T.R. Johnson, host of the Tuesday edition of Jazz from the French Market, 4-7p

Brandee Younger – Somewhere Different
John Ellis – Say it Quiet
Nicholas Payton – Smoke Sessions
Makaya McCraven – Deciphering the Message
Charles Lloyd -Tone Poem
Roy Hargrove and Mulgrew Miller – In Harmony
Gary Bartz - Jazz is Dead
Vijay Iyer – Uneasy
Dave Holland - Another Land
Delvon Lamarr – I Told You So
Pino Pallodino – Notes with Attachments
Kenny Garrett -Sounds from the Ancestors
Chris Potter -Sunrise Reprise
Weedie Braimah – Hands of Time
Joe Dyson- Look Within
Gretchen Parlato – Flor
James Brandon Lewis – Jesup Wagon
Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas - Other Worlds
Norah Jones – Til We Meet Again (Live)
Floating Points / Pharoah Sanders - Promises

Logan Schutts, host of Transatlantic, Tuesdays, MID - 3am

-Monogram Hunters: Blood, Sweat, and Tears
I believe that both preservation and innovation are crucial for living musical traditions. While artists like 79rs Gang and Flagboy Giz are bringing innovation to the musical tradition of the New Orleans' Black Masking Indians, this release from Monogram Hunters is all about preservation. The album puts the listener right in the middle of the raw and energetic sounds of a traditional Indian practice. I also really appreciate the numerous tracks of members of the gang explaining various aspects of the culture, from anecdotes about Tootie Montana to the importance of sewing, to the meaning of famous phrases like "two way pocky way."

-Kumasi: Live at Marigny Studios
New Orleans' own Afrobeat orchestra released their third album this year, this time a live recording from a performance at Marigny Studios. The recording quality is excellent and clear, while maintaining the interactive energy of a live performance. Aside from the clear influence of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen's Afrobeat inventions throughout, the compositions include inspirations from Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian traditions, rhythms from Benin, and a nod to three children recently born to members of the group.

-Theo Croker: BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST
This is a very cool album. Black American Music in a similar vein to recent work by Nicholas Payton or Christian Scott, but unique in its own right. In Theo Croker's own words, "With BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST we are sending out high vibrational, coded frequencies to activate our sleeping ancestral DNA - Reactivating the link to our cosmic Ancestral knowledge." When I finish listening to this album I wanna hear it again. There's a lot going on in it.

-Okuté
The physicalcopy of this Afro-Cuban release from Chulo Records contains disappointingly minimal credits and liner notes - it doesn't specify where it was recorded, nor does it list any musicians involved. The only name printed anywhere is the producer Jacob Plasse. Nonetheless, it's an album of very nice music; a wonderful blend of traditional instruments and influences with original and fresh compositions.

-Changüí: The Sound of Guantanamo
This is a beautiful compilation of a style of music from southeast Cuba called Changüí; a style that sits at the roots of so many Cuban musical traditions. Any fans of son, mambo, even rumba, will surely hear origins of those sounds in this compilation. Those who spring for the physical copy will enjoy 3 CDs worth of music along with a 128-page book packed with photos and lots of great information. Amazing release.

Carrie Booher, Digital Content Editor and substitute show host

In no particular order...

James Booker: True: Live at Tipitina’s: April 25, 1978 (Tipitina’s Record Club)

Lilli Lewis: Americana (Louisiana Red Hot Records)

Tommy Ridgley: Rhythm & Blues New Orleans – Selected Singles A & B sides 1949-1962 (Jasmine)

Adonis Rose and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra featuring Cyrille Aime : Petite Fleur (Storyville)

R. Scully: Eat Your Toes: R. Scully’s Song for All Ages (Independent)

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux: Bloodstains & Teardrops (Whiskey Bayou Records)

Willie Durisseau: Creole House Dance (Nouveau Electric Records)

Doreen Ketchens: Up Above My Head: The Gospel Vol. 30 (DJNO Records)

Professor Longhair: Fess at Home (Limited edition colored Vinyl) (Tipitina’s Record Club)

Secret Six: Secret Six

Jon Batiste: We Are (Verve)

Corey Ledet: Corey Ledet Zydeco (Nouveau Electric Records)

Andrew Grafe, host of Blues Eclectic, Mondays, 2 - 4pm

James McMurtry “The Horses and and Hounds”

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram “662”

Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird “These 13”

Cedric Burnside “I Be Trying”

Valerie June “The Moon & Stars: Prescription for Dreamers”

Jon Batiste “We Are”

Mdou Moctar “Afrique Victime”

Various “Sacred Soul of North Carolina”

Elizabeth King “Living in the Last Days”

Dwayne Dopsie “Set Me Free”

Michot's Melody Makers & Leyla McCalla “Tiny Island”

Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band “Dance Songs for Hard Times”

Robert Finley “Sharecropper’s Son”

Black Keys “Delta Kream”

Various “Changui: The Sound of Guantanamo”

Duane Williams, host of What's New with Duane Williams, Sundays, 10pm - MIDNIGHT

In no particular order, my top albums for this year are:

120,000 Stories by Nobuko Miyamoto

Chapters of Love by Julian Vaughn

A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle by John Coltrane

Rocket by Bella Brown & The Jealous Lovers

Another Side Of John Coltrane by John Coltrane

Merci Miles! Live at Vienne by Miles Davis

Mingus At Carnegie Hall (Deluxe Edition) [2021 Remaster][Live] by Charles Mingus

Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection of Music from the Arab World, Part 2 by Various Artists

Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) by Pat Metheny

Sounds from the Ancestors by Kenny Garrett

Cameroon Garage Funk by Various Artists

Allan "Alski" Laskey, host of The Rhythm Room, Fridays, 10pm - MIDNIGHT

Best Releases 2021 (no particular order)

Kat Eaton. Talk To Me Old school soul from this young British artist.

Quantic & Nidia Gongora Almas Conectadas Modern take on Columbian roots music.

Sofia Rei Umbral Electro cumbia from this Argentinian artist.

Wee Willie Walker & The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra Not in My Lifetime Posthumous release from underrated soul singer backed by a crack band.

Bomba Estéreo. Deja. Latest release from this Columbian collective mixing local sounds with electronica.

Southern Avenue. Be the Love You Want Soul/rock outfit from Atlanta with their best release yet.

Dobet Gnahoré Couleur. Songstress from Ivory Coast, played an amazing set at Jazzfest a few years back.

Sault. 9 Soul,funk neo-soul, jazz from this prolific mysterious British band.

Durand Jones & The Indications. Private Space Continuing their exploration of the sweet Philly soul sound.

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band Expansions Steel drum instrumental funk.

Les Filles de Illighadad. At Pioneer Works Desert blues from this (mainly) female outfit.

Jupiter & Okwess. Na Kozonga More of their trademark Congotronics from this great African band.

Balaphonics Spicy Boom Boom Marimba led afro pop.

Elizabeth King. Living in the Last Days. Legendary gospel singer with first release in many years.

Aaron Frazer Introducing... Drummer for Durand Jones with a solo release. Amazing voice similar to Smokey Robinson.

The Higher Notes Double Salute Rocksteady/ jazz form this Dutch band.

Made Kuti and Femi Kuti Legacy Two separate releases from father/son duo.

The Bamboos. Night Time People Australian band with another fine release of funk and soul.

Kondi Band We Famous From Sierra Leone modern sounds with Traditional roots.

Song Of The Year : Flagboy Giz. Gentrifire. Right on description of what has happened to the downtown neighborhoods of New Orleans.

Charles Laborde and Jim Hobbs, hosts of Lâche Pas! Cajun & Zydeco Show, Sunday, Noon-2pm

Best Cajun, Creole and Zydeco recordings of 2021

Joe Hall and the Louisiana Cane Cutters. Proud To Be a Creole. Frugé FRG20215. 2021. With Cedric Watson.

Corey Ledet Zydeco. Corey Ledet Zydeco. Self released, 2021.

Melody Makers featuring Leyla McCalla. Tiny Island. Nouveau Electric, 2021. Creole music from the past and future.

Willie Durisseau. Blues á Durisseau / Willie’s Zydeco (vinyl 45). Nouveau Electric, 2021. One hundred and one year old fiddler Willie Durisseau recorded by Louis Michot in 2019.

And books:

Savoy, Ann. Cajun Music : A Reflection of a People Volume II. Bluebird Press.

Savoy, Marc. Made in Louisiana : The Story of the Acadian Accordion. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2021. Beautiful book about the accordion in Cajun culture and one man's effort to make the best possible diatonic Cajun accordion.

Breaux Bridges, host of The Morning Set, Wednesdays, 6 - 9am

Abdullah Ibrahim –Solotude
Art of Time Ensemble - Ain't Got Long
Arturo O’Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra - . . . dreaming in lions
Brandee Younger – Somewhere Different
Calvaire, Franceschini, Hays & Le Flemming -- Whole Lotta Love: The Music of Led Zeppelin
Charles Lloyd & The Marvels – Tone Poem
Chris Potter – Sunrise Reprise
Cyrille Aimée, Adonis Rose & New Orleans Jazz Orchestra – Petite Fleur
Dave Holland – Another Land
Dave Stryker – Baker’s Circle
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – I Told You So
Dr. Lonnie Smith -- Breathe
Eliane Elias, feat. Chick Corea and Chucho Valdés – Mirror Mirror
Greg Abate – Magic Dance: The Music of Kenny Barron
Harvie S Trio – Going for It
Hiromi – Silver Lining Suite
J.D. Allen – Queen City
Jeff Parker – Forfolks
Jeremy Pelt – Griot: This Is Important!
Joel Frahm – The Bright Side
Johannes Wallmann – Elegy for an Undiscovered Species
John McLaughlin – Liberation Time
John Patitucci, Vinnie Colaiuta & Bill Cunliffe – Trio
Julian Lage - Squint
Kenny Garrett – Sounds from the Ancestors
Lawrence Sieberth -- An Evening in Paris
Leni Stern - Dance
Lionel Loueke – Close Your Eyes
Lisa Hilton – Transparent Sky
Mikaya McCraven – Deciphering the Message
Nate Smith – Kinfolk 2: See the Birds
Orrin Evans – The Magic of Now
Oscar Rossignoli – Inertia
Pat Metheney – Side Eye
Pat Metheny & Los Angeles Guitar Quartet – Road to the Sun
Renee Rosnes – Kinds of Love
Roy Hargrove and Mulgrew Miller – In Harmony
Skuli Sverrisson with Bill Frisell – Strata
Steve Coleman – Live at the Village Vanguard, Volume II
Terence Blanchard, feat. The E-Collective & Turtle Island String Quartet – Absence
Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey – Uneasy
Vincent Herring – Preaching to the Choir
Weedie Braimah – The Hands of Time

Boudin Man, co-host of Kitchen Sink with A.J. Rodrigue and A.A., Wednesdays, 10pm - MIDNIGHT

Tiny Island - Michot’s Melody Makers featuring Leyla McCalla

e.g. rhapsodic - Shakespeare & The Blues

Corey Ledet Zydeco - Corey Ledet

Queen of the In Between - K.C. Jones

Meteorite - Bas Clas

Spanish Model - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Barn - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Willie Durisseau – Blues À Durisseau / Willie's Zydeco(45)

Bob & the Thunder - Buddy Mann / Talking Not Walking (45)

The Governor, host of Governor's Mansion, Mondays, 10pm - MIDNIGHT

The Governor's faves for the year:

Jon Batiste - We Are

Leo Nocentelli - Another Side (recorded 1971, released 2021)

Old Man River, host of The Morning Set, Mondays, 6 - 9am

In no particular order

Infamous Stringdusters- Tribute to Bill Monroe
This One’s For Him a Tribute to Guy Clark - Various Artists
My Bluegrass Heart- Bela Fleck
Renewal - Billy Strings
Coolin' Off - Galactic (reissue)Tips Record Club
Fess At Home - Professor Longhair Tips Record Club
True Live @ Tipitinas- James Booker Tips Record Club
Kung Pow - Radiators Tips Record Club
Brand New Good Old Days - Leftover Salmon
John Hiatt w/ Jerry Douglas - Leftover Feelings
Squint - Julian Lage
Tone Poem - Charles Lloyd
Another Side - Leo Nocentelli
Defining Gravity - Egg Yolk Jubilee
The High Hawks - The High Hawks
Crying For Hope - George Porter Jr & Runnin Pardners
Merci Miles! Live at Vienne - Miles Davis
Smoke Sessions - Nicholas Payton
Look Out - The Cookers
Breathe- Dr Lonnie Smith
Bakers Circle- Dave Stryker
Americana - Lilli Lewis

One single made the list this year:
Wild Things - Sam Price & the True Believers w/Marc Paradis

Hazel the Delta Rambler, host of Old Time Country and Bluegrass, Sundays, 10am - NOON

He Walked On, Tim O'Brien

My Bluegrass Heart, Bela Fleck

The Range of the Buffalo, Kerry Grombacher

Dream Palace, Nola StringKings, John Rankin, Don Vappie, Matt Rhody

Bucket List, John McCutcheon

Making Tracks While I Can, Bill Christophersen

A Hanukkah Holiday Concert, Nefesh Mountain

Family Reunion, Della Mae

Dave Dauterive, host of The Morning Set, Fridays, 6 - 9am

1. Cameron Graves - Seven: Thrash Metal Jazz, but all acoustic

2. Chick Corea Akoustic Band — Love from Blue Note Tokyo: RIP Chick, Dave Weckl, back from 1987

3. Calvaire Franceschini Hays & Le Fleming --Whole Lotta Love, Music of Led Zeppelin: Hammer of the Gods

4. Harry Connick Jr. — Alone with my Faith: Faith in 2021

5. Del Amitri — Fatal Mistakes: Glasgow, you can go back, 19 years

6. The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong All Stars - A Gift to Pops: NOLA’s finest

7. Dr Lonnie Smith — Breathe: RIP Lonnie, Iggy Pop

8. Emmet Cohen - Future Stride: Ivories, On the light side

9. Matthew Whittaker — Connections: Youth, hear the music

10. Mark Lettieri — Deep: Baritone Sessions Vol II: Fusion, Snarky Puppy, Astronomy

Murf Reeves, Music Director and host of the New Orleans Music Show, Mondays, 10am - NOON

There was so much great music created this year, and the albums made last year, that got released this year, so it is hard to create a list that is not exclusionary. These are some of the albums that really moved me. They are not in any order.

Leo Nocentelli - Another Side
This is such a beautiful album! The tale of this record finally seeing the light of day is enough to warrant a listen, but the music is so good. Leo had been listening to more down tempo, acoustic music, James Taylor and maybe Bill Withers, but what came out was this acoustic, country folk-funk album that is really relaxing and makes me smile.

Lilli Lewis - Americana
Lilli Lewis is a great songwriter, and following her music journey through her albums and EPs has been very rewarding. Americana, I feel, is the culmination of her work over the last couple of years, and the album is funky, vulnerable and fierce.

Shakespeare and the Blues - e.g. Rhapsodic
Shakespeare and the Blues are one of my new favorite bands. The harp has become a source of curiosity for me, the sounds that can come out of the instrument are endless. Harpist Cassie Watson Francillon (check out her own album THIS APPEARS TO DISAPPEAR.) The music the trio creates has motion, but also is very exploratory and when you close your eyes and listen, the music takes you to places.

Nicholas Payton - Smoke Sessions
Nicholas Payton is some kind of mad scientist. Payton is able to weave in and out of genres and instruments with an ease that quenches a sonic thirst. Smoke Sessions is the end of a vision that began when Payton heard Miles Davis’s album Four and More. Payton honors the album and the sounds the band were able to create by bringing in players from that very album (Ron Carter (B) and George Coleman (S) The music is tasty and colorful and you can hear the joy in the tunes and Payton fulfilling a dream.

Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective - Absence
Terence Blanchard is an amazing composer. Movie scores and soundtracks, jazz and now opera. Blanchard’s mind is filled with ideas that explore the vast oceans of sound. The album is solid and holds my attention from track to track.

Big Chief Monk Boudreaux - Bloodstains and Teardrops
The power in the presence of Big Chief Monk Boudreaux comes through on this recording as well as the child-like innocence of discovering something new or discovering a connection to something old. Boudreaux explores his Caribbean roots on this album, spending some time in Jamaica exploring and recording with the result being a beautiful example of how similar and intertwined New Orleans is with the Caribbean.

Dumpstaphunk - Where Do We Go From Here
This album is a power filled funk gem. The band is firing on all cylinders with a horn section and new drummer, Dumpstaphunk are bringing the funk to the 21st century. Having had a chance to interview some of the band, I was excited to learn how they choose their covers for their shows and albums ( I believer there are at least two covers on the album, Buddy Miles and Sly and the Family Stone) A band that had to live up to several legacies (Neville/Meters) and has shown they are more than capable of taking that mantle and funking with it!!

Cha Wa - My People
Cha Wa have really cemented themselves as a New Orleans musical force with this album My People. Another facet of masking Indian culture that is being brought to the 21st century. Along with nods to the Meters, the band has also embraced styles of today’s New Orleans; Rock, Hip Hop, Soul and Gospel.

Egg Yolk Jubilee - Defining Gravity
Getting in under the wire of 2021, Egg Yolk Jubilee is one of the treasures of the ninth ward. The unique humorous, psychedelic, heavy brass sound of Egg Yolk is one of the unique tapestries that make Marigny and Bywater so awesome!

Adonis Rose and the NOJO with Cyrille Aimee - Petite Fleur
Hearing a large ensemble that is well versed in the sounds of New Orleans is always a treat. The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra is composed of some of the best players in the city under the direction of Adonis Rose. With Petite Fleur, Rose brought in French vocalist Cyrille Aimee, a singer who has a career that is also growing and blossoming, and with her range and experiences, Aimee helps shine a new light on the connection between New Orleans and France.

Bo Dollis Jr. and the Wild Magnolias - My Name is Bo
Bo Dollis Jr really stepped up on this recording. Working with Cyrille Neville and a host of New Orleans musicians from various musical backgrounds, Bo has brought the Wild Magnolias to the 21st century while simultaneously finding his own voice as the leader of the Wild Magnolias.

Monogram Hunters- Blood, Sweat and Tears
Masking Indians the Monogram Hunters did something amazing and original with their album, the tribe created a sonic scrapbook, members of the tribe speaking about various aspects of being a part of the Hunters, mixed in with chants and songs the tribe has been practicing for many years. A crucial album to help explain the culture of Masking indians.

NOLA String Kings - Dream Palace
Don Vappie, John Rankin, and Matt Rhody have mastered their instruments and have studied the different sounds of New Orleans. The album is so easy to get into because of the talent of the players and their familiarity with the material.

George Porter Jr - Crying For Hope
Always a treat when George releases new music. An architect of a sound many people call funk, any times George puts his fingers to the bass, magic is created.

Joe Dyson - Look Within
The title alone was enough for me. I have spent a good portion of 2021 looking within, and many times I have been led back to music. So for me, the title and music led me back to myself and what kind of answers will I find when I look within.

Here are a few more albums or artists that moved me.

/Krown - City, Country, City
Camile Baudoin - This Old House
LeTrainiump
Berkley The Artist

NON-NEW ORLEANS ARTISTS

Younger - Somewhere Different
Makaya McCraven - Deciphering The Message
Valerie June - The Moon and the Stars
Pino Pallodino - Notes with Attachments
The Jazz is Dead series
Neal Francis

Charles Burchell, host of Jazz from the French Market, Fridays, 4 - 7pm

"Absence" by Terence Blanchard & The E-Collective f/Turtle Island Quartet

"Smoke Sessions" by Nicholas Payton

"More Music" by Joey DeFrancesco

"Petite Fleur" by Adonis Rose & New Orleans Jazz Orchestra f/Cyrille Aimée

"Love & Other Difficulties" by Carmela Rappazzo

"City Of Sounds" by Joe Farnsworth

"Breathe" by Dr. Lonnie Smith

"O' Sole Mio" by Cory Weeds

"The Latin Side of Wes Montgomery" by Nelson Riveros

"Baker's Circle" by Dave Stryker

"Time Traveler" by Nneena Freelon

"Quartet +" by Helen Sung

"In Harmony" by Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller

"Sounds From The Ancestors" by Kenny Garrett

"Connections" by Matthew Whitaker

"Song Of Hope" by Eric Wyatt

"Lonesome Things: Anaïs Reno Sings Ellington & Strayhorn" by Anaïs Reno

"Time Outtakes" by Dave Brubeck Quartet

"Magic Dance: The Music Of Kenny Barron by Greg Abate

"Preaching to The Choir" by Vincent Herring

"It's All Your Fault" by Mike LeDonne

"We Are" by Jon Batiste

The Minister of Swing, substitute show host.

1. The Pretty Reckless - Death by Rock and Roll

2. Blu De Tiger: How Did We Get Here?

3. Japanese Breakfast: Jubilee

4. Egg Yolk Jubilee: Defining Gravity

5. Neil Young: Barn

6. In the Whale: Vanishing Point

7. Ratboys: Happy Birthday, Ratboy

Slangston Hughes, co-host of Draw Fo with Slangston Hughes & Thelonious Kryptonite, Thursdays, MIDNIGHT - 2am

2021 was a fairly solid year for music and Hip-Hop as a whole. These projects stayed in heavy rotation for me throughout the year as their songs remained on my weekly playlists, repetitively at times. I'm particularly proud of the New Orleans Hip-Hop records that push the genre forward, while paying homage to the sounds of our predecessors, reimagine what listeners across the world anticipate from us or believe we sound like, and can easily compete with the majors. In no particular order...

glbl wrmng  "glbl wrmng vol. 1"

Benji "Smile, You're Alive!"

Lute "Gold Mouf"

Mother Nature "SZNZ"

Sol Galeano "Glass Girl"

Charm Taylor "She Is The Future"

Big $ilky "Big $ilky Vol. 3"

Little Simz "Sometimes I Might Be Introvert"

Nas "King's Disease II"

Passky "IN TIMES LIKE THESE"