Blue Moon Marquee - New Orleans Sessions (2024) Hi-Res

Canadian duo Blue Moon Marquee hail from British Columbia and have put together another great album of old school tunes. Their last effort earned them a JUNO Award and this, their 5th album, may be destined for more accolades.

W. Cardinal and Jasmine “Badlands Jass” Colette are Blue Moon Marquee. They have perfected their craft on the road for many years and have assembled some musical helpers from New Orleans to deliver a fine new mix of original and cover songs. Both Cardinal and Colette sing; Cardinal plays guitar and Colette handles the upright bass and drums. Also on the album are B.C. Coogan on piano and Danny Abrams on baritone sax. Jon Atkinson adds harp to two cuts, Nicolas Solnick is on drums for the first four tracks and Brett Gallo is on drums for tracks 6 through 9.

They begin with Memphis Minnie’s “Black Rat Swing.” A slick piano and guitar intro kicks it off. Jasmine sings with a swinging, old time style as she and the band swing and jump through the cut. A fine bari sax solo and super piano work add to the mix sweetly. Cardinal joins the vocals and this is a great hook to a super album! “Ain’t Going Down” is another swinging cut, a Leadbelly tune. More good stuff as the due and friends make some great music together! Both of the lead proponents sing this fun cut and the piano makes the tune flow wonderfully and the sax adds a cool solo, too.

Bo Carter’s “Let’s Get Drunk Again” is next. The sax and guitar open things up for Cardinal and Colette. They give us another fine vocal duo to enjoy. Then it’s Charlie Patton’s “Shake It and Break It.” Cardinal leads the charge and it’s a romping cut that jives and jumps along smartly via the sax, guitar and bass. Cardinal and company proudly sing about their jelly roll. The sax and guitar keep things moving; every song is a hit!

The next four tracks are originals, as is the next to last. “Trickster Coyote” Cardinals riffs and Colette’s harp highlight the tune. These folks are the real deal and deliver the goods Crescent City style! “What I Wouldn’t Do” begins with a suave and cool guitar intro before Cardinal enters with some gritty vocals. The piano and sax are restrained and cool in this low key but slick cut.

“Red Dust Rising” Cardinal growls out the lead vocals, the piano give us a mid-tempo stride for the groove and solos sweetly. The sax player then give us his all; the guitar takes us out for another cool original to savor! A fun cover of “St. James Infirmary” follows. They put their stamp on it with a neat approach to the song to open and then Cardinal gets down and dirty.

“Some Ol’ Day” features some great sax and piano behind Cardinal’s vocals. Truly cool stuff. It’s another outstanding original tune and band really has a great NOLA vibe. “Got the Blues So Bad” concludes the album. Lonnie Johnson’s cut opens with a sweet guitar intro and harp layered over it. Cardinal growls out the lead as the harp and guitar are in the forefront with excellent solo work.

Recorded directly to tape in New Orleans with all the player together hearkens to the old days, too. This is a truly fine effort and I thoroughly enjoyed the songs. A.W. and Jasmine show their experience and talents and the NOLA players they’ve added seal the deal, making for an authentic sound. I think this is one all blues fans will enjoy and I recommend it with zero reservations. Go get this to add to your music collection now!