This evening, seasonal joy and merriment will be on tap at Snug Harbor when the wandering troubadour returns to the Frenchmen Street club for his annual holiday celebration. Spencer Bohren has become a national treasure known the world over for his guitar playing, singing, teaching, storytelling and commitment to the blues and folk traditions that are part of our country's contribution to human culture. He is also generous with the spotlight as with his time since he frequently appears as a guest performer. Lately, he [...]
This well-covered ballad, originally recorded by Lefty Frizzell just over fifty years ago yet so timeless it's often erroneously cited as a traditional tune, is not as simple as it seems. Where the vast majority of both traditional and modern folksongs range from simple verse to simple chorus and back again - if indeed they use chorus structure at all - here, the doubled chorus makes for a tripartite pattern, a heart-stutter that well suits the Saki tale of the story, twisted and self-sacrificing, with its well-timed reveal at the end of the second verse, and its grounding [...]
If you think this tragedy is over think again. There are still families out there in corners of this country trying to figure out what they are going to do to get their lives back to some normalcy. There are so many musicians who were well known in New Orleans that are totally unknown where they are now. Imagine building your fanbase or your work base in your workplace and suddenly it all disappears. - Jeff Beninato Professor Longhair Big Chief ( Big Chief / 2002) [...]
Uncle T, my brother and our down-south connection, attended part of this year's New Orleans Jazz Festival. We'll have a couple of posts covering the acts that he saw. Alt-gramma signing off and turning it over to Uncle T: 2009 New Orleans Jazz Festival – Friday April 24 I arrived just prior to the gates opening, and decided to situate myself in the Blues Tent to catch the Roy Rogers set before heading to the larger outdoor Gentilly Stage to catch Spoon's headlining set. [...]
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