WOW! Reportedly this was the first Jazz Fest with no rain over the 10-day period in 12 years. More significantly, temperatures were mild and the humidity really didn’t hit until Friday. Here’s a look back at some of my highlights from the second weekend.
Though I picked the Mardi Gras Indians to open the day on Thursday, I just couldn’t resist checking out the bassist Bru Bruser’s band Gov’t Majik playing on the big stage. I’m glad I did.
The group plays music inspired by the great Nigeria Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti and they nailed it. With a full horn section featuring Tim Green, Allen Dejean, Antonio Gambrell and Kari Lee along with Gabriel Velasco on trap drums and Eduardo Tozzatto on keys, the band was packed with talent. I kept thinking I’ve got to check out at least some of the Indians (it’s a daily ritual), but the band just kept bringing it.
After checking out the New Orleans Bingo Show! (They were out of the box with burlesque dancers, a horn section, two string players including Helen Gillet on cello and of course, the clowns) and funk legend Zigaboo Modeliste (he had two bassists, two keyboardists along with Chris Severin on bass, Renard Poche on guitar and Roderick Paulin on sax), I headed over to the Jazz and Heritage stage.
The act in question was Miami’s own Locos por Juana. I have watched this band develop since they first began playing locally and they brought some serious intensity to the stage. Their lead singer, Itagui Correa (pictured above), was all over the stage exhorting the crowd and his bandmates to the highest musical level.
At the end of the set, they brought up Walter Ramsey (pictured above on the left), the leader of the Stooges Brass Band for some spirited blowing on the trombone. The two groups have forged a unique partnership and appear together whenever Locos por Juana is in town.
When I studied Friday’s schedule the band I was most intrigued about was Fleur Debris—a new project from keyboardist David Torkanowsky (pictured above with Nicholas Payton in the center). After seeing him perform close to a hundred times (literally) at the Jazz Fest, I was shocked to find out he had never been billed as a leader until this year.
The fact that he had George Porter Jr. and Zigaboo Modeliste as his rhythm section, two musicians who have been playing together since before the Jazz Fest began in 1970, made the case for getting there early for a seat up front.
They didn’t disappoint. Zigaboo (pictured above) started things off with a solo drum groove, before George joined him. Then, Tork appeared (pictured below) wearing an old Civil Defense helmet that belonged to Professor Longhair setting the stage for a set rife with musical whimsy.
Aaron Fletcher, a younger musician but a stellar saxophonist, was the fourth wheel on this outstanding musical vehicle. The music ran the gamut from Coltrane’s “Equinox” to Tork’s classical-inspired introduction. A guest appearance by the trumpeter Nicholas Payton catapulted the set into the stratosphere. Here’s hoping this isn’t a one-off project and they start playing around town.
The Red Hawk Hunters opened the day on Friday and they were hands down the best Mardi Gras Indian tribe I saw over the course of the seven day festival. Their costumes were first class and their singing and musicianship provide ample proof that this young tribe is here to stay. They had seven adults and six children in full suits and at the end of their set the Big Chief stalked the edge of the stage as the crowd chanted, “Red Hawk Hunters, Red Hawk Hunters!”
As regular readers of this space are aware, I am really into world music and on Saturday I was super psyched to hear RAM of Haiti. I saw them back in 1993 in the early days of my infatuation with music from the African diaspora.
Again, this was another act that did not disappoint. Even though there were chair people all over the front of the Congo Square space, the band didn’t seem to notice since there were plenty of people who were up and dancing.
The group is huge with five percussionists, four rara horn players, two keyboardists and dancers galore. Their sound is equally as huge. The leader introduced each song and tried to give the audience a sense of the depth of the connections between Haiti and New Orleans, which I discussed in a story that appeared in Gambit Weekly before the first weekend.
But in the end it was RAM’s exuberance that mattered the most. At the end of the set, the horn players, percussionists and dancers leapt from the stage, crossed two rows of police barricades and paraded out onto the track surrounding the stage. It was a tour-de-force performance that also demonstrated the parading traditions of the musically rich island of Haiti.
I spent some time in the Jazz Tent before the blow out with RAM checking out Roger Lewis of Dirty Dozen Brass Band and his new project, Baritone Bliss (pictured above). With four players on baritone sax along with Dan Oestreicher on bass sax, Mari Watanabe on piano and Shannon Powell on drums, this band brought the goods.
They performed a great arrangement of Duke Ellington’s “Sophisticated Lady” and concluded their set with Tony Dagradi’s song “Gemini Rising,” which was instantly recognizable from his long tenure leading Astral Project.
Towards the end of the day, RAM of Haiti led a proper parade through the Fairgrounds, which wound up at the Haitian Pavilion. There we got a true taste of what this music is all about. The group of drums and horns paraded around the tight confines of the tent at least ten times as the intensity kept cresting and cresting. Rum was passed around, sweat poured off every dancing body and ecstatic smiles creased every face.
Sunday dawned with sore muscles, sunburned skin and that bittersweet feeling that another Jazz Fest is coming to an end. This one had more significance as the Radiators (pictured above with the Bonerama Horns) were scheduled to play for the last time in their traditional closing slot on the Gentilly stage.
Before that set though, there was lots of music to hear. Tommy Malone, who would later join his brother Dave at the end of Rads’ killer set, opened the day with some searing slide guitar work and his wonderful new songs.
In between I saw the final Haitian act of the fest, Tabou Combo. With the possible exception of Boukman Eksperyans, who played the first weekend, they are the most famous Haitian band in the world.
The group is another huge one, which was augmented by our own Delfeayo Marsalis on trombone. Despite the ever-present chair people at the Congo Square stage (today waiting rather impatiently for Frankie Beverly and Maze), they put on an over-the-top performance that left many in the crowd exhausted from dancing to their relentless groove.
Then it was time for the Radiators. Many Fishheads, and I am proud to call myself one, prefer just the five guys rather than a parade of guests. But today was special and with people like Michael Doucet from the Cajun band Beausoleil adding fiddle to the proceedings and Paul Barrere from Little Feat, a band that the Radiators admired in their early days 33 years ago, adding a touch of musical nostalgia, the guests were appropriate.
Old school fishheads remember when their sets at the Fairgrounds could be hit or miss. But they delivered big time.
For me, the best part was the realization that Quint Davis, the producer/director of the Jazz Fest, was on stage with them at the end of another beautiful day. He always closes out the fest with the Neville Brothers at the other end of the infield and that was proof enough that the Radiators finally got some respect. (photos by Dylan Stansbury)
