It’s been forty years since the release of New Orleans pianist James Booker’s explosive live album, Blues and Ragtime From New Orleans. Once referred to by Dr. John as “the best black, gay, one-eyed junkie piano genius that New Orleans has ever produced,” Booker’s life was beyond fascinating and like many artists wasn’t fully realized until long after his death. A New Orleans native, Booker was born in 1939 and died at the tragically young age of forty-four. Still, New Orleans remembers him well and fondly.

In the weeks following pop icon Prince’s untimely passing, hordes of respected entertainers paid their respects through acknowledgement or performance. Once again, an artist’s full depth and impact is celebrated strongest posthumously. That is not to say that Prince’s impact as a musician and atypical sex symbol wasn’t already deeply influential. Take funk saxophonist and bandleader Karl Denson.

Rarely does a jazz guitarist take risks in blending as many different sensibilities as Oz Noy. By his late teens and early twenties in Israel, he was a respected studio guitarist, collaborator and bandleader. He broke onto the New York club scene in 1996 and since has collaborated with the best of cats. In a time where artists are overly cautious about fitting in, Noy’s style is truly like none other. He’s built an impressive following doing his own moves.

On their third album City Painted Gold, San Francisco string-benders The Brothers Comatose have deepened their rocking acoustic prowess to new heights. The musical comradery between banjo and guitar-slinging brothers Alex and Ben Morrison renders authentic each time they step onstage.

Almost a decade ago, in a blissful oddity odyssey, master jazz pianist Chick Corea began collaborating with the greatest living banjo player Béla Fleck. It wasn’t quite as peculiar in Fleck’s world, as the genre-abolishing maestro's band The Flecktones thrived on inexplicable instrumental possibilities. He had also previously toured with Americana pianist and bandleader Bruce Hornsby.

It’s been forty years since mandolinist and bandleader David Grisman began playing with his Quintet, a band that bended more genres into the bluegrass/acoustic idiom that ever before. His groundbreaking compositions sat nicely with the school of acoustic gypsy-swing first popularized in the United States by guitarist Django Reinhardt and fiddle player Stephane Grappelli. Entirely different than the “newgrass” music from his contemporaries John Hartford and Sam Bush, “Dawg” music was and still is truly a form of its own.

Last week we had the honor of speaking with multi-instrumentalist, producer, nationally syndicated talk show host, and longtime Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McEuen. The masterful string-slinger joined forces with the band in their formational year of 1966 and has remained with them for decades. The genre-bending psychedelic folk rockers are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

American folk and protest music legend Woody Guthrie has influenced generations of singer-songwriters. His optimistic vision of the United States was as a land of opportunity, equality, and freedom for all. Though hundreds of his treasured songs have been preserved, they still need to be continued through the vitality of living musicians. To the joy of the folk, country, bluegrass and Americana community, iconic vocalist and guitarist Del McCoury took on the bold task of upholding Guthrie’s legacy.

The String Cheese Incident is in the midst of their expansive March Madness tour of the West. The run has thus far seen enthusiastic crowds, intimate venues, and resilient playing from the band. Their two set shows have highlighted a career retrospective of tunes and expansively inspired grooves. The two Fox Theater gigs last weekend are being heralded as the fiercest of the tour yet.

Colorado’s born and bred The String Cheese Incident has significantly elevated their concert experience since they began jamming together in 1993. Their first audiences were at the base of ski lifts in Telluride, Colorado; picking in exchange for a lift ticket for whoever was around to take notice.