New Orleans funk legend and lead guitarist of the Meters Leo Nocentelli made his return to Gumbo Kitchen earlier this month to talk about the Meters, working with producer Allen Toussaint and the inspirations behind some of his songs over the years.
A founding member of the groundbreaking New Orleans funk group, Nocentelli himself achieved national attention in large part due to his signature guitar playing. His artistry is genre-bending and includes everything from blues, rock, rap, jazz, and funk, and has penned more than 200 songs including the iconic “Cissy Strut” and “Hey Pocky A-Way.”
In 1971, Nocentelli recorded a solo folk album at Cosimo Matassa’s Jazz City Studio in New Orleans with Toussaint. It was shelved and thought to be lost for 50 years before Light in the Attic Records issued the primarily acoustic/folk collection as Another Side in 2021.
Take a listen to the conversation below. Gumbo Kitchen with Ronnie Littlejohn airs Friday nights at 9PM EST only on jazz.fm91.