Soulful singer and guitarist Tab Benoit has never made secret his devout allegiance to the Louisiana music tradition. With The Sea Saint Sessions, Benoit, ably assisted by several Crescent City stalwarts, takes his music back to the source, setting up shop at the famed hit factory to cook up a sonic gumbo that successfully recaptures the spontaneity of the classic Sea Saint sound. Benoit's guests conjure up some of the studio's old musical magic as "Big Chief" Monk Boudreaux infuses Mardi Gras Indian spirit into "Monk's Blues," Meter man George Porter Jr. funkifies "Making the Bend," and Cyrille Neville sings on his own "Plareen Man". But it is Benoit's distinctive guitar lines–somehow both supple and hard-edged–and the impeccable elasticity of his regular rhythm section that makes the music work. Most of the material is Benoit's own, although he pays tribute to Louisiana legend Guitar Slim with a take on the classic "Sufferin' Mind" and dips into the Howlin' Wolf songbook for a rendition of "Howlin' for My Darling".

Recorded during a month in Louisiana and sounding it, Tab Benoit's sixth album is a swampy example of the best of that state's music. Rocking, bluesy, and filled with soul, guitarist/vocalist Benoit keeps his sound stripped down to just a three-piece, giving his voice and greasy guitar plenty of room to maneuver. From obscure Professor Longhair second-line tunes ("Her Mind Is Gone") to a cover from zydeco king Boozoo Chavis ("Dog Hill") to a version of Otis Redding's "These Arms of Mine" that makes it seem like a lost New Orleans classic, Benoit traverses a lot of territory over this hour of music. Like his influences, Benoit never overdoes his approach, preferring to keep the focus on his gritty voice, lean guitar, and stark accompaniment of his backing duo. This is music caught between rootsy rock, funk, R&B, and blues, but far from sounding schizoid, it revels in its multiple inspirations. Benoit is in wonderful voice and spirits throughout, sounding loose yet in control regardless of what style he's playing. His guitar solos are taut and succinct, capturing the essence of the atmosphere without reverting to needless showboating. This is music from the heart, played with class, subtlety, and a reverence for its past squeezed into every spirited groove.

On his Vanguard debut, guitarist Tab Benoit favors his usual workmanlike approach, serving up standard blues and Cajun riffs with ease. Though not technically flashy, Benoit is a solid songwriter with enough musicality to more than make up for the lack of fireworks. He can give his songs a restrained ("I'm Tired") or relaxed ("Raided That Joint") feel and he emotes as well as anybody on the title track. The rollicking "Crawfishin'" and "Jambalaya" recall Louisiana, and Benoit closes things off with the frenetically up-tempo "Bayou Boogie." The one possible misstep here is his take on the Willie Dixon classic "Twenty-Nine Ways (to My Baby's Door)"; anyone who remembers Koko Taylor's earthshaking version will find this one a little tame./quote]

Music has been present in Hugh Laurie’s career in some form or another since the days of Fry & Laurie, even working its way into House, the American television series that turned him into an international star in the 2000s. Without House, Laurie would never have been granted the opportunity to record an album like 2011’s Let Them Talk, a full-blooded immersion into American blues via New Orleans, shepherded by acclaimed roots producer Joe Henry and featuring such Big Easy heavy-hitters as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and Irma Thomas. To his enormous credit, Laurie never sounds like a dilettante among this group; he holds his own, working his way into the marrow of the songs, playing credible piano throughout the record.

Walked All Night Long marked the first recorded pairing of blues guitarists Louisiana Red and Lefty Dizz in 1976. Most of the tracks are originals, with the exception of the traditional "Ever Heard a Churchbell Sound" and Slim Harpo's "King Bee." The intensity here is not for the faint of heart, evident on tracks like "Bring Me My Machine Gun," "Stole From Me" (featuring blazing harmonica from Red), "Too Poor to Die," and "Cold White Sheet." The later features piano backup from Kyril Bromley who also appears on two other tracks. If you're a fan of hard-hitting gritty slide guitar with raw emotion, Walked All Night Long is a treasure you should search for from the Blues Alliance label.

Kenny Neal's dad Raful is a longtime Baton Rouge swamp blues stalwart whose own discography is way sparser than it should be. This album, first out on Bob Greenlee's King Snake logo, is an atmospheric indication of what the elder Neal can do with a harmonica, mixing covers ("Steal Away," "Honest I Do," "No Cuttin' Loose") with spicy originals.

Marcia Ball's strong western Louisiana, eastern Texas roots run strongly through So Many Rivers, and she has increased the range she covers. Solid in the foundation of her piano playing and phrasing, she is rooted rock-solid to the rhythms by the drumming of Tom Fillman and the bass of both Don Bennett and Yoggie Musgrove. There is also the production work of Stephen Bruton, who also added his otherworldly guitar work to the mix. Marcia Ball's voice has only gotten finer with the passage of time, and the collaborations with Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson have also added a lot of potency to her voice and handling of a song. She has assembled a crack group of musicians here that gives her freedom to take those chances that make So Many Rivers stand out from the crowd…

Louisiana slide master Sonny Landreth takes his time between releases – his last studio disc of original material was five years prior to this – but when they arrive, the wait seems justified. For the debut album on his own Landfall records, Landreth calls in marquee name guitarists Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Robben Ford, Eric Johnson, and Vince Gill to bolster the visibility factor. Rather than focusing on guitar duals, Landreth wrote songs that incorporate their styles, and occasional vocals, organically into the material. There are plenty of stunning solos of course, but they are integrated into the tunes that stand up just fine without the six-string fireworks. The album's title is a double entendre as "reach" is a body of water and also describes Landreth inviting his guests to be part of the project.

Lonesome Sundown (his real name was Cornelius Green) had a little bit more Delta and Chicago blues in him than most of his Louisiana labelmates who recorded for producer J.D. Miller. Not that Sundown's sound isn't solidly in the so-called swamp blues tradition, but where Slim Harpo, Silas Hogan, and the other Excello artists worked from a laconic, Jimmy Reed-like shuffle, Sundown quickened the pace (at least for an Excello act) to a nastier level, and with Miller's reverb-laden production, ended up sounding a little bit like Jimmy Reed on speed, particularly on tracks like "Don't Go." Not that Lonesome Sundown couldn't do the patented Louisiana blues shuffle when he chose to, as his signature tune, "I'm a Mojo Man," shows, or even improve on the pattern, as with the loose-limbed and brilliant "I'm a Samplin' Man," but he seemed most at home doing more standard blues fare like the modern-sounding "My Home Is a Prison"…

Those looking for blues, R&B, rootsy rock & roll, gospel-tinged ballads, loungy supper club jazz, and boogie-woogie piano pounding all led by an instantly recognizable powerhouse voice infused with gritty soul will rejoice with Marcia Ball. Although this is only her sixth album since her career shifted into high gear with 1984's Soulful Dress, Ball hits all those bases and more on her debut for Alligator. She's as comfortable with heart-wrenching lost-love songs like this album's touching "Let the Tears Roll Down" as with loose-limbed swampy piano/accordion-powered rockers such as "Louella." Her show-stopping piano virtuosity takes a back seat for the majority of this release, as Ball turns up the tough R&B heat on a cover of "Fly on the Wall" with guests Sonny Landreth on slide guitar and backing singers right out of Aretha Franklin's '60s heyday. Horns also play a large part, underpinning the Bobby "Blue" Bland-styled Crescent City soul-blues and rolling Fats Domino piano of Don Covay's "I'm Coming Down With the Blues."

Marcia Ball, born on the Texas/Louisiana border, has long been a superb performer, delivering her swampy blend of zydeco, blues, and gritty R&B with all the force of a Saturday night locomotive, and through 12 albums, she has never let that energy go. Roadside Attractions, her fifth release for Alligator Records, is no exception – it cooks and rattles and rocks with Ball's typical joyous energy and powerful piano. None of her many fans will be disappointed by this outing, but it is a little different for Ball in one respect – for the first time on one of her albums she has either written or co-written every song on it, and all of them draw on her thousands of hours on the road bringing her infectious brand of swampy boogie to the world.

Tab Benoit has gone the live route before on his recordings, and he's smart to keep reminding listeners every so often that that's where he's at his best. Which is not to take away from Benoit's studio recordings, all of which – including last year's excellent Power of the Pontchartrain – are admirable showcases for his consistently solid blues guitar chops and gritty vocalizing. As on the last effort, Benoit is backed here by the New Orleans fixture Louisiana's Leroux, who provide the kind of muscular foundation that makes Benoit's funk that much funkier. They're all most at home when churning out a basic boogie like "Muddy Bottom Blues," one of a trio of songs on which Benoit and band are joined by Wet Willie's Jimmy Hall, and "Too Sweet for Me," which spotlights Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds on harp. But on the occasions when they lay low, like "Fever for the Bayou," with guest Jumpin' Johnny Sansome sailing on the accordion, Benoit finds a deeper connection with the soul of New Orleans, a soul that, in this post-Katrina age, we all need to connect with more than ever.