Wynton Marsalis’ fifth release on Blue Note Records, He and She, presents, through soulful compositions and spoken word poetry, a musical study on the relationship between Man and Woman. Marsalis’ compositions paint pictures. “School Boy” conjures old-timey, sepia-toned images of kids causing mischief. “First Time” is more palpably expressive, beginning with cacophonous trumpeting that later blends into a sexy Latin melody. Walter Blanding, saxophones; Dan Nimmer, piano; Carlos Henriquez, bass; and Ali Jackson, drums, play vibrant accompaniment.
Marsalis is coming home to play Jazz Fest, April 24, in the Jazz Tent, and April 25, with the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra on the Congo Square stage.
Non-Fiction l The Louisiana Seafood Bible: Shrimp, by husband and wife Jerald and Glenda Horst, comprises a wealth of info on the history, biology and consumption of shrimp. Glenda’s childhood as the boat-repairing, crawfish-trapping daughter of a commercial fisherman, and Jerald’s years as a professor of fisheries at Louisiana State University, add value to the text. The authors also boast that each recipe in the book has been tried out in their personal test kitchen.
Sports Memoir l Stephen Rea, founding member of Finn McCool’s pub soccer team, tells the team’s story in Finn McCool’s Football Club: The Birth, Death, and Resurrection of a Pub Soccer Team in the City of the Dead, a chronicle of the Mid-City Irish pub’s – and the author’s own – turbulent time around 2005.
Rea, originally from Belfast, shares footballers’ stories with realistic details and colorful quotes such as, “You cheating f–king c–nt” (113) and “Carry on kicking these f–kers” (127). More to the point, Rea holds up Finn’s as a model of post-Katrina community spirit.
Cookbook l Cookbook queen Kit Wohl is helping befuddled cooks once again with New Orleans Classic Gumbos & Soups. The fourth book of its kind by Wohl, Gumbos & Soups shares with readers recipes from some of New Orleans’ best-known chefs, including Leah Chase’s recipe for Gumbo Z’Herbes; John Folse’s Smoked Wood Duck and Andouille Gumbo; and Donald Link’s Shredded Pork Gumbo with Blackeyed Peas.
– Leigh Ann Stuart
