I started this morning with some Otis Redding (previous post) and it started a whole living room vibe that I have fully embraced and leaned into. Crisp air, crackling fireplace and the fabulously talented Mr. James Booker.
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“James Booker was one of America’s most stunning piano players. He was born, and died, in New Orleans, and in his 43 short years created an approach to the piano that has not been matched since. His music defies classification. It’s not exactly the blues, it’s not exactly jazz, it’s not R&B, it’s not classical; it’s a synthesis of all those. In a rare alignment of some forces that could never possibly be replicated, The Lost Paramount Tapes features James Booker leading a band comprised of New Orleans’ greatest underground monster musicians recording overnight in a studio after playing a gig. In Los Angeles. In 1973. And just to make this scenario even more bizarre, Booker is playing tack piano, which uses metal tacks to strike the piano strings instead of the usual hammers. Imagine the sound of a piano in a honky-tonk in the Wild West and you’ll get a pretty close approximation”
– Lily Keber (Bayou Maharajah)
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“In a rare alignment of some forces that could never possibly be replicated, this album features James Booker leading a band comprised of New Orleans’ greatest underground monster musicians recording overnight in a studio after playing a gig”
– @offbeatmagazine
