Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On at New Orleans Jazz Fest

New Orleans, Louisiana
Jazz & Heritage Festival, April 27-29

Each time I return from Jazz Fest (this is my fifth one), friends inevitably ask who I saw. This year, I beamed about such headliners as Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt. But that’s just a part of the larger Jazz Fest experience.

When you walk between the two main stages, which sit at opposite ends of the enormous Fairgrounds, there are eight other stages and tents brimming over with soulful sounds. Along that stroll, you’ll hear African rhythms from the Congo stage, zydeco and Cajun on the Fais Do Do stage, a brass band or the Mardi Gras Indians (in full headdress) on the Heritage stage, and mind-blowing jazz and blues from the tents, not to mention some hallelujah shouts out of the Gospel tent. These are the sweet sounds that envelop you and get in yer blood. These are the sounds that make me return to Jazz Fest every year and there’s nothing quite like it anywhere.

Photos: (from top) Louisiana legend John Mooney blows the lid off the Blues Tent; New Birth Brass Band jams on the Heritage stage; I say hi to Alexa Ray Joel (right) after her bluesy set on the Lagniappe stage.

(at right) Galactic's Rich Vogel on keys at Tip's Uptown.

And these are sounds born in, or inspired by, the cultural mecca of New Orleans, whether it’s Cajun and zydeco, jazz or blues. When Jerry Lee Lewis took the stage on Sunday, many danced uncontrollably to the great raw sounds of 50s rock n roll, a sound that draws heavily from the blues. Van Morrison, whose music crosses an array of genres though always heavily inspired by blues, stuck with a mostly jazzy set (and didn’t play Brown Eyed Girl, which I thought was cool, but some in the crowd were clearly disappointed). Meanwhile, the New Orleans Klezmer All Stars blended their traditional klezmer music (joyful Jewish music) with elements of zydeco, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

So, while many often ask why there are rock and country music headliners at a jazz fest, it can be said that just about every act there, big and small, every year, has music rooted in the very traditions that come out of the great state of Louisiana.

Another unique and stimulating aspect of Fest is that you never know who might jam together. Dr. John came out to jam with Van Morrison on Fats Domino’s “Josephine” while Ivan Neville seemed to go sleepless; he showed up with Galactic at 5 a.m. in a Tip’s Uptown Saturday night and again on stage with Bonnie Raitt the next afternoon. Raitt also pulled in Allen Touissaint’s horn section for a song. And these are just but a few examples.

Then there are the inspiring stories of local musicians who continue to work toward the city’s recovery. One such example is New Orleans Social Club, a band that formed just after Hurricane Katrina to help raise funds to help the city. This is a band of all-stars including Ivan Neville, George Porter, Jr., and keyboard great Henry Butler. They played Fest one afternoon. Many other great local musicians played. Among the ones who graced the larger stages were zydeco great Rockin’ Dopsie, boogie-woogie goddess Marcia Ball, and the bluesy roots of Tab Benoit.

And if all of this great music all day long isn’t enough, just about every club in the city holds nighttime concerts. It’s tough to choose from the many phenomenal concerts going simultaneously but often that’s dictated by when one finishes a leisurely dinner. Luckily, there are concerts all night long. This year, I hit dba on Frenchman Street for the rockin’ delta blues of Little Freddie King. I found the beer selection to be pretty phenomenal in this club so I hit it again the next night for the jam band Morning 40 Federation, before heading to Tipitina’s Uptown at 4 a.m. to catch some of Galactic, a great New Orleans-based funk and jazz band.

So wraps up the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. My head will keep swimming with these soulful sounds for a long time to come.

Jambalaya, crawfish pie, and fillet gumbo

Coz tonight I’m gonna see my ma cher amio

Pick guitar, fill fruit jar, and be gay oh

Son of a gun, we’re gonna have big fun on the bayou.