JAZZ/HIP-HOP: Parking Lot Symphony, by Trombone Shorty. A powerful album filled with echoing horns and vocals from celebrity New Orleanian Trombone Shorty, Parking Lot Symphony has a great balance of smooth and slow jazz, booming brass, hip-hop, blues and upbeat funky tracks. It’s mixed with a few covers from some of the city’s most influential musical legends, including the Meters and Allen Toussaint. Trombone Shorty will be touring the West Coast this summer, and if you missed him at Jazz Fest this year, get your Trombone Shorty fix with Parking Lot Symphony.
MEMOIR: Author James Nolan is a fifth-generation New Orleanian, and has an unmistakable intuition about the city. New Orleans’ culture and aesthetic have undergone many changes since his youth, and for those of us who haven’t experienced the city for the last 50 years, Flight Risk, Memoirs of a New Orleans Bad Boy is a revealing window to the past. For those who have been here for that long, and longer, reviewers tout the book’s familiarity. The first chapter takes place in 1968, just after Nolan is committed to a mental hospital by his own family for his radical opinions on politics, foreign wars and ethics. Nolan’s story travels across the globe, exposes the sub-cultures of the city and includes his Katrina story.
FUNK: Naughty Professor is still rising, growing and experimenting with their sound, and with tremendous success. If you’ve had the opportunity to see them live, it’s easy to see why this gang of young musicians are all the rage in New Orleans. Anticipation for their new album, Identity, is at boiling point. From the steady, catchy guitar riff of the album’s opening track, the band sets the tone and excitement of what the album has coming next. Identity features more than a dozen guest artists, including Jurassic 5 lead singer Chali 2na, The Revivalists’ David Shaw, and members of The Soul Rebels. Set for release on June 23, you can preview Identity now with their track releases of “Stray” and “Darker Daze.”
submissions
Please send submissions for consideration, attention: Jessica DeBold, 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005.
