WWOZ Blog

Tune in Wednesday Feburary 10th at 9:00 p.m. as we will rebroadcast Billy's 1995 Mardi Gras Special, produced by fellow ‘OZ show host David Kunian.

Join Billy as he talks with Eddie Bo, Tommy Ridgley and Harry Nance.

The show received a Golden Reel Award from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

The Spirit of New Orleans
February 7, 2010 - Articles

On Superbowl Sunday, we are tailgating with the original underdog, the world's most under-rated blues singer, the Mayor of MacDougal Street: Dave Van Ronk.

This week marks the 8th anniversary of his passing and, like every year, we remember Dave with two hours of his music and stories.

Over the last year, more than 20 of American music's most exciting artists traveled to Preservation Hall in New Orleans to collaborate with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on classic New Orleans repertoire. The end result is a timeless and joyous celebration of New Orleans Music. Proceeds from the sale of the project will benefit Preservation Hall and The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program. The Album is set for release on Fat Tuesday February 16, 2010 in standard CD, deluxe edition and double-LP collectible formats.

Tune in Wednesday night February 10th at 10:00 p.m. as Ben Jaffe will be in the Studio spinning songs off the upcoming release as well as playing the original recording of the songs and I'm sure he'll have plenty of stories about producing this project!

Preservation: An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program (Deluxe Version) by Preservation Hall Jazz Band Track Listing

1. Shake It And Break It (with Andrew Bird)

2. Between The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea (with Paolo Nutini)

3. Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing (with Tom Waits)

4. Louisiana Fairytale (with Yim Yames)

5. After You ve Gone (with Del McCoury)

6. Freight Train (with Ani DiFranco)

7. Blue Skies (with Pete Seeger & Tao Rodriguez-Seeger)

8. Nobody Knows You (with Jason Isbell)

9. Old Rugged Cross (with Brandi Carlile)

10. Trouble In Mind (with Richie Havens)

11. Basin Street Blues (with Merle Haggard)

12. There Is A Light (with The Blind Boys of Alabama and Clint Maedgen)

13. Winin Boy (with Dr. John)

14. Rocking Chair (with Louis Armstrong)

15. Baby Won t You Please Come Home (with Amy LaVere)

16. Taint Nobody's Business (with Steve Earle)

Tune in to the the February 9th New Orleans Music Show from 11 until 2 pm for the annual Mardi Gras Indian Show. We will feature three hours of some of the most unique music to come out of the Crescent City. Special guests will include Mardi Gras Indians from several gangs and long-time WWOZ host John Sinclair.

Bil "Negril" Szarabajka owns two of the hottest clubs on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans, The Spotted Cat and Café Negril. On Sunday, January 31, Bil (yes, that's one "l") used the two clubs' proximity — they're practically across the street from each other — to host a benefit for Haiti relief.

He contacted 30 bands that regularly play at his clubs about performing and wound up with a total of 24 acts. Bil recounts, "We had 24 bands, and every hour on the hour, we switched it up. All the bands donated their time, and nobody said ‘no'. I was pretty proud of that."

100 percent of the $10 door donations, which got you into both clubs via a stamp on the hand, went to Doctors Without Borders for much needed Haiti relief efforts. Bil also donated a percentage of the bars' cash rings during the event to the same organization, bringing the total proceeds from the event to $5007.

While attendance wasn't as heavy as Szarabajka hoped, he says, "I was just happy that people turned out and we had a lot of fun. And I hope we get to do it again!" 

Performers included Soul Project, Sunpie Barnes, Jazz Vipers, New Orleans Moonshiners, Cottonmouth Kings of New Orleans, John Lisi & Delta Funk, Higher Heights, Jamey St. Pierre & the Honeycreepers, Jerry Jumonville, Dominic Grillo, Washboard Chaz, Margie Perez, Panorama Jazz Band, Loose Marbles, Dave Gregg, Meschiya Lake, Smoky Greenwell & the Blues Gnus, and more. 

WWOZ salutes Bil Szarabajka and all the performers at the event for lending a hand where it's needed.

The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO), led by trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, won a Grammy Award for their CD 'Book One' in the Large Jazz Ensemble category. Terence Blanchard also won a Grammy for Best Improvised Solo, and Buckwheat Zydeco took top Zydeco/Cajun honors for his album 'Lay Your Burden Down'. Congrats to all these great local Grammy winners!

Tune in today to hear a preview of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band playing with Tom Waits, Ani DiFranco, Pete Seeger and others..

Maria Neckam is a singer and songwriter from New York, who was born in Austria and has also lived in the Netherlands. When Maria moved to New York in 2005, she hit the music scene with great success. Since then she has been working as one of the most innovative musicians on the scene. Maria often tours the United States and Europe from her home base in Brooklyn.

Like a lot of the women I know, I am a fan of burlesque shows. It’s interesting. Ask most women if they would like to go see burlesque and, most likely, they will jump at the chance. Ask if they want to go and watch another type of ‘exotic’ dancer, and the reaction is rarely as enthusiastic.