PHOTO: MOLLY MALDOVAN | Festival season gets into full swing with the first weekday concerts leading up to the granddaddy of them all—the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in two weeks. In keeping with French Quarter Festival’s focus on locals and to entice you to take the afternoon off, Thursday’s schedule has some big names packed onto just six stages (the festival expands each day as the weekend progresses.) Here are our picks. The full schedule is here.
Irma Thomas (pictured at top) and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band close out the Abita Beer stage. Thomas has been impressing audiences with her great voice and down home stage persona, which I have it on good authority is not an act, for decades. She’s one of the true legends living among us. Don’t miss her while you have the chance.
Early in the day, I am torn between three of the finest purveyors of traditional New Orleans jazz on the scene today. The Preservation All-Stars features the core group of the band made famous by its namesake institution. The Panorama Jazz Band takes its cues from trad jazz, but the group, led by clarinetist Ben Schenck, takes the music as far afield as Brazil, the Caribbean and even the Balkans. Expect to see saxophonist Aurora Nealand on the bandstand trading lines with Schenck.
The members of Tuba Skinny have matured into one of the finest trad ensembles on the scene in New Orleans. They are featured on the cover of this month’s OffBeat magazine. With another woman out front, cornetist Shaye Cohn, the band is at the forefront of the trad revival as it enters its third (!) decade.
Two other bands to keep an eye out for include the Quickening and the New Orleans Suspects. Both are on the rock ‘n’ roll end of the music spectrum and feature ace musicians across the board.
Tomorrow—our Friday picks.
