Shel Talmy RIP

Shel Talmy, who has died aged 87, was one of the top UK based record producers of the sixties who guided the early careers of artists such as the Kinks, the Who and David Bowie. Born in Chicago he moved early on to LA where he graduated from the same high school as Jerry Leiber, Herb Alpert, Michael Jackson and Phil Spector. As part of the 'Wrecking Crew' he worked on records produced by the likes of Gary Paxton, Rene Hall and Bumps Blackwell. But it was only when he relocated to the UK in 1962 that his production career took off. Signed to Decca as an independent record producer he was responsible for 'Charmaine' by the Bachelors and under-appreciated singles by Wayne Gibson (whose recording of 'Beachcomber' I picked up only yesterday) and girl group the Orchids among many others. In 1964 he began producing records by the Kinks, beginning with their first 45 'Long Tall Sally' and all their early hits including 'You Really Got Me' right up to 'Waterloo Sunset' in 1967. He also produced the Brunswick hits by The Who, including 'I Can't Explain' and 'My Generation', early records by David Bowie when he was known as Davy Jones, the Easybeats, Manfred Mann, Roy Harper and Pentangle. Other sixties productions included records by the Zephyrs, the Dennisons, the Fortunes, Johnny B Great, Amen Corner, Goldie and the Gingerbreads, Houston Wells and the Nashville Teens. He formed his own short-lived record label Planet with Arthur Howes whose early releases included several by the Creation. He worked on a wide variety of albums including ones by Tim Buckley and Lee Hazlewood and remained in demand in the seventies, with production deals with the Bell and Charisma labels. By this time he was more focused on book publishing and film making but in 1977 he produced a record by the Damned. He returned to the US in 1979 but continued to produce records on occasion.

Farewell to Offbeat magazine

I was sorry to read recently that the New Orleans music magazine Offbeat is to close down at the end of the year. I suppose it's another nail in the coffin of print publications but it's a shame, as Offbeat has been a reliable source of news and listings about New Orleans music ever since I first visited the city 35 years ago. Back then, there was another music magazine called Wavelength that also covered the types of music that interested me, including New Orleans rhythm and blues, zydeco, rock and roll and gospel. It was where writers like Jeff Hannusch, who wrote 'I Hear You Knockin: The Sound of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues', first made their mark. That magazine never made any money and lasted for just 11 years, closing down in 1991, but it was a must-read publication and one I subscribed to for a couple of years. Offbeat, which was founded by Jan Ramsey in 1987, has lasted somewhat longer but its life has also come to an end - unless a buyer is found. When I was in New Orleans last month one of the first things I did was seek out copies of Offbeat, which used to be available in any number of bars and shops in the French Quarter. I couldn't find one, as it turned out that it is now on line only, except during Jazzfest. I found copies of Where Y'at and Gambit, both of which include music listings for the Big Easy and are excellent in their own way, but the absence of Offbeat leaves a big hole. Sad to see another New Orleans institution die, after the Palm Court Jazz Cafe earlier in the year and a couple of other music outlets in Frenchmen Street.

Quincy Jones and others RIP

Quincy Jones, who has died aged 91, has rightly received plaudits from many within the world of music. As a producer, composer, arranger and conductor he is best known for his work with Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, and for his jazz productions and film scores. But in a career that spanned over 70 years what stands out to me is his work with Ray Charles, who he met when he was just 14, and Lesley Gore, whose Mercury recordings he produced from 1963 to 1966. Quincy toured with the Lionel Hampton band in 1953 and went on to work with Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington and many other jazz stars of the fifties and sixties. His 'Soul Bossa Nova', released in 1962, went on to be featured in the Austin Powers movies, and his number one smash with Lesley Gore's 'It's My Party' began a run of hits with her for Mercury. He produced hits for Ray Charles, including 'One Mint Julep', and wrote the score for 'In The Heat Of The Night', which includes Ray Charles' haunting title theme, and many other soundtracks, including 'The Italian Job' and 'In Cold Blood'. His production credits included a gospel album with Little Richard, and albums by Billy Eckstine, Billy Preston, Aretha Franklin and the Brothers Johnson. He achieved his greatest success as producer of the Michael Jackson albums 'Off The Wall, 'Thriller' and 'Bad'.

Best known as a singer of easy listening pop material Jack Jones, who died recently aged 86, recorded dozens of albums in a career which began in 1959. His early hits included 'Lollipops and Roses', 'Wives and Lovers' and 'Dear Heart' but he showed that he could rock it up a bit with records such as George Jones's 'The Race Is On' and 'Love Bug'.

Another recent death is that of rockabilly artist Bill 'Peg Pants' Beach, aged 92. He recorded for King in the late fifties - his best known song being 'Peg Pants' - and toured Europe during the 1980s rockabilly revival. Also folk and blues singer and activist Barbara Dane, aged 97. She was interviewed by Garth Cartwright for The Guardian shortly before her death and the article, and subsequent obituary, is well worth seeking out.

Bette Smith in Eastleigh

I first saw New York born soul singer Bette Smith at the Americana Fest in Nashville in 2019 and was impressed by her dynamic performance and the energy she displayed and by her huge Afro hairstyle. Since then she has recorded two albums to add to her first one 'Jetlagger', released in 2017, and she appeared at the Concorde Club in Eastleigh, near Southampton, last night to promote her third album 'Goodthing'. Sadly there was a very small audience - maybe 30 or so people- which was a shame as Bette put on an exciting show. Dressed in a multicoloured dress with a white feather boa around her neck, she began with the excellent 'Shackle and Chain' from the 'Jetlagger' album. She comes across as a mixture of Etta James and a female James Brown - not a bad combination come to think of it - and her next song was a regular in her set, Etta James's 'Tell Mama'. Bette's new album was produced by London-based Jimmy Hogarth, who has produced such stars as Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Corinne Bailey-Rae in the past, and she performed several songs from the album, including 'Eternal Blessings', which she co-wrote with Hogarth, 'Neptune' and 'Time Gets Slower'. A highlight was the slow 'Don't Skip Out On Me' from her second album 'The Good The Bad and the Bette' but most of her numbers were upbeat and showed off her raspy voice to good effect as she high kicked, shuffled and generally sashayed across the stage. There were a few covers, including George Jones's 'Tennessee Whisky' - a song I seem to hear everywhere these days - 'The Thrill Is Gone' and Otis Redding's 'The Happy Song', along with an extended version of Prince's 'Purple Rain', which included a walk through the sparse audience. Finally, after 75 minutes on stage, she returned for an exciting version of 'Nutbush City Limits', which showed off her inner Tina Turner to good effect. Overall this was a good show and Bette gave it her all, despite the small crowd and her rather uninspired backing band. Hopefully she will soon be filling concert halls as she is a delight to watch.

Festival final day

The final day of the Blues and BBQ Festival was another hot one but less crowded. I missed the first two acts as I was watching football (England v Finland) and arrived to see Mitch Woods and his Rocket 88s (pictured above). He is a regular at Porretta so I knew what to expect - New Orleans piano R and B. Not bad but not exceptional.

Next up was Eric Lindell who I thought was great. He's a blue eyed soul singer who moved from San Francisco to New Orleans in 1999 and has recorded for Alligator records. He has a relaxed style and a decent voice and was well supported by Samantha Pelham on vocals, Jay Stiles on keyboards and John Mueller on guitar (who also backed Marcia Ball). Songs included 'Lay Back Down', 'Bayou Country' and Jackie Moore's 'Precious'. Guesting for one song was Sunpie Barnes, who had his own set earlier which I missed.

The next act was the James Rivers Movement. James is a genuine New Orleans legend having played sax on many of the great hits recorded at Cosimo Matassa's studio in the fifties and sixties. He played with Deacon John at the very first Jazzfest in 1970 and aged 87 he is still performing. This was a jazzy set with some sax numbers and gentle vocals on a few songs including "Blue Monday' and 'Ain't That A Shame'. He also played the bagpipes on 'Amazing Grace' (in Ron's honour?) and the flute.

Over on the Camp Street stage things hotted up with Kenny Neal who was celebrating his 67th birthday, although he has the energy of a teenager. He began with 'Funny How Time Slips Away' and other songs included his dad Raful Neal's 'I Know Someone Cares', a Jimmy Reed medley including 'Honest I Do' and 'Rock Me Baby'. As usual it was very much a family affair with two brothers playing in his band and a third brother,harmonica player Larry, coming on to do 'Baby Scratch My Back'.

There was more blues next with Little Freddie King backed as usual by Wacko Wade on drums and Robert Louis diTullio Jr on harmonica. Immaculately dressed as ever Freddie was immobile as he sang and played his own songs such as 'Dr Bones' and 'Chicken Dance' and classics including 'Baby Please Don't Go' and 'Hello Josephine'. At 84 Freddie shows no sign of giving up any time soon for which I say, as he says after every song 'Thank you very much. Thank you'.

And so we got to the final act of the festival, folk singer Leyla McCalla. Leyla is of Haitian descent and plays a variety of stringed instruments including guitar, banjo and cello. She would go down well at a folk festival but seemed an odd choice to close out this particular one. Ron and I, along with quite a few others, voted with our feet and left. The pub beckoned.

Blues and BBQ Festival 1st full day

The first full day of the Blues and BBQ Festival was hot and annoyingly there were large no go areas in front of the two stages reserved for VIPs (of which Ron was one). But there was plenty of good music on offer. Best act for me, surprisingly, was Canadian singer/guitarist Sue Foley (pictured above) whose set included some old school R and B, blues and rock and roll. I particularly enjoyed 'Gaslight', 'Oh Why' and 'Barefoot Rock', a real rocker.

The first act of the day Les Getrex and Creole Cookin' was another performer who was new to me but he's been around in New Orleans for over 30 years and played in Fats Domino's band. Wearing a purple suit he certainly stood out visually and although his set comprised mostly covers of songs by Fats and Bobby Bland he was pretty good.

The next act, Sierra Green and the Giants, also looked good as Sierra was wearing a bright orange dress. But her Etta James style funky soul didn't do a lot for me.

Neither did the next act Joe Krown on keyboards, with Papa Mali providing convincing Dr John styled vocals on numbers like 'Such A Night','Don't You Just Know It' and 'Mardi Gras in New Orleans'.

Following this was a tribute to James Cotton featuring two seasoned blues veterans, Mark Hummel on harmonica and vocals, and Steve Freund on guitar. Stand out numbers were 'Don't Stop Me Talking', 'Rocket 88' and 'Boogie Man'. High quality blues I thought.

I was really looking forward to the next act Nikki Hill who I've always thought was a fantastic rock and roll artist. She still looks stunning and her voice is like being hit by an express train but her guitarist husband Matt Hill seems to be leading her towards heavy rock. Nonetheless I enjoyed such songs as 'Heavy Hearts Hard Fists', 'It's A Shame', 'Every Time I See You I Go Wow' and 'Don't Be The Sucker' from her album 'Feline Roots'.

Penultimate act of the day was Chris Thomas King, son of Tabby Thomas, wearing a top hat for some reason. He's an excellent guitarist as he showed on his opening numbers 'Hideaway' and 'The Thrill Has Gone', but by the end of his set he had strayed into Jimi Hendrix territory with 'Voodoo Child'.

Finally it was the turn of Lil Ed and The Blues Imperials who put on a polished and entertaining show. Wearing a pink suit and a glittering pink fez Ed's snarling guitar playing was first rate and a good way to close out the day.

Irma and Marcia at the Blues and BBQ festival

The Crescent City Blues and Barbecue Festival kicked off in terrific style with excellent sets by music legends Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas. Marcia's mix of rock and roll, swamp blues and boogie woogie went down a storm with the big crowd in Lafayette Square. Always an exciting performer, Marcia began with 'Natural Ball' and she kept things simmering with songs such as 'Red Beans Cooking', 'Shine Bright', 'Got To Find Somebody', 'Same Old Blues' and 'I Can't Trust My Heart', ending with the emotional 'Louisiana 1927'. Marcia is 75 now and her voice is beginning to get just a tiny bit ragged, but she's a superb pianist and a dynamic performer.

A great start but the next act, the Soul Queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas, took things to an even higher level. Her band the Professionals are just that and gave Irma superb backing as she ran through many of her great recordings, including 'Don't Mess With My Man', recorded, amazingly, as long ago as 1959. Other favourites included 'Ruler Of My Heart', 'Two Winters Long', 'It's Raining', 'Breakaway ', the poignant self penned 'Wish Someone Would Care' and 'Time Is On My Side ', which she sang with cover artists the Rolling Stones at Jazzfest this year. There was a duet with Marcia Ball on 'Sing It', which they recorded with Tracey Nelson in 1988. And a couple of newer songs, including 'Let It Be Me' from 2009 and 'Even Now', a fantastic song that she recorded with Walter 'Wolfman' Washington and which I remember brought the house down at Jazzfest last year. Irma is 83 but her voice is as good as ever and her warm personality shines through. I have so many great memories of seeing her at her Lions Den club over the years and it was great to see her doing a full set of her own material. She is pretty well the last link with the great days of New Orleans R and B and long may she prosper.

JAMNOLA and Lyle Lovett

It would be remiss of me if I went to New Orleans and didn't visit Euclid Records so i had a brouse around and bought a few 45s. On the way back we came across the JAMNOLA museum which celebrates Joy, Art and Music in New Orleans.It's very colourful and hands on and includes info on Mardi Gras traditions and big busts of Dr John, Irma Thomas, Louis Armstrong and other NOLA greats. We were shown around and entertained by Rocky Tornabene, who used to be Dr John's sound man and is now a story teller at the museum.

In the evening Ron and I went to Tipitina's to see Americana legend Lyle Lovett with his Large Band. The place was packed and the support act, fellow Texan Hayes Carll, was great on songs such as 'Drunken Poet's Dream' and 'Times Like These'. Lyle's band was certainly large with 14 members, including three backing singers, and no one could accuse him of relying on youth. These were experienced musicians, including veteran bass player Leland Sklar and former leader of yhe Muscle Shoals Horns trombonist Charles Rose. Lyle has always been a little bit quirky and this was a varied and highly enjoyable set. I had never seen him live before and I was impressed. Numbers included 'Church', 'Here I Am', from his 1990 'Large Band' album, 'It's A Naked Party ', 'She's No Lady' and 'I Know You Know'. Hayes joined him on stage for Guy Clark's 'LA Freeway' and 'Pancho and Lefty'. A great way to spend the evening and it was good to get back to Tipitina's again.

Back to New Orleans

I'm back in New Orleans for another chance to enjoy the city's unique music, food and culture. The weather is hot and sunny despite a damaging hurricane Milton coming on shore in Florida. On the flight over I watched Soulsville USA, a new four part series chronicling the rise and eventual fall of Stax. It features lots of footage I haven't seen before and interviews with everyone from Carla Thomas, co founder Jim Stewart and David Porter to Deanie Parker who saw it all from the inside. Part 1 covers the early days with Rufus and Carla, the second segment covers the emergence and death of Otis Redding, part 3 charts the label's comeback under Al Bell while the final episode covers Wattstax and the financial problems that led to the label's demise. Highly recommended.

i met up with Ron Cook at the St James Hotel on Magazine St and we spent our first day wandering along Decatur St to Frenchmens, which is looking run down, and back via Royale St. On the evening we went to Chickie Wah Wah to see English exile Jon Cleary do a solo show. Jon is a brilliant exponent of New Orleans style piano and he performed songs by Dr John, who was his first major influence, James Booker and Professor Longhair along with boogie woogie and blues numbers. Among them were superbly executed versions of 'Such A Night', 'Lonely Lonely Nights' 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy' and 'I Feel So Good' and he recounted stories about his first meeting with Dr John in London and his first New Orleans show at the Maple Leaf. Despite his roots Jon is a true New Orleans institution who is keeping the piano style of the city alive.

From there we took a Uber to the Dew Drop Inn, a New Orleans institution which reopened in February after being closed for many years. Founded in 1939 the Dew Drop was the City's major black music venue with artists like Guitar Slim and Earl King performing there. Today the place has a small museum and a weekly jam session featuring local African American singers and musicians. I wouldn't say that all the music was to my taste but the atmosphere was great and you could easily imagine how the place would have been in its heyday.

Cissy Houston RIP

Cissy Houston has died aged 91. A member of the Drinkard Singers and the Sweet Inspirations, she was the mother of Whitney Houston and the aunt of Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. She was also a fine solo singer in her own right. RIP to true Soul royalty.