WBGO Blog

  • 'Treme,' Ep. 27: Fat Tuesday 2008

    November 5, 2012. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

    Add new comment | Filed under: A Blog Supreme, Treme
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    Aaron Neville performs with The Neville Brothers in Treme. (Image Credit: Paul Schiraldi/HBO)

    The three seasons of Treme have all found their way to Mardi Gras; appropriately, the day is always depicted with all the spectacle, vice and musical mayhem you might expect. Josh Jackson of WBGO returns to break down the many musical scenes in this year's go-round.

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    © 2012 WBGO

  • 'Treme,' Ep. 27: The Fat Man

    October 29, 2012. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

    Add new comment | Filed under: A Blog Supreme, Treme
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    DJ Davis (Steve Zahn) gains an audience with Fats Domino and his many gold records. (Image Credit: Paul Schiraldi/HBO)

    Born in 1928, Fats Domino enjoyed the first of his many hits — almost all of which were created in New Orleans — when "The Fat Man" rose up the R&B charts all the way to No. 2. That was in 1950. Which explains all the records on the wall at his house, and the regal status he is afforded.

    That, and other musical explainers, are in our latest Treme music recap, with WBGO's Josh Jackson.

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    © 2012 WBGO

  • 'Treme,' Ep. 26: That's What Buddy Bolden Said

    October 22, 2012. Posted by Joshua Jackson.

    Add new comment | Filed under: A Blog Supreme, Treme
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    The Lambreaux men protest the demolition of housing projects. (Image Credit: Paul Schiraldi/HBO)

    Certain episodes of Treme seem to wear their ideological hearts on their sleeves, and this was one. You open with Desiree's mother's house getting torn down in a city mix-up; you have Davis throwing around phrases like "preservation through neglect"; you see housing projects torn down amid protest with the implication of a corrupt deal; you get protagonists like the Bernette family being harassed by police; you witness clueless developers trying to build a national jazz center while waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Perhaps the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music gives a clue to the writers' thinking?) Nothing involving anything "official" seems to work like it ought to.

    But you still have music. Pianists and keyboard players feature prominently here, with Jonathan Batiste, Joe Krown and Tom McDermott making guest appearances, and we also hear some trad-jazz and classic R&B. To help recap the music, here's Josh Jackson of WBGO.

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    © 2012 WBGO