Dr. John is the guest on NPR's World Cafe today, a fitting culminating episode of the program's week-long exploration of the music of his hometown, New Orleans. He gives host David Dye a tour of the Crescent City through a mystical lens, visiting a cemetery, a spiritual supply shop, and a voodoo temple. Dr. John celebrates the music of Treme at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland tonight as part of the SFJAZZ Spring Season. NPR Music and the Guardian both include his new album, Locked Down, among the year's best (so far).
Dr. John—a.k.a. Mac Rebennack—is the guest on NPR's World Cafe today, a fitting culminating episode of the WXPN-produced program's week-long exploration of the music of Mac's hometown, New Orleans. This week's other guests included Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ani DiFranco, and Trombone Shorty, who is joining Mac for a few tour dates this summer, and yesterday's show shone a spotlight on the neighborhood of Treme and the HBO show it inspired, which Dr. John will do as well in a concert at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland tonight as part of the SFJAZZ Spring Season. On today's World Cafe, Dr. John gives host David Dye a tour of the Crescent City through a mystical lens, visiting a cemetery, a spiritual supply shop, and a voodoo temple. To find out where World Cafe is playing near you and to tune in online, go to npr.org.
Dr. John's new album, Locked Down, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and released on Nonesuch Records in April, was named one of NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums of 2012 (So Far) earlier this week. WXPN's Bruce Warren, writing about the album for the list, calls it "one of the best albums of his lengthy career." The Guardian has just included the album on its list of the 20 Best Albums of 2012 (So Far), saying the album finds Dr. John "in exhilarating, vintage form."
Following tonight's SFJAZZ show, Dr. John heads to Atlanta for one last US show at the Chastain Park Amphitheater on Sunday before launching his European tour at the end of the month. His sold-out show at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston last week "was as much about the electricity coming from the stage as it was from the audience," reports the Boston Globe's James Reed. Dr. John has "been invigorated by a new album produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. Locked Down is something of a career retrospective: Swampy funk, cosmic blues, and New Orleans jazz all mingle naturally as only Dr. John could pull off." Read the complete concert review at boston.com.
For additional tour information, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour. To pick up a copy of Locked Down, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders include instant downloads of the album at checkout.
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