.org MAY 12 The annual Crawfish Mambo cook-off and music festival takes place on the UNO Quad.

CrawfishMambo.com MAY 18-20 The annual Bayou Boogaloo music festival on Bayou St. John features live music, regional art, food and drink vendors and kids’ activities.

TheBayouBoogaloo.com MAY 22-26 The New Orleans International Guitar Festival takes place at multiple venues and includes performances, a master class and the Young Artists competition. NewOrleansGuitarFestival. com MAY 2 018

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MAPLE LEAF BAR Fri. May 4, 11 p.m.

BAYOU BOOGALOO

Sat. May 19, 2:45 p.m.

Tony Hall

PHOTO: michael weintrob

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assist, guitarist, drummer, singer and songwriter Tony Hall’s myriad accomplishments include co-founding Dumpstaphunk. The deep-grooving funk-jazzsoul quintet came together in 2003 for an Ivan Neville appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Dumpstaphunk, which returns to Jazz Fest May 5 and Tipitina’s May 6, features original members Hall, Neville, guitarist Ian Neville, bassist Nick Daniels III and its newest member, drummer Alvin Ford Jr. Hall also leads the New Orleans Soul Stars. Following James Brown’s death on Christmas Day, 2006, the Soul Stars have performed tributes to the Godfather of Soul every year on or near Brown’s birthday, May 3. This year’s tribute is May 4 at the Maple Leaf Bar, followed by the Soul Stars’ May 19 performance at the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo.

Hall’s funk, soul and rhythm-and-blues chops are a given. The New Orleans artists on his résumé include Harry Connick Jr., Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, Aaron Neville, Jean Knight, June Yamagishi, Shannon McNally and the Meters (subbing for bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste).

Hall’s versatility also brought him recording sessions and/or tours with Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Brian Eno, Jewel, Edie Brickell, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Buffett, Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Pretty Lights and Herbie Hancock.

A New Orleans native who’s lived in Thibodaux since his teens, Hall grew up in Uptown near the historic Dew Drop Inn. His musical family includes his grandmother, Alberta Hall, a singer who wrote and recorded “Oh! How I Need Your Love,” released in 1955 by Specialty Records.

Hall’s grandfather, Gus Fontenette, played sax with Guitar Slim, Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner and others.

At 10, Hall made his stage debut with his uncle, singer Curley Moore (“Soul Train,” “Sophisticated Sissy”). Playing drums, he joined Moore on stage at the Elks Lodge for James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” and “I Got the Feelin’.” In his early teens, Hall gigged with gospel and soul singer Candi Staton. Work with the Meters and Clarence Carter followed.

In the mid-1980s, Hall signed a recording deal with songwriter, pianist and producer www.OFFBEAT.com

Allen Toussaint. Although the Tony Hall and the Heroes recordings weren’t released, sessionplayer work soon saw Hall recording Bob Dylan’s made-in-New Orleans Oh Mercy album, Emmylou Harris’ Grammy-winning Wrecking Ball, Daniel Lanois’ Acadie, the Neville Brothers’ Yellow Moon and Willie Nelson’s Teatro (all produced by Lanois). His recent sessions include Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews’ 2017 album, Parking Lot Symphony, and the Dumpstaphunk single “Justice,” featuring guest star Andrews.

Dumpstaphunk’s 2003 show at Jazz Fest, which Ivan Neville expected to be a one-off gig, led to a few more gigs in succeeding years. After Hurricane Katrina, the displaced members of Dumpstaphunk made the group a priority. The band has recorded new music that may become the fourth Dumpstaphunk album later this year.

Hall also hopes to release his solo debut.

In the mid-’80s, you signed a recording deal with Allen Toussaint and his business partner, Marshall Sehorn. What happened to the Tony Hall and the Heroes recordings?

By John Wirt

talks back

I recorded a bunch of tracks but they weren’t released. That was part of my doing. I was young at the time. I had bigger ideas and I passed on the deal. Which I shouldn’t have done, because that would have set me up as an artist. Now I’m known as a musician for hire who works with a lot of different people.

But Allen and I were always cool. Every time I’d see him he’d always tell me, ‘Don’t forget to finish that project. You should go with it.’

How did those Tony and the Heroes sessions turn out?

The songs are good. I’m still planning to put all that stuff out. I just get sidetracked with all these other projects, chasing the money and putting myself on the back burner.

You’ve been a gigging musician for about five decades. How did it begin?

When I was 9 or 10, I was playing drums in our living room. My uncle, Curley Moore, heard me play at the house. He was like, ‘All right.

I’m going to have you come play on my show.’

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“James Brown changed music. Before him, everything was like Motown. The bass and the tambourine were involved, but the drums were in the background. He set the groundwork for funk.”

Mom dressed me up. I went to the gig at the Elks Lodge and played my little two songs. That was the first time I played for an audience.

Was the late Curley Moore one of the great characters in the classic New Orleans R&B scene? He also sang with Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns for many years.

Aaron Neville always tells me stories about Curley. He was a character.

Did your performance with your uncle inspire you to do more performing?

Yep. I’ve been playing gigs all my life. When I was 13, I did some dates with Candi Staton and some guys I knew, who’d played with Otis Redding and Johnnie Taylor. They talked to my mom and she let me go out with them on the weekend. And about 1975, I subbed for George Porter Jr. and I’d do gigs with Dr. John.

Why did you switch from drums to bass when you were 16?

A fluke. I was playing in a band with a school teacher. One day the bass player didn’t show up. One of my friends, a drummer, was there. So, he played drums and I played bass.

And I really got into bass. I started practicing more and learning more songs.

This month, Tony Hall and the New Orleans Soul Stars are playing the Maple Leaf Bar and Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo.

From your perspective, what were Brown’s innovations and contributions to music?

James Brown changed music. Before him, everything was like Motown. The bass and the tambourine were involved, but the drums were in the background. But when James came on the scene, he brought a fat drum sound. Snare and bass kicking. And then everyone wanted to play that. It changed the whole format. James paved the way for Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. He did it first. And his bands were always tight and grooving. He set the groundwork for funk and the strong rhythm section thing.

Membership in the Soul Stars stays quite stable. The current membership is drummer Raymond Weber, guitarist Renard Poché, saxophonists Jeff Watkins and Roderick Paulin, trumpeter Tracy Griffin and bassist Vitas Paukstaitis.

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I don’t like changing guys all the time. With the same people, they know the music and we just have to go through it and tighten it up and add some stuff.

Are you doing Brown’s moves and dancing in your New Orleans Soul Stars shows now?

I do a couple of little moves on a couple of songs, but not to the extent James did. That dude, he was unbelievable.

One of the Soul Stars, Jeff Watkins, worked with Brown from 1994 to 2006.

Does Jeff bring special insight into Brown’s music to the Soul Stars? I’ve heard Brown, a.k.a. The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, was quite a taskmaster.

Jeff told me that James had two drummers.

The guys could never just sit there, because James might point to one of them, wanting that one to take over. They had to watch everything he did.

You have a bunch of gigs lined up for Jazz Fest season this year. They include Dumpstaphunk at Jazz Fest and Tipitina’s.

Dumpstaphunk is a long-running project at this point. How’s the band doing these days?

We’re doing okay, but I think we can do better. Maybe the name, Dumpstaphunk, might spook people. But we can play anything. It’s a versatile band, and we’ve all played different styles of music with other artists. We’re hanging in there. We’ve recorded new material that we should release. We should have had a record out. But it’s a little challenging when a band is a democracy, where there’s no leader and everybody’s got a strong personality.

Of course, one of the unique things about Dumpstaphunk is the two bass players, you and Nick Daniels. Did that combination just develop naturally?

Yeah. Ivan moved back to New Orleans and did a Jazz Fest show with all of us. Later, one night at Tipitina’s, I couldn’t make it. So Nick played bass. Then I came back another night.

I played guitar, some bass and, Nick and I, we played bass together. That was it. We were like, ‘Damn! This is killing. Oh, yeah. Let’s do it.’

Having two bass players in one band is unusual. How do you guys do it?

Nick is a great bass player and we have two totally different sounds. He has more of the bright, popping sound. My stuff is darker. Old school. We work good together because it’s not a competition thing with us. We know when to play. Sometimes we answer each other. Sometimes we double a line. He’ll play the high octave and I’ll play the low octave.

But I’ve seen other guys try to do it and it doesn’t work. Because their music isn’t designed for that. And it’s more of a competition thing.

It’s always, ‘Look at me. Look at what I can do.’

That’s not what’s happening with Nick and I. We play in the spaces.

Was Hurricane Katrina and the flood actually good for Dumpstaphunk?

We were all playing with other artists and also playing together as Dumpstaphunk when we had time or gigs popped up. When Katrina hit, we got stuck in Brazil. And then we had a gig in Hawaii. So, we hung out in Hawaii until we were able to get back home.

And that’s when we continued as an actual band.

With Dumpstaphunk, Ivan Neville gets a lot of attention, but isn’t it really a band, not Ivan as leader and the other members as his support?

It’s our band. We make decisions together.

We respect each other.

How did you come to collaborate with Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews for his latest album, Parking Lot Symphony?

Cyril Neville used to bring Troy around a lot when he was young. Troy called me to come play on a demo. And then he was like, ‘We’ll go back and recut it for the record.’ Which was cool. A fun record to play on. Troy is a very nice personality and a great musician. Troy and Allen Toussaint have the same kindness and generosity for people, which is cool. No ego.

You’ve done so much music, in so many different contexts, for many years. Even so, are there things you want to do that you haven’t done yet?

I’m still blessed that I have the opportunity to this stuff. There’s more to come. The main thing I have to do, I’ve got to do a Tony Hall record.

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