The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac & His Music Dr. John Artist

As one of the leading lights of New Orleans music, {|Dr. John|} deserves a splashy, star-studded celebration -- which is precisely what producer {|Don Was|} assembled on May 3, 2014 at New Orleans' Saenger Theatre. {|Was|} led a house band featuring ... Read more

As one of the leading lights of New Orleans music, {|Dr. John|} deserves a splashy, star-studded celebration -- which is precisely what producer {|Don Was|} assembled on May 3, 2014 at New Orleans' Saenger Theatre. {|Was|} led a house band featuring drummer {|Kenny Aronoff|}, trombonist {|Sarah Morrow|}, keyboardist {|Chuck Leavell|}, guitarist {|Brian Stoltz|}, and pianist {|John Gros|}, then invited a host of rockers, blues musicians, and Big Easy legends to the party. {|Concord|} released the whole shebang in October 2016 as {|The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac & His Music|}, a double-disc live album accompanied by a live concert movie, and in either incarnation, it's a blast. Granted, it's the kind of party that's relatively low-key, appropriate for the easy roll behind so much of {|Dr. John|}'s music, but the neat thing about {|Musical Mojo|} is how it shows the breadth of {|Mac|}'s musical diversity. Naturally, there's plenty of room for such fellow New Orleans legends as {|Irma Thomas|}, {|Allen Toussaint|}, and {|the Neville Brothers|}, but straight blues players like {|Tab Benoit|} are here alongside a jazzman like {|Terence Blanchard|}, not to mention Americana all-star {|Jason Isbell|}, jam band stalwarts {|Widespread Panic|} and {|Warren Hayes|}, plus classic rockers {|Bruce Springsteen|} and {|John Fogerty|}. Throughout it all, {|Dr. John|} remains at the center, occupying attention even when he's offstage because it's clear that this blend of jazz, soul, R&B, rock, and pop is distinctly his. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Less