Jazz Articles

North Mississippi Allstars: The North Mississippi Allstars: Keys to the Kingdom

by Doug Collette
February 6, 2011

Following a hiatus of sorts for The North Mississippi Allstars, during which time guitarist Luther Dickinson worked with The Black Crowes while drummer sibling Cody fronted his own band, Hill Country Revue, the group's reformation has fueled a fire within the music of Keys to the Kingdom. The music begins to flow in a rush of emotion, right from the beginning of “This A'Way," and “Jumpercable Blues," though a bit tongue-in-cheek, is a comparable torrent of feeling. “Ain't ...

The North Mississippi Allstars: Do It Like We Used to Do

by Doug Collette
April 27, 2009

The North Mississippi Allstars' youth belies its history, as documented on Do It Like We Used to Do. Over the course of two CDs and a DVD featuring archival material, interviews and concert footage, the band displays reverence for the music it plays, without ever taking itself too seriously.

Reasonably priced in skeletal packaging with colorful and information-laden graphics simulating a scrapbook, this three-disc set ostensibly covers the first twelve years of NMA history, from 1996 to 2008. Yet this ...