Articles by Wade Luquet
W&E Swing: Moonshine
by Wade Luquet
Through a chance meeting at a weekly jam session at Round Guys Brewery in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, a group of musicians became friends and began to gel as a group. The jam organizer Mike Mahomet, has a small recording studio blocks away and invited the talented group to record some tunes. The group known as W&E Swing is lead by singer/guitarist Wendy Bourne and guitarist Ernie Pugliese who were joined by many of the Wednesday night regulars on this delightful CD. ...
read moreThe Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Allen Toussaint in Lansdale, PA
by Wade Luquet
Preservation Hall and Allen Toussaint The Oh Yeah! Tour Lansdale Community Concerts Lansdale, PA October 18, 2014 The Preservation Hall Jazz Band is on the roll again, and this time they have company. The venerable fifty year old band is on a thirty-eight city tour sharing the spotlight with the legendary Allen Toussaint who lights up the stage with his colorful suits and his even more colorful performance of some ...
read moreHot Club of Philadelphia: Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
by Wade Luquet
Gypsy jazz has had a resurgence of late with Hot Club bands and Django Reinhardt-style guitar strummers and pickers popping up in major cities world-wide. Philadelphia boasts one of the hottest of these bands— The Hot Club of Philadelphia. More than a Django cover band, this group adds a gypsy twist to a multitude of tunes including those from the Great American Songbook on their CD Wrap Your Trouble In Dreams. Led by a master of the genre, ...
read moreAlexis P. Suter Band at Gwynedd Mercy University
by Wade Luquet
Alexis P. Suter Band Women in the Blues Gwynedd Mercy University Gwynedd Valley, PA February 7, 2014 A frozen night in Pennsylvania was made immensely warmer when the Alexis P. Suter Band took the stage at Gwynedd Mercy University in suburban Philadelphia. The bass-voiced blues diva electrified the crowd with her unique and powerful sound, as well as the band's interpretations of blues standards, originals, and tunes that one might not think of ...
read morePreservation Hall Jazz Band: That's It!
by Wade Luquet
Fifty years is a long time to carry the torch of the music of others and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band has done just that with class, joviality, and a sense of purpose to preserve traditional New Orleans jazz music. In a step away from their mission of preservation, the band has created new music in a hall recording of their newest album That's It. It should come as no surprise that their collection of original tunes is delivered with ...
read morePennsylvania Blues Festival 2013
by Wade Luquet
22nd Pennsylvania Blues Festival Blue Mountain Ski ResortPalmerton, PAJuly 26-28, 2013For the past 22 years, veteran festival producer Michael Cloeren has thrown a weekend party in the Pocono mountains, playing host to fifteen of his favorite blues musician friends and their bands and inviting a few thousand avid fans of the genre to pull up a camp chair and join the fun. Or, at least, that's how it feels to attend one of the most ...
read moreBayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker
by Wade Luquet
James Booker Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker Lily Keber 2013 Ask jazz fans outside of New Orleans if they have heard of James Booker and most will lean back, rub their chin and say they know they have heard the name. Unless you lived in Europe in the seventies and eighties, where he was loved--or were lucky enough to hear him or play with him in his hometown of New Orleans--the name ...
read moreBonerama: Shake It Baby
by Wade Luquet
Bonerama is fun. Bonerama is powerful. And in their first full-length studio CD, they have made a switch from their previous live recordings of brass-infused funk to brass infused-rock. Along with the ever present trio of trombones, the bands guitarist, Bert Cotton, has stepped up to the front line to become a major player with his robust rock licks. Backed by some talented friends who have joined the party on this album, including Dr John, Dave Malone, and George Porter, ...
read moreJim Holton: Philadelphia, PA, March 7, 2013
by Wade Luquet
Jim HoltonTemple UniversityPhiladelphia, PAMarch 7, 2013It's not often that one would want to cover a senior recital, but the rules change when the senior music student is fifty-two year old Philadelphia piano great Jim Holton. Holton took a thirty-year break from his studies at Temple University's famed jazz program to play in clubs, churches and other venues throughout the city. He gained considerable musical wisdom along the way as he played with many of the ...
read moreDave Ferrato: Later, On Decatur
by Wade Luquet
Dave Ferrato is a musician's musician who has been buried deep in the New Orleans club scene for the last 30 years. The guitarist/songwriter has developed a keen eye for the underside of the Crescent City and is able to share this world through simple and elegant tunes that have been well orchestrated on Later, On Decatur by a few musical friends he has met on this journey. He is joined on this CD by numerous New Orleans icons including ...
read more
Giveaway
Days remaining: 18
