From Popmatters 06:
The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Vietnam era classic recording What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye is reimagined by the Crescent City’s very own Dirty Dozen Brass Band in this compelling updating of an American classic. The rage over black and poor disenfranchisement and neglect couldn’t be more timely in the aftermath of Katrina. Reflecting the great musical stew that is New Orleans, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band works with a host of guest performers (Chuck D, Bettye Lavette, G. Love and more) to create a gumbo of brass jazz, soul, hip-hop and funk. For those poor souls who labor under the misconception that jazz has lost its soul and gone all cerebral and up-market, this record will blast away all those assumptions. Jazz remains a vital, cutting-edge art form, capable of articulating anger and hope and also being a form of protest music. What’s Going On is the proof. It’s a simultaneously elegant, angry and stunning recording with lyrics that sound like they were penned just the other day in washed out yards in the Lower Ninth Ward. * Sarah Zupko
Did anyone hear about this thing this year? I'm intrigued but also amazed that this never touched my radar.
