Happy Thanksgiving!

Dragon Smoke at The Mint on 12/3/19

Dragon Smoke is a band that formed as part of the New Orleans Jazz Fest tradition known as the “Superjam”. The “Superjam” idea is to put together a band of people who don’t normally play together and see what happens. With the dual vocals of Neville and Lindell, matched with the Galactic rhythm section, the band quickly realized, “We are on to something” and has played every Jazz Fest since it’s inception in 2003. This inception took place at the famed Dragon’s Den, hence the name of the band. 

The music centers around Lindell’s blue eyed soul , Neville’s funk and R&B, and Galactic’s groove. Besides a few trips to the West Coast, this band has been strictly playing in New Orleans. With everyone in the band being a leader on their own, it is rare to get this band together. And when it does, it shows that these guys are really having FUN! From the interplay between the members, you would think that Dragon Smoke has been playing shows forever. 

Dragon Smoke is looking towards the future, with plans to write and record an album and to do more touring outside of New Orleans and the Bay Area. So be on the lookout for the Smoke—IF YOU SEE SMOKE, YOU KNOW YOU WILL SEE FIRE!

Happy Birthday, DJ Khaled!

Producer, rapper, songwriter, and record label executive Khaled Mohamed Khaled, better known as DJ Khaled, was born in New Orleans on November 26, 1975. A popular radio host at a hip hop station in the 1990s, he DJ’d at Terror Squad’s live shows and eventually gained production credits on their recordings. His 2006 debut album “ Listennn... the Album” achieved gold, and Khaled founded his own label, We the Best Music Group. He has continued to achieve great success with his subsequent releases, even garnering a Grammy nomination in 2016 for Best Rap Album for his ninth studio album, “Major Key”. Subsequent releases have also achieved great commercial and critical success, with his 2019 album, “Father of Asahd” achieving number 2 on the Billboard 200. Khaled is also a prominent media personality, an actor, and he is a New York Times bestselling writer with his book The Keys.

Photo by: Meghan Roberts - DJ Khaled, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46144938

Adonis Rose & NOJO 7 of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra play the music of Allen Toussaint on 11/24/19 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre

Possessing an inimitable swinging style, the mighty NOJO 7 has performed and recorded with a veritable who’s who of artists across all genres. Led by Grammy Award-winning drummer and Artistic Director Adonis Rose, this 7-piece ensemble, which honors the dynamic traditions of New Orleans brass & rhythm, is drawn from the full New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Ingrained with soulful grooves and energetic group interplay, NOJO 7 performs the music of New Orleans’ legendary pianist and songwriter Allen Toussaint, whose music influenced generations spanning more than fifty years.

Celebrating the Birthday of Dr. John

On November 20, 1941, New Orleans gifted the world with Malcolm “Mac” John Rebennack, better known as Dr. John, the Night Tripper. Rebennack was a singer, songwriter and musician whose unique “New Orleans Sound” combined blues, pop, jazz, soul, boogie woogie, funk, and rock n roll, and whose stage appearance was inspired by Mardi Gras Indians and voodoo shaman. He made his album debut with Gris-Gris in 1968, and had a hit single in 1973 with “Right Place, Wrong Time”. Over the following decades, Dr. John has released numerous albums and songs covering a wide range of styles and genres, becoming a six-time Grammy winner along the way. He was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Dr. John passed away in his beloved New Orleans on June 6, 2019.

Happy Birthday, Tab Benoit!

Singer songwriter, guitarist, and drummer Tab Benoit was born November 17, 1967, in Houma Louisiana. A guitar player since his teenage years, he plays primarily Delta blues on his 1972 Fender Telecaster, but he’s skilled in a number of blues styles. Benoit learned from blues legends, and formed a trio in 1987, playing clubs in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Two years later he began touring other parts of the South, and started touring more of the United States in 1991. He landed a  recording contract in 1992, and has been prolific since then, releasing 19 recordings between 1993 and 2012. In that time, he has collaborated and performed with countless legendary musicians including his regular crew, bassist Carl Dufrene and drummer Darryl White, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Cyril Neville, Brian Stoltz, George Porter, Jr.., Kenny Neal,  Debbie Davies, Jimmy Thackery, Charlie Musselwhite, Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton, Anders Osborne, Michael Doucet, Ivan Neville, and more.

In 2007, Benoit won his first B.B. King Entertainer of the Year award presented by the Blues Music Awards, the most prestigious recognitions afforded to Blues musicians. Benoit was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and two years later, he won three separate Blues Music Awards: Contemporary Blues Male Artist; Contemporary Blues Album (for 2011's Medicine); and for the second time, B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. In 2013, the second year in a row, Benoit won the Blues Music Awards Contemporary Blues Male Artist.

In 2003, Benoit founded 'Voice of the Wetlands,' an organization promoting awareness of the receding coastal wetlands of Louisiana.He promotes the issues that plague Louisiana's imperiled coast to his national audience, and supports outreach and education about Louisiana's Wetlands loss and how Louisiana's rich culture is endangered as its wetlands disappear.In 2010, Benoit received the Governor's Award - Conservationist of the Year for 2009 by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. Happy birthday to an amazing musician and environmentalist!

Photo: Flickr - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Flickr