Kermit Ruffins
Livin’ a Treme Life
Basin Street Records

Though he considered other options, Kermit Ruffins re-signed with Basin Street Records for a three-album deal in 2008, and the first of that trio of recordings, Livin’ a Treme Life, hits the streets April 28. It’s easy to understand the gleeful pride with which BSR announced that renewal. Kermit Ruffins not only exquisitely performs the music that is quintessential New Orleans, he embodies it. The clear sense of joy exuded through his horn is a deliberate homage to the lineage of trumpet players that graced the stages and the streets of New Orleans before him. A consistent undertone is present throughout that reminds the listener of Ruffins’ Crescent City roots. “Good Morning New Orleans” swings while “Treme Mardi Gras” is a highlight of the collection as Baby Jaye joins Ruffins, overlaying a rap excursion on a mix of brass band elements.  With forays into a diversity of cover tunes such as the Isley Brothers’ “For the Love of You” and Horace Silver’s signature Bossa Nova tune “Song for My Father,” Ruffins demonstrates an increasing maturity of repertoire and instrumentation with each recording.  Livin’ a Treme Life is a triumphant diversified effort and an exemplary showcase of the basis for Ruffins’ widespread appeal. –Craig M. Cortello

MC Trachiotomy
Rowdy Life
Rhinestone Records

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll is usually the setting for four people with band shirts on and loud guitars and drums, but it doesn’t have to be, and MC Trachiotomy is informing us of this with his new recording Rowdy Life. The Ninth Ward rapper is getting down to the basic animal actions that most of us try and control on a daily basis. He is also reminding us of the crazy shit that goes down in the seedier neck of the woods.  The recording opens up with advice on repressing your anger and then moves on to “Let It Go,” an instrumental with a soul train feel. “Money” is a personal favorite, and not because I have love for it, but because Trachiotomy’s vocal skills are polished and raw all in the same breath. The music underneath his vocals is also very accomplished and cohesive on this one with a real badass beat. “Sex” is just plain weird. I’m guessing that is part of the message, because the music under the vocals is like a hallucination with a groove. The vocals sound like an anxious voice under the covers informing us of what is going on, ahem, down there. The recording features Quintron, who provides beats, programming, and vocals. This music is trippy rap that is different and new and as I’ve said before, it’s got the badass beats. –Brian Serpas     

Kat Walker
Jazz Scat Gumbo
(Indie)

If you’re going to do a scat CD, why not kick it off with the quintessential scat song everyone knows? That’s exactly what Kat Walker does in opening this 14-track collection with “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got That Swing),” and it sets the stage nicely for the other songs to come. Walker, a talented visual artist as well as a talented vocal artist, takes on some of the most popular classics in the Great American Songbook and gives them each a neat little twist with her artistic flair for expressionism. With nonsensical monosyllabic sounds that rarely, if ever, come out as actual words, scat singing could be likened to abstract visual art: open to the interpretation of the artist as well as the audience. Infusing parts of nearly all the songs with these abstractions, she manages to pull it off well in a sweet, bouncy alto voice that stays comfortably within its limited range. Classic tunes composed by the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Brecht and Weill, Arlen and Harburg, Ellington, Waller and others are given a fine treatment here, backed up by a first-rate band of Frenchmen Street “regulars.” With Bart Ramsey on piano, Spike Perkins on bass, Dominick Grillo on tenor sax, and Dennis O’Toole on drums, plus the technical wizardry of Tim Stambaugh of Word of Mouth Studio, Walker couldn’t have picked a better dream team for her recording debut. All of the musicians are given their moments in the sun and they shine brightly, especially Ramsey and Grillo, who are given solos on every cut.  –Dean M. Shapiro

Glasgow
On Earth
(Indie)

Glasgow soars above all expectations on their latest album, On Earth.  The Craft brothers, Sam and Jack, create their own world within an orchestral land full of imaginative lush lyrics and hypnotic beats that will keep your head bobbing through each song.  The brothers sound like the product of Weezer, Blink-182, Letters From Cleo, No Doubt, and an orchestra having a bastard hippie love child together. Track five, “Slave,” sounds like a cute little ditty from off  The Flinstones, and most will easily relate to the honest lyrics. Within each track, the listener can find complex musical compositions that interact with the listener and the singer equally, searching to find just the right balance. This can be heard in “Samurai” in which the guitar licks capture the lyrical story behind the beats and symphonic harmonies. Incredibly, like molecular science, the brother’s unique songwriting process works elevating the local rock music scene to a new level. A personal favorite on this CD is “Strangers,” which has some lyrics very reminiscent to that of the New Orleans vaudeville scene in the French Quarter, along with beautiful violin work that only a street performer could mimic for spare change.  There’s also a really neat ending on the last track.  Pick up a copy and enjoy On  Earth. –Kevin McKee

The Treme Brass Band
New Orleans Music!
Mardi Gras Records

Enjoy the sounds of New Orleans as Treme Brass Band continues to spread the love and sound of our musical heritage through their latest album, New Orleans Music!  From the first track, “Grazing in the Grass,” you won’t be able to keep your body still, suddenly falling under the captivating rhythmic spell of these talented musicians.  Treme Brass Band symbolizes the real New Orleans brass band sound, epitomizing the local second line like in “Caledonnia” and “Sing On.”  They also bring out their jazz roots on “Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” and “Cabaret.” Treme performs an unforgettable version of “Mack the Knife” that brings together a jazzy scat with brass band sound. Treme showcases their beats and brassy street sound on “Gimme My Money Back” and “Tuba Fats,” taking the listener on a journey through the musical NOLA neighborhoods.  As all great brass bands do, Treme showcases their jazz funeral playing in their rendition of “Amazing Grace,” while “I’ll Fly Away,” completes the CD and embraces their Dixieland roots celebrating their culmination of a grand journey through New Orleans Music!  By all means, any local can truly grasp the love, energy, soul, and passion all timelessly preserved and proudly delivered in this remarkable piece of work by the Treme Brass Band.  When you listen to the music of Treme Brass Band, you know you’re back home in New Orleans. –Kevin McKee

Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs
Box Who In?
(Indie)

Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs break out of the box and blend hip-hop, jazz, funk, and even some Latin rhythms together, producing an incredible musical collection entitled Box Who In? Allen begins with what sounds like screaming guitars licks, but it’s an effected trumpet and a memorable melody on “Bad Habit,” which infuses the classic pattern of New Orleans rock and brass sound throughout.  Allen does his own thing on “Crazy (‘bout New Orleans)” blending together an infusion of modern jazz resembling “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley.  Last year at Jazz Fest, Allen did this song and had the crowd in an uproar; this version seems to be the same style and just as compelling for those of us that believe the same. He does a little scat and even some rap, showing his musical diversity and realm to jump straight into several genres without missing a beat. Allen also brings in some big name friends on Box Who In? with “A Night in Tunisia” featuring Soul Rebels, “Rock Da Mic” featuring local New Orleans drummer Stanton Moore, “Spread My Wings” featuring Yolonda Windsay, and Party All Night” featuring Left Side Brass Band.  Allen’s style seems daring and willing to take chances as a young musician, which is so refreshing since he pushes that creative freedom of self-expression to another level. That self-expression can be heard in the lyrics of “The World Is A Ghetto” and “America” that heavily hits the rap beats and provokes true thought that most will agree with.  Overall, Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs have produced an incredible thought and theory provoking collection by blending the best sounds together infused with local flavor, which will most likely land Box Who In? as one of the top selling local CDs this summer.
–Sheri McKee

Wynton Marsalis
He and She
Blue Note

The spoken word is interspersed with melodic and harmonic brilliance as Wynton Marsalis ruminates on the nuance of romantic interplay in his latest album He and She. His thoughts progressively meander from the playful emotions of youthful infatuations and affections to the complexities of weathered relationships in a poem segmented throughout the collection. Marsalis acknowledges the superior majesty and intellect of the gender of his pursuit, with this eloquent depiction of a woman – “You are northern lights, searing midnight skies with sassy splashes of unruly satin.” As that poetry lays the foundation for the concept of the album, a talented quintet interprets Marsalis’ musical representations of elements of that text. From the bouncy ragtime of “School Boy” to the emotive “First Slow Dance,” the music is in perfect step with the sentiments it depicts. Marsalis resists the oft-destructive temptation of the virtuoso to turn supercilious, always engaging the listener with thought-provoking, poignant, and blissful vignettes in this cohesive collection.
–Craig M. Cortello

Clint Maedgen+9
Open Restraints
Bingo! Records

Clint is back with a new raw and stripped-down version of pure Maedgen music.  According to to CD Baby, “Clint Maedgen’s musical projects is a true testament to Maedgen’s ability to orchestrate and arrange multiple musicians from myriad backgrounds into a unified rock and roll context. Featuring such heavy-hitting New Orleans artists as drummer Stanton Moore, Mike Dillon, and Casey McAllister, Open Restraints reinterprets some of the most intense early songs from the Clint Maedgen songbook for a city that’s lived through a lot.” This statement holds true as Maedgen rediscovers earlier songs like “My Time,” which is less embellished than versions performed with BINGO! and heavier on the percussion and soulful power of Maegden’s vocals.  Maedgen also breathes new life into “5 Days Late” and “Devil’s Paradise,” creating a clearer, more concise recording that seems simpler and whole at the same time. The percussion seems to take the lead highlighting the music itself and working in conjunction with Maedgen’s vocal inflictions.  This can truly be heard in “Bringing out the Dead,” which grasps the listener with great desires to be in an old horror movie soundtrack about that haunted house deep in the French Quarter flooded with freakish vaudevillians. Maedgen also brings out his funky side on “Fools and Their Fences/You,” which is a side that most of us don’t hear that often, but should. The result of Open Restraints is some of Maedgen’s most climatic musical masterpieces that deserve a great nod of appreciation.
–Kevin McKee

Umphrey’s McGee
Mantis
SCI Fidelity

Having spent eleven years beefing up their musical chops, Chicago-based sextet Umphrey’s McGee has been able to separate themselves from other bands in the jam band circuit without being forced into eccentricity or irony. On their latest release, Mantis, listeners can expect aurally-pleasing peaks and valleys of searing hard-rock breakdowns and piano-ladden melodies (“Made to Measure” and “Cemetry Walk”). The album, which packs a punch with its sleek production, is evocative of Yes, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, and Los Lonely Boys with an electronic tilt. Varying strains of Metallica’s metalcore influence can also be heard throughout the album, particularly on the track “Mantis.” Without lending itself to exhausting overlong atonal noodling, each song on the album is distinguished by a cohesive melodic structure. While these characteristics are high points of the album, there are moments when the band falls prey to contived 90s soft-rockisms.
–Dominique Minor

New Orleans Indie Rock Collective and Firefly Vodka Various Artist Sampler
Robots Are Mean
(Indie)

This free sampler CD, released in conjunction with the NOLA Indie Rock Fest II held March 5 through 7, is a sequel to Rock Beats Paper from the October 2008 original venue.  Robots Are Mean is 16 songs with two angles each from Glasgow, Big Rock Candy Mountain, The Happy Talk Band, Caddywhompus, The Public, Silent Cinema, The Zydepunks, and The Pharmacy.  This collage on the bulletin board of local independent rock during a recession year conveys a somber mood evocative of 2009’s popular response to way-post Katrina media Stimulus coverage with samplings like The Public’s “Control Self Panic,” where “Get a hold of yourself” is the best advice. “So Say We All” by Silent Cinema features the reverberating chant, “Turn it down.”  Glasgow matter-of-factly questions, “What did I tell you about talking to strangers?” culminating in the chorus which is “cut down the middle.”   Some fable play is notable, as in The Happy Talk Band’s “Giant” with full bone grindage mention.  Standout Zydepunks offer a Fiddler on the Roof meets rockabilly style NOLA transplant addictive folk tale in “Angel Whiskey.” This world band with multiple national influences and sounds churns out an Air Supply-esque folk dance fiddlefest in “When My Ship Sails Away.”  Silent Cinema heals in the second lines of “Trees Come Alive.”   Micah McKee yodel growls soothing remedies to those of us New Orleanians who “love poison,” all the while serenaded by jazz trumpet and trombone.  Good things are brewing in this melting pot of churning times, and good indie is served best in the Big Easy where Robots Are Mean.
–Dionne Charlet