Listened to two unlikely records today made by some stereotype-busters.

One artist hailed from deep Acadiana, and–though he did go on to play in the Cajun super-group Lil’ Band of Gold–studied and sang Gregorian chants, worked with Phillip Glass, Talking Heads, and Laurie Anderson, and created, through tape-delay and overdubbing, the incredible one-man record 15 Saxophones. Supposedly minimalist, the sound is maximal–a swirling storm of horn, a fever dream of reeds.

The name? Dickie Landry.

The other artists (actually, a group) had made their names backing everyone who was anyone in country music in the 1950s, often innovating on their instruments. But in 1960, they were invited to the Newport Jazz Festival (they also liked to swing!), and though a youth riot kept them from taking the stage, they knocked out some joyful jazz for a small yard audience after the riot was quelled, a performance recorded and released under the title After the Riot, credited to the Nashville All-Stars.

All-Stars? Do the names Hank Garland, Chet Atkins, Boots Randolph, and Floyd Cramer ring any bells?

Hey! You get full albums!

Short-shrift Division:

The absolutely stellar live companion to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s magnificent 2017 studio recording, So It Is, called Run Stop and Drop (The Needle), recorded where else but Preservation Hall in NOLA. It’s looser, and a bit hotter, than the official release. Here’s a KEXP in-studio performance to tease you (guess the shrift wasn’t that short):