ESSENTIAL RECORDINGS BY LOUISIANA ARTISTS
Louis
Armstrong/Complete Hot Fives and Hot Sevens This
music, recorded between 1925 and 1929, is among the most important in
jazz. The music of the Hot Fives, recorded by Armstrong along with his
wife, Lil, Johnny Dodds, Kid Ory, and Johnny St. Cyr, altered the course
of jazz by replacing the importance of the collective New Orleans ensemble
with that of the soloist. The music of the Hot Sevens, on which Earl
Hines and Jack Teagarden are added, further refine and fulfill Armstrong's
individualistic concept. Great sound quality on this JSP Records release.
Jelly
Roll Morton/1926-1930 All of Morton's
Victor Recordings from 1926-1930, with better sound than any domestic
release and at a great price. The first volume
largely features the legendary Chicago sessions of Morton's Red Hot
Peppers, which created a recorded legacy of the nearly lost music of
early New Orleans jazz. Volumes 2 & 3 follow Morton to New York,
where he continued to record ground breaking, if not always as inspired,
music that set the tone for where jazz would be going. The last two
volumes consist primarily of alternate takes of these sessions. Overall,
the set is a must for fans of Morton and early jazz alike.
Fats
Domino/Jukebox: 20 Greatest
Hits Good selection of 20 hits
by the Fat Man, including "Fat Man", "Ain't That a Shame",
"Walking to New Orleans", "Blueberry Hill", "I'm
Gonna Be a Wheel Someday", "Jambalaya" and more. If you
want a more comprehensive collection, try the 4-Disc
Walking to New Orleans
Marcia
Ball/Presumed Innocent
Marcia exemplifies the crossover to be found near the
Texas-Louisiana border with her rich music featuring the rollicking
piano of New Orleans, the accordian-driven punch of Zyedco, and the
piledriving grind of Texas blues. Most of her albums are of high quality--other
contenders include
Gatorhythms, Hot
Tamale Baby, and the excellent Dreams
Come True recorded with Angela Strehli and Lou
Ann Barton.
Bayou
Deluxe: The Best Of Michael Doucet & Beusoleil
Beausoleil may have originated as Cajun purists,
but Cajun music itself has always been a rich, creolized mixture combining
Southern country and folk music with traditional songs from France's
Brittany region. Revealing the band's own increasingly wide-ranging
stylistic borrowings over the course of the 15-year period it encompasses,
Bayou Deluxe includes everything from raving remakes of some early material
("Le Jig Français") to a mazurka from the Seychelles
("Chez Seychelles") to a French duet with Richard Thompson
("Sur le Pont de Lyon"). It also includes plenty of the incandescent
two-steps and waltzes, as well as a heartbreaking ballad or two. Also
tryThe
Best of Beausoleil or
Cajunization. 
James Booker/Junco Partner
Like Jelly Roll Morton and Professor
Longhair, James Booker belonged to the great tradition of New Orleans
piano "professors," players whose flamboyance extended from
the keyboard to every aspect of life. On this 1975 solo recording, Booker's
music is a gumbo of everything from barrelhouse blues and R&B to
memories of childhood classical training as he ranges through material
that had its origins with Chopin, Leadbelly, Earl King, and Tin Pan
Alley. Also check out
King of the New Orleans Keyboard
Dirty
Dozen Brass Band/Medicated Magic Since
1977 the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has brought the tradition of the New
Orleans brass band forward, including influences such as funk, R&B,
rock, and even hip-hop. Here the nine piece band is joined by a variety
of special guests that help bring the street parade right to your door.
Dr. John lends his piano chords and deep-south vocals on "Everything
I Do Gon' Be Funky" and the festive "Big Chief." The
gravel-voiced John Bell, of Georgia-based jam band Widespread Panic,
chimes in on the hip-shaking "Walk on Gilded Splinters." Robert
Randolph's ghostly steel pedal guitar casts its spell on Aaron Neville's
"Tell It Like It Is," and the young diva Norah Jones's tender
Texas twang graces the ballad "Ruler of My Heart." DJ Logic's
turntable scratches provide the gumbo on the autobiographical "We
Got Robbed," and the Mississippi-born blues bard Olu Dara adds
his Delta-derived voice to "Junko Partner." Other
hot DDBB albums include
Buck Jump,
New Orleans Album, and
Voodoo 
The Meters/Funkify Your Life
An essential collection featuring music from the group's
earliest days, their highly funky early 1970s incarnation, and their
most recent work as well. The group, which functioned as the house band
at Allan Toussaints SeaSaint Studios, specialized in funky instrumentals
like "Cissy Strut", "Her Comes the Meter Man" and
"Chicken Strut", but they could turn in a great vocal number
when they wanted to, as songs like "Good Old Funky Music"
and "People Say" make clear. This collection is well put together,
but if you really want to dig the Meters sound, you'll need a stack
of albums:
The Meters,
Rejuvenation,
Look-Ka Py Py,
Cabbage Alley,
Struttin',
and
Fire on the Bayou are all classics.
Clarence "Frogman" Henry/Ain't
Got No Home Henry broke out
with the title track hit featuring his famous "Frogman" voice,
but there's more here than that--a healthy dose of Fats Domino-inspired
New Orleans R&B that will keep you boppin' long into the night.
This collection captures Henry's recordings for
the Argo label, but recently the British Edsel Records has released,
for the first time on CD, Henry's recordings for the Crazy Cajun label
on I
Like That Alligator Baby. This fine collection
includes such great tunes as "Sea Cruise", "Lovin' Cajun
Style" and "You Can Have Her." Righteous!
Ernie
K-Doe/Absolutely the Best Ernie
had a hit with "Mother-In-Law", and his true blue R&B
style--dancing, dropping to his knees, and rolling off the stage--put
him in a category with James Brown, Lil Willie John, Joe Tex and Jackie
Wilson. This CD features 18 of his best tracks, including "Wanted
$10,000 Reward", "Waiting at the Station", "Heebie
Jeebies" and, of course, "Mother-In-Law".
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