by S. Victor Aaron Here’s a trio of African-Americans playing bluegrass, vintage country, jug and other hillbilly styled music, played the old-fashioned way. But just listen to the music and you’ll realize the appeal isn’t at all in the novelty of this setup. No, it’s because they play it soRead More

by Nick DeRiso  This is an updated excerpt from a multi-artist piece I had published as part of the statewide Louisiana Folklife Festival’s program book in 1995. Born in 1904, Thomas Edison “Brownie” Ford would travel all over the Deep South — working as a ballad singer, bronc buster, storytellerRead More

This is an updated excerpt from a multi-artist piece I had published as part of the statewide Louisiana Folklife Festival’s program book in 1995. Thomas suffered a fatal heart attack later that same year, in his hometown of Shreveport, La., ending a career that spanned seven decades: On his oldRead More

by Nick DeRiso Benny Spellman’s “Fortune Teller,” a witty early-1960s story song, is one of my touchstone party records. Everything about it is perfectly New Orleans, from the pounding piano to this sizzling island-tinged percussion, from a group of yelping, mesmerizingly groovy R&B backup singers to its not one butRead More

Milton’s roots music, ruddy and real, doesn’t sound anything like his bio: New York City-based singer-songwriter. Instead, we have this sweetly gruff record, “Grand Hotel,” which stands flat-footed in the middle of the four-way intersection of folk-rock, country, blues and pop. Milton, turns out, comes by this honestly: His grandmother,Read More

NICK DERISO: Best to fasten your seltbelts, and put your trays in the upright position. “Git It” is a frenetic, fun-filled journey, this breathless moment of in-concert glory that comes and goes so fast that it remains sadly emblematic of the meteoric rise of Beau Jocque himself. During the lastRead More

If whack jazz isn’t exactly your cup of tea, this fifth and final installment of “The Best of 2008” might suit you better. It’s all about the blues, here. I took a fairly broad view of what is called “the blues.” Some of these records may not have a singleRead More

NICK DERISO: “The Ultimate Session” might not completely live up to the billing. Forgive us, however, if we cherish its sense of hip-shaking fun, anyway. Assembled are a who’s-who group of New Orleans musicians who played nearly five decades before with the likes of Little Richard, Fats Domino and ProfessorRead More

NICK DERISO: You would call Johnny J.’s stuff rockabilly, but that’s too small of a space. He’s got some blues in one corner, some echoey 1950s-era balladry in another. Carl Perkins, Fats Domino and Buddy Holly are party guests. This is the point where blues, jazz, country and rhythm musicRead More

NICK DERISO: Asleep at the Wheel has ensured that Texas swing music is no museum piece. In fact, they can be downright postmodern — recording, on occasion, with the likes of Manhattan Transfer and the Squirrel Nut Zippers, while paying tribute to Lone Star musical legend Bob Wills. A niftyRead More