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Jazz Articles about Herlin Riley
Dr John: Things Happen That Way
by Chris May
Interviewing the late Dr John aka The Night Tripper aka Dr John Creaux aka Mac Rebennack was a pleasure. Witty, erudite and b.s. free, he was reliably good copy. On one occasion he was an hour late and obviously, totally and spectacularly off his face. “If I nod out," he said, “kick me on the shin." The doctor was in... and out. Things Happen That Way has turned out to be Dr John's last recorded studio album, ...
read moreClifford Lamb: Blues & Hues New Orleans
by Kyle Simpler
There are quite a few cities in the world that have an important musical legacy, and in many cases, the city's musical history might be one of the first things people associate with it. Take New Orleans. Commonly known as the birthplace of jazz, it's hard to imagine New Orleans without conjuring up brass bands, jazz clubs and juke joints. San Francisco-based pianist Clifford Lamb explores New Orleans' musical and cultural aspects with Blues & Hues New Orleans by offering ...
read moreYohan Giaume: Whisper of a Shadow
by Jim Worsley
Collaborations are quite common projects in the jazz world, and in most forms of music, for that matter. Collaborations, however, are slightly more rare when a modern day composer's album is in conjunction with a composer from the nineteenth century. Such is the case with the works of Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) melding with composer and trumpeter Yohan Giaume. Giaume has had a deep connection, both musically and intellectually, with Gottschalk for many years. Gottschalk's world travels, influences, and notable ...
read moreSpodie's Back
by Jim Trageser
Still a teenager when signed to Quincy Jones' Warner Bros. subsidiary, Qwest, trumpeter Derrick Shezbie was nonetheless a veteran on this debut as leader--having been playing in the traditionalist Rebirth Brass Band for several years already. Produced by fellow Crescent City native Delfeayo Marsalis, “Spodie's Back" is a much more modernistic outing than anything he would have tackled in Rebirth. But unlike the throwback neo-bop so popular with other young jazz lions in the 1990s, this is more ...
read moreHerlin Riley: Perpetual Optimism
by Chris Mosey
Herlin Riley, a drummer from New Orleans, is a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, led by Wynton Marsalis. Indeed, he played a large part in developing the drum parts for the Pulitzer Prize-winning album by Marsalis, Blood on the Fields (Columbia, 1997). On his own album, Riley leads a mainstream quintet playing five of his own numbers, Gene de Paul's lovely ballad “You Don't What Love Is," Victor Young's “Stella By Starlight," Ellis Marsalis' “Twelve's ...
read moreHerlin Riley On Criss Cross Jazz
by David A. Orthmann
Over the past seven years, Herlin Riley has recorded four compact discs, two under his own name and a pair as a sideman, for the Criss Cross Jazz imprint. Riley's work on these recordings is significant because it stands outside of a long-term, high profile association with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra which ended in 2005. In addition to providing points of entry into his skills as a composer and bandleader, the discs serve as prime examples of a drummer ...
read moreCelebrating a Life of Music: Yvonne Busch
by Tod Smith
On this Wednesday night, it was all about the music, the musicians and their teacher. Yvonne Busch may not be a household name, but to those who came to play at this jam session held in her honor at Donna's Bar & Grill, she may very well be the first name in New Orleans music. From local favorites like tenor-man James Rivers to the internationally acclaimed drummer Herlin Riley, this group of musicians came to pay tribute to the woman ...
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