Cosimo Matassa RIP

 Cosimo Matassa - RIP

Be sure to visit The Cosimo Code for more great NOLA music history than you can handle!

Movie of the Week: Stranded In Canton (1973, by William Eggleston)

By William Eggleston

In 1973, photographer William Eggleston picked up a Sony PortaPak and took to documenting the soul of Memphis and New Orleans. Some of this footage was used recently in the Big Star documentary. Read a little more about it here, and buy the book/DVD here.

Bar Redux: New Caribbean-Creole restaurant Coming to NOLA soon!

If you or anyone you know frequents New Orleans, I have a great friend who is on the verge of opening a bar/restaurant there called Bar Redux. Its described as Carribean-Creole, and will be opening very this month. Please take a moment to check out the links, and please like, and follow where applicable. And if you happen to make it there, tell 'em Karate Boogaloo sent you!

Bar Redux links:

Official website 

Facebook

Twitter

MUCH MORE TO COME and thanks!

The restaurant - which is located in the Bywater downtown area of New Orleans, will feature local creole cuisine as well as selections from a varied Caribbean menu. We will be featuring specials from many of the islands of the Caribbean.

The theme of the place will be art and music centric. There will be local artists showing, as well as live local music. We have a gorgeous outdoor patio area that has a small stage area, and some nice landscaping. A place to relax, sip a mint julep, and listen the heartbeat of New Orleans!

Inside you’ll find a seductively lit bar area dominated by the infamous Arones U-shaped bar from Minneapolis, MN. This prohibition era-bar was frequented by all the area bootleggers of the day due to it’s proximity to Canada and all that fine hooch. Kid Caan and Alvin Karpus have actually bent elbows at this unique deco bar!

Just follow the bright red neon BAR sign mounted on the corner of the building and find your way in. By the way, the sign (like the bar) was also in front of Joe Arones’s place. Makes you wonder what conversations might have taken place under its crimson glow.

See you in the Bywater!

Kickstarter Project of Note - THE BIG BEAT: The Story Of Fats Domino & His Band

THE BIG BEAT: The Story Of Fats Domino & His Band will tell the story of the early years (1949-62) of the Fats Domino / Dave Bartholomew collaboration and its roots in the culture and music of New Orleans....On the  day  in 1948 the unlikely paths of Antoine "Fats" Domino and Dave Bartholomew collided at a small Lower Ninth Ward New Orleans night club neither men would have suspected that their collaboration would result in  one of the longest ( 65 years and running) and most successful in American Music  history.  A collaboration that, by 1962, would sell over 60 million records. Continued here.

Bayou Maharajah screening Sunday & Monday at Lincoln Center

As mentioned back in March, Bayou Maharajah is a very promising looking documentary on the best one-eyed, gay, junkie piano player to ever exist - James Booker. The film will be screened on Sunday & Monday at Lincoln Center. For more information, click here.

Hat tip to Caught By The River.

The Cosimo Code: new website dedicated to legendary New Orleans' producer, Cosimo Matassa

Big thanks to Andy Schwartz for pointing the way to this new(?) and invaluable resource for those interested in the work of the legendary record producer, Cosimo Matassa.  Its an astounding & extremely valuable bit of work. A huge congratulations and thank you must go out to those involved in the project.

Since I can't really say it any better than Andy, here's what he had to say about it: Invaluable new website dedicated to the studio recordings of COSIMO MATASSA, created by intrepid New Orleans music researchers John Broven, Red Kelly & John Ridley. Quote: "In October 1960, Matassa introduced a new sequential master tape series starting at 100 with clients allocated individual prefixes. This series ran until the demise of the Cosimo Recording Studios in 1968, and was continued after a fashion with the new Jazz City Recording Studios until 1977. By annotating the series for the first time, we are able to get a better all-round picture of the recording sessions carried out at the Cosimo studios by artists, labels and producers as New Orleans R&B morphed into Soul; Blues, Gospel, Doo-Wop, Pop and Garage Rock were also recorded. Ergo, the Cosimo Code is gradually being unraveled." Born 4.13.1926 in NOLA, Cosimo Matassa was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

Visit The Cosimo Code

Cyril Green aka Big Chief Ironhorse RIP

Cyril Green aka Big Chief Ironhorse RIP

James Booker: Bayou Maharajah

Bayou Maharajah, a documentary about the genius of New Orleans' very own gay, one-eyed, heroin addicted, not to mention black, piano master, James Booker, just made it world premiere at SxSW in Austin. I cannot wait to see this! Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it looks like there's a good chance we'll be able to...

Follow the film on their website, and Facebook here.

Dr. John: Locked Down, indeed!

Listening to this album now & its all its cracked up to be. Wonderful!  The CD is due out April 3; the vinyl follows on April 21.

Dr. John at Nonesuch Records - here
Dr. John - official website

Before and After: Tip Toe

Before - Robert Parker


After - Norman T. Washington

Wardell Quezergue RIP

Wardell Quezergue - RIP

Friday Ephemera - Esquerita

Esquerita & friend photo courtesy of Preston Lauterbach who posted several cool New Orleans-related photos on his blog today. Check out his new book, The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Before and After: Junco Partner

Before - Professor Longhair:


During - Dr. John:


After - the Clash: