New Orleans Blues

Exhaustive, multi-disc set comprising everything recorded by this New Orleans singer. With the songwriting talents of Dave Bartholomew aboard, utilizing the sound of the legendary J&M Studios, and the best Crescent City musicians available, this is truly New Orleans music at its very best. ~...

The best of Eaglin's terrific series of Black Top efforts so far -- song selection is absolutely unassailable (lots of savage New Orleans covers, from Lloyd Price and Professor Longhair to Willie Tee and Earl King), the band simmers and sizzles with spicy second-line fire (bassist George...

While there has suddenly been a flood of CDs featuring masterful New Orleans keyboard wizard and vocalist James Booker, his best release arguably remains Classified. The 12-track set was a landmark album, as Booker displayed every facet of his distinctive style. He did up-tempo lues,...

The humba-rocking rhythms of Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd live on throughout Rhino's 40-track retrospective of the New Orleans icon's amazing legacy. Most of the seminal stuff arrives early on: "Bald Head," the rollicking ode cut for Mercury in 1950, is followed...

Although calling Johnny Adams a blues singer is far too confining, he's certainly among the finest to perform in that idiom. He's equally brilliant at slow or uptempo numbers, can effectively convey irony, heartache, or triumph, and is a masterful storyteller. These ten blues numbers...

This country-soul album, containing all of his hits from 1962-1968, was produced by Shelby Singleton. ~ Richard Pack, All Music Guide

This solo disc by arguably the most brilliant of New Orleans' resplendent pianists shows off all the edge and genius he possessed. There may be moments on other discs of slightly more inspired playing (and this is arguable), but for a whole disc this one stands far from the crowd. You can...

This 22-song British compilation is the only place to find a decent cross-section of Johnny Adams' SSS sides, including his two biggest hits, the stately "Release Me" and the truly stunning "Reconsider Me." Not all of Adams' late-'60s waxings were allads;...

Recorded in 1974, this album almost never saw the light of day. Fortunately, the master tapes were found and the album was released posthumously. Professor Longhair was a giant in the New Orleans music community, but had not recorded in over ten years when he was convinced to start playing...

Probably the best of all the many albums Longhair waxed during his comeback. A tremendously tight combo featuring three horns and Dr. John on guitar delightfully back the Professor every step of the way as he recasts Solomon Burke's "Cry to Me" and Fats Domino's "Whole...

Katie Webster plays barrelhouse oogie-woogie, New Orleans R&B, Gulf Coast swamp pop, deep bayou lues and Southern gospel-flavored soul like nobody's business; her 35 years of professional piano work has appeared on at least 500 singles, including the original version of "Sea of...

Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) created his own label after many years in collaboration with Joel Dorn's Hyena Records. The result is an imprint called Skinji Brim that will issue Rebennack's archived live recordings as well as recordings by other artists that "ain't found a home...

Some of the earliest sides from Longhair's rediscovery period (1971-72), featuring a lot of tunes inexorably associated with him through previous versions and a few ("Jambalaya," "Sick and Tired") that weren't. An added bonus is the magical presence of guitarist...

The New Orleans pianist ventured overseas in 1971 and waxed this CD along the way with a mighty unlikely band: guitarists Gatemouth Brown and Jimmy Dawkins and a Chicago rhythm section (bassist Mac Thompson and drummer Ted Harvey). A lesser musician might have wilted with players so unfamiliar...

This exacting chronological survey of Professor Longhair's first recordings is a welcome alternative to the usual reissue practice of mingling some of these tracks with later material from the early '50s. As is often the case with the Classics Chronological series, a succession of...

Champion Jack Dupree was one of the first American lues performers to leave the States and settle in Europe, where racial restrictions were less prominent. Arriving on the Continent in 1959, Dupree was well established and in a good position to take advantage of the British blues boom when it...

Whenever Johnny Adams does a repertory album, it's as much his own showcase as a forum for the spotlighted composer. Even Percy Mayfield's lyrically brilliant works don't hamper Adams from displaying his special magic; his treatments on the session's ten tunes range from...

Lovable Katie Webster had some high-profile help for this impressive comeback album -- Bonnie Raitt shares the vocal on

Another impressive showcase for Katie Webster's rollicking 88s and earthy vocals. Other than the Memphis Horns, no special guests this time -- just Webster and her tight trio (anchored by guitarist Vasti Jackson). ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide