CONCERT REVIEWS / ALBUM REVIEWS / JOHN BOUTTE / THE BAND

Where Y'at
http://www.whereyat.com
June 2002

Ones To Watch
John Boutté & Uptown Okra

Coinciding with a resurgence in American roots music, Uptown Okra hit the scene just before the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack began to take off. Soulful vocalist John Boutté contrasts and compliments the bluegrass and western swing elements making John Boutté & Uptown Okra one of the most unique bands anywhere. Their recent performances at the French Quarter Festival, JazzFest and their local gigs at dba and Tipitina's, coinciding with the release of their first recording collaboration, Carry Me Home, garnered much deserved attention and lavish praise.
The band continues a longstanding but seemingly forgotten tradition of American roots music, cross-pollinating country, soul and gospel music and creating something unique and true. Many people don't realize the Louis Armstrong recorded with Jimmie Rodgers, and that the "Bronze Buckaroo" (the first African-American Cowboy film and recording star), Herb Jeffries was a member of the great Duke Ellington Orchestra during the Blanton/Webster years, and that Charlie Parker and Ray Charles made lasting contributions to country music.
-Michael Dominici

Waiheke Island of Jazz
http://www.waihekejazz.co.nz
April 17, 2003

Festival Pick
John Boutté & Uptown Okra

Master vocalist John Boutté has done it all. From Gospel to Rhythm & Blues to Jazz and Creole and even Korean folk songs, the New Orleans native has explored a variety of musical styles and traditions, including appearances on albums by Los Hombres Calientes (nominated for a Grammy Award) and Michelle Shocked.
He continues to venture into uncharted territory via a collaboration with hometown band Uptown Okra, blending his soulful vocals with their grass-roots instrumentation (mandolin, guitar, upright bass) to create a sound best described as "GumboGrass."
Even in New Orleans, known around the world for its rich, eclectic musical heritage, this particular collaboration stands out as a true original on the local scene and around the globe. Since their initial collaboration in Venezuela in 2001, John Boutté and Uptown Okra have been developing their particular blend of American roots music, gospel, bluegrass, soul and jazz into a well-honed hybrid of regional influences and styles. They have been drawing rave reviews internationally with both their live performances and their latest recording, Carry Me Home.
-Bob Scott

The Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com
May 2, 2002

JazzFest 2002: Don't Miss
John Boutté & Uptown Okra

In one of those only-in-New Orleans collaborations, gospel, jazz and rhythm & blues singer John Boutté has teamed with Uptown Okra, an aggregation of acoustic musicians who render bluegrass with a Big Easy beat, for something entirely new.
-music staff

The Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com
April 12, 2002

Okra's Gumbo
John Boutté & Uptown Okra serve up a mix of musical styles

The offer certainly was tempting. A Venezuelan promoter wanted to hire local vocalist John Boutté for a series of engagements in Caracas, the nation's capital, last summer. The only catch: The promoter wanted Boutté to sing bluegrass and country, not the gospel and rhythm & blues that constitute Boutté's usual repertoire. If Boutte had not already been acquainted with mandolinist Nick Backer, he likely would have passed on the gig. Backer fronts Uptown Okra, an ensemble that renders casual bluegrass with a Big Easy slant. Backer immediately volunteered Uptown Okra to accompany Boutte in Venezuela. Boutté soon discovered that he could relate to elements of "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "City of New Orleans," "Free Born Man" and the other bluegrass and roots music standards that Backer suggested. "Nick came up with some incredible tunes," Boutté said. "It really opened my eyes to roots music. It don't make a difference if it's black, white, Indian, whatever -- roots music is roots music. It all has great grooves, the melodies are simple and clear, and the lyrics are very honest. There's something about the lyrics that touch people. This is what (Backer) found for me."
The Venezuelan concerts went well, so Boutté and Backer were keen to continue their collaboration back home and Boutte is now an official member of Uptown Okra. He first sat in with them in the fall of 2000, then cemented his bond during the Venezuela trip. "He brings so much soul to it," Backer said. "The tunes really take on a new life, because you have this acoustic, structured bluegrass thing, and then you bring in the New Orleans soul, jazz and gospel. It makes for a pretty unique sound." Boutté said his voice is stronger than ever these days, thanks to an unplanned abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol. On March 10, Boutté's appendix ruptured. Emergency surgery at the Veterans Administration hospital -- Boutté served four years in the Army -- saved his life. He continues to find new ways to slip more gumbo into Uptown Okra's bluegrass. Recent rehearsals with New Orleans rhythm & blues legend Huey "Piano" Smith for a now-canceled JazzFest performance introduced Boutté to the Smith compositions "Cuckoo For You" and "Blow Wind Blow," which he's added to Uptown Okra's repertoire. For Boutté, the appeal of singing with a bluegrass band is a matter of mixing up his musical diet. "You can't eat filet mignon every day, and you can't eat red beans every day," Boutté said. "Change is good. Clark Terry told me a long time ago, 'Keep all your pockets open. Your jazz pocket, your blues pocket, your gospel pocket, your rock 'n' roll pocket, your Country & Western pocket.' To be a working musician you've got to be versatile enough to do that." Backer and company are happy to accommodate him. "If you have an opportunity to have someone like (Boutté) singing with you," Backer said, "you don't turn it down. We used to sing our own songs; now we do background vocals. With John up there, that suits us just
fine."
-Keith Spera

CONCERT REVIEWS / ALBUM REVIEWS / JOHN BOUTTE / THE BAND