One-in-a-million is not enough of a compliment to describe artist and New Orleans resident Shaye Cohn. That would mean there might be 360 or so people like her in The United States, so, forget the one-in-a-million tag. Unique is a word that gets tossed around too loosely, but in the soon-to-be discovered Ms. Cohn’s case, it applies. It’s one thing to play a handful of musical instruments at a professional level, but to be a successful bandleader in a generally all-male world and in a rough-and-tumble context like New Orleans street bands, Well, that’s an anomaly-and-a-half.

Check out the links we’ve supplied, and if this bounteous bundle of Bluesy, ballsy band-leading doesn’t get your foot tapping and your mood lifting, you might want to get your fun gland checked by a medical professional. Shaye is the cornet player sitting amongst the horn-playing guys, and she counts off the tunes and cues people with just a look or a well-placed elbow jab, barely demonstrating that she’s the brains of the outfit, the outfit being beloved New Orleans Trad Jazz band “Loose Marbles.” Of course, in other links, you’ll see her banging out muscular stride piano and, in fact, also doing that with a hot little trio featuring Erika Lewis on Red-Hot Mama-style vocals in some lucky New Orleans nite spots.

Let’s zoom out for a minute before zooming and just add a word or two about Feminism, a movement that’s under attack these days and one that as far as we know, Shaye Cohn doesn’t crusade for or even (publicly) discuss much. But, if anybody is the embodiment of the term, in its best sense, it’s this unassuming, sweetly swinging ambassador of New Orleans-style Traditional Jazz who deserves a lengthy turn in the spotlight, and you, our valued Roseannethropologist, can help us get her there.

We can supply more links, but we hope the ones we lay on you, here, will encourage you to surf around and find more of your own. We’ll give you one more tip, another name to know is “Tuba Skinny.” It’s another great New Orleans Trad Jazz street band that includes Shaye in lots of videos, as well as Erika Lewis, the wonderful vocalist who, without amplification, belts out some soulful classic tunes with the bands, and she thumps a big old bass drum in lots of clips as well. Shaye and Erika are a couple of down-to-earth, plainclothes goddesses whose realm is way outside the scene that is hyped-up, corporate, mass-produced music these days. They’re not in the mass media spotlight but they’re ‘right in the pocket’ when it comes to delivering classic, straight-from-the-heart sounds that have kept toes tapping for a century or more; it’s America’s classical music! Find your own links and share them here if you’d like! Look for “Loose Marbles,” Shaye Cohn, “Tuba Skinny” and other fantastic real-deal, old-timey, super fun and super-skilled musicians and bands sharing great sounds outside the Big Money, corporate, fame machinery. Here are some places to start:

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