Trippin Live

Trippin' Live is an absolute marvel. Recorded over eight days of shows in London, the sound quality is crisp, and Rebennack's eight-man band, including such longtime colleagues as saxophonists Red Tyler and Ronnie Cuber, swings with remarkable ease. Naturally, they tackle "Tipitina," "Such a Night," and "Right Place, Wrong Time." However, the real revelations come from lesser-known material: the loose, joyous funk of "Wild Honey," a touching version of "My Buddy," and an unlikely but effective "spiritual medley" that opens with a Mardi Gras-parade version of "Down by the Riverside" and closes on the black gospel jive of "I Shall Not Be Moved." Satisfying from its first note to the close of the eleventh song, Trippin' Live proves that Rebennack can still summon the musical magic of a city as strange and wonderful as any voodoo spirit. --Keith Moerer