Category: <span>News</span>

Rain held off at New Orleans Jazz Fest on Thursday morning, letting sousaphone star Kirk Joseph share his New Orleans roots with fans at the Acura Stage. A founding member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Joseph led his own ensemble, Back Yard Groove, through a program of dense, bottom-shaking funk, anchored by his big silver horn.

On Thursday (May 2), Backyard Groove ran about as deep as the Mississippi River, with two trap drummers, two percussionists, a savvy two-man horn section, and a guitarist with a taste for chunky riffs and minimalist melodic fragments. Joseph also turned the spotlight on Kyle Roussel, a young keyboard star who made waves at the Jazz Tent this past weekend.

Vocalist Leslie Smith sailed over the band like an acrobat on a trampoline — and the dancing soul diva was joined for a brief guest spot by Cue, a Treme neighborhood vocal talent.

Sousaphone star Kirk Joseph led his funk jam band, Backyard Groove, through a morning set at the Acura Stage of the New Orleans Jazz Fest on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

For anyone starting their day at the Acura Stage, Joseph’s band gave a delightful lesson in the pan-African pleasures of New Orleans music. The show was especially suited for anyone with a taste for melismatic vocal flights, driving call-and-response structures, and the extended jams of Fela Kuti and Miles Davis circa 1973.

Chris Waddington, NOLA.com

Legendary New Orleans radio WWOZ chose “Sousafunk Ave” as one of the Top New Orleans CDs for the decade. Albums selected are listed alphabetically by first name below.

Group – Year – Label – CD Title

Aaron Neville – 2003 – Verve – Nature Boy
Bobby Lounge – 2005 – self – I Remember The Night Your Trailer Burned Down
Chris Thomas King – 2006 – 21 Century Blues – Rise
Cubanismo – 2000 – Hannibal – Mardi Gras Mambo
Deacon John – 2003 – VCC – Jump Blues
Dirty Dozen – 2002 – RopeADope – Medicated magic
Dr John – 2004 – EMI – N’awlins Dis Dat or D’udda
Dr John – 2001 – Blue Note – Creole Moon
Eddie Bo – 2001 – self – We Came To Party
George Porter – 2000 – self – Funk n’ Go Nuts
Irma Thomas – 2006 – Rounder – After The Rain
Jeremy Lyons – 2001 – self – Deltabilly Boys
John Boutte – 2003 – Bose – Jambalaya
John Rankin – 2002 – STR – Guitar Gumbo
Jon Cleary – 2004 – Basin St – Pin Your Spin
Jonathan Batiste – 2005 – self – Times in New Orleans
Kermit Ruffins – 2002 – Basin St – Big Easy
Kirk Joseph – 2005 – self – Sousafunk Ave
Leigh Harris – 2001 – self – Polychrome Junction
Leroy Jones – 2002 – self – Back To My Roots
Los Po-Boy-Citos – 2009 – self – New Orleans Latin Soul
Luther Kent – 2009 – VCC – Bobby Bland Songbook
Mark Braud – 2002 – self – Shake It and Break it
Matt Lemmler – 2001 – self – Portraits of Wonder
Matt Perrine – 2007 – self – Sunflower City
Neville Bros – 2004 – self – Walkin in the Shadow of Life
New Orleans Nightcrawlers – 2009 – Threadheads – Slither Slice
Nicholas Payton – 2001 – Verve – Dear Louis
Panorama Jazz Band – 2003 – self – A Hot Night in February
Papa Grows Funk – 2001 – self – Doin’ It
Sansone, Krown & Fohl – 2004 – self – Sansone, Krown & Fohl
Snooks Eaglin – 2002 – Money Pit – The Way It Is
Tim Laughlin – 2003 – self – Isle of Orleans
Tom McDermott – 2001 – STR – The Crave
Tricia Boutte – 2007 – Herman – Oh Mahalia
Troy Andrews – 2005 – self – The End of the Beginning
Vavavoom – 2006 – self – Melomania
Zigaboo – 2000 – self – Zigaboo.com

– Tom Morgan, wwoz.org

News

JAZZFEST REVIEW: Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

Sousafunk Ave Ranked Among WWOZ’s Top Albums of the Decade