#cha wa

My People (2021) ... soul-warming ...

Cha Wa fuses funk, soul, jazz, rock and Mardi Gras in a particularly New Orleans way, its swaggering syncopations shot through with horn blasts, its beats unstoppable, its choruses full of a tough, resilient joy. The band, which took shape around a non-NOLA native, one Joe Gelini, has nonetheless a deep connection to a Mardi Gras Indian tradition, revered in that city for their willingness to shelter escaping slaves. In other words, the bonds between black and native Americans run very strong in the Crescent City, and you can hear it in the music, which sounds like James Brown bedecked with plastic beads, sipping a Hurricane out of a to-go cup.

New Audio: New Orleans' Pocket Protection Releases A Strutting and Funky New Single @colorredmusic

https://soundcloud.com/colorredmusic/pocket-protection-paul-p-sure-color-red-music Pocket Protection is an instrumental groove project that features a collection of accomplished New Orleans players including — The Revivalists‘ George Gekas (bass), Ed O’Brien (EOB)‘s PJ Morton‘s, Raphael Saadiq’s and Pretty Lights touring musician Alvin Ford, Jr. (drums), Lembo‘s and Deltaphonic‘s Paul Provosty…

New Audio: Cha Wa’s Sweaty and Raucous Rendition of a New Orleans Standard

Last month, I wrote about New Orleans-based septet Cha Wa. Led by its founding members and bandleaders, vocalist/percussionist Irving “Honey” Banister, Big Chief of the Creole Wild…

New Audio: Cha Wa’s Loose, Gritty Street Funk Cover of Dr. John’s Classic “All On A Mardi Gras Day”

  Led by its founding members and bandleaders singer/percussionist Irving “Honey” Banister, Big Chief of the Creole Wild West Tribeand drummer Joe Gelini, who have both been involved…