We couldn’t have asked for better weather. There was not a cloud in the sky on Friday and the humidity was barely over 50 percent. Saturday and Sunday were a little more humid and partly cloudy. The only meteorological downside was the wind that was whipping the bone-dry dust around like miniature whirling dervishes.
The Jazz Fest organizers dedicated the whole fest to the country of Haiti and this weekend I sucked up as much of the wide range of music that was being presented as I could. Emeline Michel (pictured) performed on Saturday on the Congo Square stage and despite what the Times-Picayune’s’ reviewer wrote, the sound was perfect. She had a great band and her voice soared over the crowd. The only downside was the mass of bored people sitting in their chairs ignoring her compelling band as they waited impatiently for the American Idol winner Fantasia. Emeline was visibly upset and ended her set 15 minutes earlier.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again- the fest needs to set up a no-chair zone at Congo Square. If the crowd is going to disrespect a major artist then it’s incumbent on the producers to create the same spaces that work so well on the main stages.
Luckily, the same problem did not occur on Sunday for the highly anticipated performance by the legendary Haitian band, Boukman Eksperyans. Even though there was the same mass of chair people up front. Most of them got into the band almost immediately and they delivered one of the most compelling sets that I saw all weekend. The energy never flagged until they delivered an a capella song/prayer at the end, which hushed the giant crowd before they responded with a huge ovation.
It wasn’t all world music for me this weekend. I saw the great jazz reed player Anat Cohen play twice. In the Jazz Tent she stuck to contemporary sounds and twice switched from clarinet to soprano sax. In Economy Hall, that bastion of trad jazz, she played New Orleans standards like, “St. James Infirmary Blues.” She is a darling on the New York scene and it was easy too see why. She danced while her band played and mugged for the cameras all while displaying a gentle exuberance. She can play too!
I also sought out local bands playing for the first time at the fest. The best was Hurray for the Riff Raff, Alynda Lee (pictured), the band’s leader, sang songs that evoked the American heartland as her great band switched instruments and followed her winding vocal lines.
At the end of the weekend, it was back to international bands as I eschewed the larger stages to check out Red Baraat. This group blew my mind. They are based out of New York, but play Bengali music in the style of a New Orleans brass band. With just percussion and horns, they literally drove the small, but clearly devoted, crowd into a frenzy. They are my find of the fest and are playing Wednesday night at the House of Blues. Do yourself and favor and expand your musical mind by checking them out. (photos by Dylan Stansbury)
