It's the next-to-last day of Jazz Fest. Unfortunately, we woke up this morning to rain and severe thunderstorm warnings that were most definitely accurate. A series of rain showers and thunderstorms between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. dropped around 3 inches of rain. Some of the storms had winds of 30 mph with gusts approaching 50 mph. Needless to say, Jazz Fest experienced another rain delay. The only good thing about this delay (and to a lesser extent the one on the first day) was that the rain was in the morning and we didn't get too much rain once Jazz Fest got under way.
Temperature-wise, it did get up to 78 later this afternoon. However, as always after a weather event down here, it took a very strong wind to clear out the clouds. But, that wind also helps to dry things out. This evening the temp was in the upper 60s. Humidity, as you might expect, was off the charts today, in the 80 to 90 percent range.
At least we had plenty of time to grab some food from the hotel's breakfast buffet and prepare for a wet Fair Grounds. That meant putting on the waterproof footwear and packing the (new) umbrella, plastic bags for phones, and those ridiculous ponchos (basically plastic bags with holes for arms and head). We waited and waited for what seemed like forever before Jazz Fest finally gave the word. Even though showers were still in the vicinity, the gates would open at 12:30 and the music would begin at 12:45.
Rachel hurried over from her hotel down the street and we headed off to the Sheraton in some pretty steady rain. After a ride on a very un-crowded shuttle bus we were at the Fair Grounds shortly after the music began.
Here are today's original cubes, and here is the adjusted schedule to account for the late opening. There was another change late in the day at the Blues Tent, too.
As we walked across the Gentilly field, Amanda Shaw was playing to a small crowd, which included some Canada geese, probably wondering what was going on. I think Rachel decided to stay at Gentilly, and Laurie headed for the WWOZ tent for some coffee.
I was laser-focused on the Fais Do Do stage.
Savoy Music Center Saturday Morning Jam Session
Jeff, at the Fais Do Do stage
Seen Before: First time!
At the Fais Do Do stage I became part of a small but growing crowd that was facing a wall of Cajun bliss. You see, the Jazz Fest folks sent a bus out to Eunice to bring the Savoy Music Center's Saturday morning jam session to New Orleans. More than 20 Cajun musicians, young and old, men and women, from the proverbial all walks of life, were on the stage playing classic Cajun tunes. Among the players were Ann Savoy, Joel Savoy, and Wilson Savoy. Savoy family patriarch Marc Savoy was mostly host and narrator, although he did play toward the end of the performance.
I have seen a lot of wonderful things at Jazz Fest, but this was one of the best. Not that the music was of the highest quality; it wasn't. After all it was a jam session. But the culture and heritage it represented, that the older musicians were nurturing the younger musicians, that the songs were still being played at all, was what made it so memorable. And that is exactly what Marc Savoy wants.
When he started the Saturday morning jam session, Savoy was trying to recreate the same spirit he had enjoyed as a child, when the farming people went to town to shop and pay accounts at the feed store, the hardware store, and tractor supply. The owners of these establishments, as a show of appreciation for the farmers' business, would always have a pot of coffee on the counter, along with either doughnuts, boudin, or cracklins. The farmer would meet his neighbors in these establishments and would discuss farming practices, crop prices and yields, weather conditions, whatever. Marc always accompanied his father, a farmer, because he liked the doughnuts and boudin and also the sense of community that was strongly present in these establishments.
When he started his music store, he envisioned it as a music center that would specialize in all things Cajun. Saturdays were always considered non-work days for the Cajuns, and a few of them would always drop by to drink a cup of coffee, take an instrument off the counter, and play a few tunes.
Very slowly the word got out that a few guys were playing music at Savoy Music Center every Saturday morning. Very slowly other local faces that were not musicians, but rather, people who just enjoyed listening to the music, began to appear. It was especially appealing to the older generation of musicians who didn't play the style of music that was currently popular in the dancehalls. Because this older generation included many of his friends and mentors, Savoy made certain that they knew that at the Savoy Music Center they were important, and that they were considered valuable assets to the Cajun music scene. These early jammers at the Savoy Music Center would read like a who's who of Cajun music in Louisiana.
However, when the jam sessions first started in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the younger generation had little interest in Cajun music, instead opting for a bland, all-American Bandstand existence. What changed all that was the Newport Folk Festival of 1964. Cajun culture was discovered by the outside world and eventually became one of Louisiana's greatest natural resources.
The stories that the Cajun musicians told when they returned from Newport in 1964, of how they were very popular at the festival, were very instrumental in establishing the Savoy Music Center. After Newport, media and filmmakers visited, interviewed, wrote about, and filmed the jam session. Besides attracting visitors from all over the world, this publicity by the media also created a cultural awareness among the younger generation of Cajuns in their desire to learn the language, music, stories, and all other facets of their heritage. Some of the most popular young musicians playing Cajun music today learned their music from sitting quietly in the corner of the room playing behind such masters as Dennis McGee, Dewey Balfa, Aldus Roger, Octa Clark, Milton Adams, and Jack Leger.
Because of their age and valuable knowledge of this culture, it has always been Marc Savoy's attitude that the older musicians lead the jam session. The younger musicians are welcome, but are encouraged to play in the background, to listen to and learn not just the tunes, but also the stories exchanged between the older musicians about the music and how it fits into their lives. It's a learning situation in which the younger generation can acquire a sensibility about the music and culture.
Here is how he describes the jam sessions (other interesting writings here as well). And as you can see above, the ground rules are also explained on a handwritten sign at the door to the music center on Saturdays.
The jam session today seems to function very naturally. Structured scheduling concerning repertoire or who plays what does not exist. The musicians themselves are all old friends and seem to have an innate sense of "jam session etiquette." During the three-hour session the lineup of musicians seems to be constantly changing; one wave comes in, plays a few tunes, socializes a while with friends, then leaves while another wave is coming in to take their places. The feeling of the jam session is that of an old-time house dance. It isn't a performance because no one is "performing"; rather, it's a get-together of friends to play the music of their heritage.
And that's what was on display on the Fais Do Do stage today. It provided goosebumps on top of goosebumps.
Audio/Video: Here's my video, and here is one more from Jazz Fest and for good measure, the scene at the Music Center in Eunice so you can see what that is like.
From this awesomeness, I headed over to the Lagniappe stage in the Grandstand's paddock area, where the extraordinary pianist Tom Worrell was leading his Mo' Fess band. This wasn't too shabby either.
Mo' Fess
Jeff, at the Lagniappe stage
Seen Before: First time!
Mo' Fess literally means more than Fess. The band's love for Henry Roeland Byrd, aka Professor Longhair (Fess, that is) and the unique ability of Tom Worrell to emulate the Fess piano style of music was the inspiration to create a band that uses the Fess sound and goes beyond that with its own unique style of New Orleans music.
When the 1976 Professor Longhair album Live in Chicago was finally released in 2016, the release party was of course held in New Orleans. Earl Gordon, who played drums for Fess, met Worrell and got him to agree to play piano with some of Fess's former band members to celebrate this 40-year-old achievment.
After Gordon heard Worrell's incredible piano skills and his uncanny ability to emulate Fess's style, including vocals, he was convinced that there was an opportunity to bring Fess's music to those who never heard this genius as well as those who did and would now get a chance to hear Fess again. Gordon and Worrell formed Mo' Fess, not just as a tribute band, but one that would integrate their own talents and add to Fess's style.
Four members of the band (Earl Gordon, Tony DaGradi, Alfred "Uganda" Roberts, and Reggie Scanlan) performed with Professor Longhair on the steamboat President during the 1978 Jazz Fest. Fess opened for Etta James in that show.
"I've played with some great keyboardists who wanted to emulate Fess," Gordon says. "They never could, but Tom, when you close your eyes, comes the closest to Fess."
Others in the band are guitarist June Yamagishi, saxophonist Lance Ellis, and Brazilian keyboardist Luciano Leães.
Gordon, a stem cell researcher in Calabasas, California, played with Fess for four yers before leaving the band and New Orleans in late 1979. With his eyes on retirement from the medical field, he hopes Mo' Fess will perform more often. "Everybody loved playing with Fess," he said. "It was magic. He was magic. We're trying to bring the magic back with Mo' Fess."
"It's a special gig," Worrell said of Mo' Fess. "When we played at Tipitina's, the chemistry was definitely there. It would be nice to play more, but it has to be for special occasions. We do it for the people of New Orleans as a special kind of thing."
Before Mo' Fess, in the years before Hurricane Katrina, Worrell often performed with another of Fess's band members, the late Edwin "Sheeba" Kimbraugh. "He was one of my best friends in my life," Worrell said. "We played hundreds of gigs together, sometimes just me and him. Having somebody translate the rhythm in real time, somebody who played with Fess, that was invaluable."
Born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, in 1918, Byrd moved to New Orleans as a boy. He took up the piano in the 1940s, at one point leading a band called the Blues Jumpers. His voice, melodic sense, wordplay, and piano style, the latter a heavily percussive, Afro-Caribbean-inflected brand of Big Easy boogie-woogie, were uniquely his own.
He released a handful of singles for Mercury, Atlantic, and other labels in the 1950s and 1960s. His only national hit was "Bald Head," but his timeless recordings of "Go to the Mardi Gras" and "Big Chief" are still omnipresent during Carnival season in New Orleans.
Unable to sustain a music career, he quit playing to eke out an existence as a janitor and backroom card dealer. However, when George Wein was organizing the first Jazz Fests, he heard Fess and instructed his young producer Quint Davis to find him and put him on stage. His performance at the second Jazz Fest in 1971 kicked off a comeback that established him as a local legend.
Fess died in 1980 at age 61, but his legacy lives on. A rendering of him watches over Jazz Fest from the peak of the main Acura Stage, and his image looms large over the stage of Tipitina’s, which is named for one of his songs.
Of all the Longhair alumni in Mo' Fess, Alfred "Uganda" Roberts served the longest tenure. A Tremé native, his career in music began in his early teens, playing bongos in clubs in the French Quarter. Jazz drummer Smokey Johnson encouraged him to switch to congas and he never looked back. He established a relationship with fellow Tremé resident and neighbor, record producer Allen Toussaint, joining the Sea Saint Studios crew as house percussionist and contributing to several classic Meters recordings, including "Africa" and "Hey Pocky A-Way," as well as Toussaint's 1972 album Life, Love, and Faith.
In 1972, Roberts was introduced to Professor Longhair, and he would go on to tour and record with Fess for eight years. A constant presence in Fess's band, he supplied much of its calypso and rhumba shadings. Along the way, Roberts appeared on Fess's studio albums Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo and Crawfish Fiesta. He and Fess perform as a duo on The London Concert, a live album recorded in 1978 but not released until 1994.
After Fess died in 1980, Roberts toured with Willie Tee and the Wild Magnolias off and on from 1980 until 1986, when he took a hiatus from the music industry, occasionally coming out of his semi-retirement to tour and record -- such as on Dr. John's albums Goin' Back to New Orleans (1992) and N'Awlinz: Dis, Dat, or D'udda (2004). He's much more active lately, and we have seen him many times performing with the grat guitarist John Mooney and others.
Earl Gordon is originally from Canada. He first visited New Orleans in 1974 and fell in love with its magic especially the music, food and its people. After moving to the city, he formed a band with Billy Gregory, the guitarist in Professor Longhair's band. That connection eventually led to Gordon occupying the drum chair for Fess from 1974 to 1979. In addition to Live in Chicago, he can be heard on Live in Germany. He's also played with John Lee Hooker, Eubie Blake, and James Booker.
Tom Worrell is an Iowa native who began playing piano at age 4 and also learned to play trombone and bass. He studied music at the University of Iowa before touring as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist with several rock bands. In the late 1980s, he was hired to tour with the great Solomon Burke. It was Burke's bandleader, Sammy Mayfield, who gave Tom a tape of Professor Longhair and James Booker. This proved to be a pivotal moment in his life. He fell under the spell of the New Orleans piano sound and moved to the city to delve even deeper into it. The inclusive spirit of the musical community in New Orleans is the reason he can list so many incredible artists he has shared the stage with: Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, J. Monque'D, Mem Shannon, Bo Dollis and Bo Dollis Jr. and the Wild Magnolias, Deacon John Moore, Marva Wright, John Fohl, Brother Tyrone, Walter 'Wolfman' Washington and the Roadmasters, 101 Runners, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles, and many more.
Reggie Scanlan is a native of New Orleans who attended the University of New Orleans. At age 17, after a short stint as what he calls a remarkably inept guitarist, he picked up the bass and never looked back. After the usual run of high school and college bands, he started working on Bourbon Street and eventually landed a gig at the Playboy Club and then the opportunity to work with piano legend James Booker. In 1975, he moved to California, working with singer-songwriter Rachel Faro and bluesmen Sonny Rhodes, Charles Brown, Jimmy McCracklin, Mark Hummel, Michael "Hawkeye" Herman, and others. In 1977, Professor Longhair invited him to join his band, and Scanlan was on the next flight home. After a year with Fess, he left to join the Radiators -- a gig that would last more than 33 years. While with the Rads he also worked in the bands of Earl King, Snooks Eaglin, Jesse Hill, and the Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra. After the dissolution of the Rads he started the New Orleans Suspects with members of the Neville Brothers, James Brown, and Dirty Dozen bands (we were at the linked performance) and also performs with the New Soul Finders, Wake of the Dead, the Iko All Stars, Monkey Ranch, and the Gatorators.
Sax player Lance Ellis, a former New Orleans postal worker, felt the musical spirit from a young age, learning jazz improvisation techniques from Ellis Marsalis and playing in Mardi Gras parades with his high school and college marching bands. Later, he lent his unique talents to the legendary 1970s funky soul band War, the original Meters and the Funky Meters, the Neville Brothers, Mem Shannon, and zydeco master Chubby Carrier, just to name a few. He has two solo recordings to his credit as well.
Tony Dagradi, the other sax player, has for more than 30 years played with many of the Crescent City's most celebrated artists, including Ellis Marsalis, Allen Toussaint, James Booker, the Meters, Dr. John, James Black, Johnny Adams, and Gatemouth Brown. An accomplished classical performer as well, he can sometimes be found in the woodwind section of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a member of Carla Bley's band and has appeared with Bobby McFerrin, Mose Allison, and Nat Adderley. He has been a member of the great modern jazz band Astral Project for many years. In addition to his work as a performer and award-winning composer, Dagradi has authored several books that focus on saxophone technique and improvisational skills and teaches saxophone at Loyola University.
June Yamagishi was active in the Japanese blues and jazz scene from the early 1970s through the early 1990s. In 1995, he moved to New Orleans. Since finding a home in the Crescent City, he has played with such great musicians as Earl King, Henry Butler, Davell Crawford, Marva Wright, and George Porter Jr. among many others aside from the three groups he has been a member of: the great Papa Grows Funk, the 101 Runners, and Cory Henry's Treme Funktet. In other words, you'll find him with just about any Mardi Gras Indian group or funk band at any time. And that's a good thing!
Self-taught, passionate, and dynamic, Luciano Leães is considered one of Brazil's leading blues pianists and organists. He draws from deep inspiration gained in New Orleans, but manages to imprint his own mark in his playing. He has become a well-known figure on the local scene at the Maple Leaf, among others. In many ways like Professor Longhair, he appreciates the roots of north-American blues while probing the inroads and crossroads of Caribbean sonority. Add to that the rich heritage he has gained from Brazil's traditional folk music and you have yet another completely unique performer.
Well, that was a lot of detail on this band, one which I really hadn't intended to see, but was very glad I did. I was thrilled to see so many legendary musicians together performing the music of the legendary Professor Longhair ... and mo'!
Audio/Video: Here's my video of the Mo' Fess show, and here's another one, shot the wrong way but from much closer.
While I was experiencing all that awesomeness, Laurie was catching some brass bands.
TBC (To Be Continued) Brass Band
Laurie, at the Acura stage
Seen Before: Day 11 in 2017; also with John Fogerty on Day 11 in 2014.
TBC was formed in 2002 by a group of friends who grew up in the 7th and 9th Wards, half attending Carver High School, the other half from Kennedy High. Hoping to avoid the drugs and violence that befell many of their friends and classmates, they borrowed banged-up old instruments from their school's band director, polished their act, and played at the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets regularly. They survived the flood caused by the failure of the Federal levee system in 2005, and then survived the city's cracking down on street musicians playing in the French Quarter. They are now a staple on the second-line scene as well as a regular act at clubs and festivals.
Audio/Video: Here are excerpts from Munck Music's recording of today's show at the Acura stage, here is a video of TBC at Sportsman's Corner in New Orleans, and here is one from the WWOZ studio.
Hot 8 Brass Band
Laurie, at the Congo Square stage
Seen Before: Day 4 in 2015, Day 4 last year
For more than 20 years, the Hot 8 have been one of the most popular and visible funk-style brass bands in in New Orleans. They formed in 1996, when sousaphone player Bennie Pete merged two former Fortier High School student brass bands. The players grew up together and maintain strong, family-like bonds and regular membership.
Most of them were born between 1975 and 1987 in a generation that grew up hearing mainly modern-style brass bands at community functions. The band is somewhat larger than many younger groups, with as many as 10 members, including three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, bass drum, and snare drum. And then, as is common among the more modern groups, the Hot 8 uses one reed player. Like most of the younger bands, the Hot 8's funk style is a blend of influences from the Dirty Dozen and Rebirth, with more elements of contemporary R&B, hip-hop, and bounce. The uniqueness of their sound is mainly due to a steady stream of creative original songs and ideas composed or introduced by various band members. Since the Dirty Dozen, the sousaphone has been prominent in brass bands as a feature and solo instrument; it frequently sets up and maintains short rhythmic (often melodic) grooves that dominate and propel most songs in the band.
The Hot 8's story has been one of tragedy and triumph. Over the years their ranks have been decimated by the deaths of four original members due to street violence and illness, and one member lost his legs in a horrible traffic accident. Hurricane Katrina was a life-altering turning point; after being evacuated, displaced, and scattered across the country, the band regrouped and has been stronger than ever. You can read their story in detail in the 2015 entry.
Audio/Video: I couldn't find anything from Jazz Fest this year, so here's 20 minutes from KEXP in Seattle a little later on, 20 minutes from WWOZ, and a half hour from the French Quarter Festival a couple of years ago. Brass bands are always great fun at Jazz Fest, even if the ground is squishy!
So there was food today, and I can't tell from my photos or notes exactly when it was or whether we did it together or not, so I'm just going to throw it in here and there.
Food! Caribbean steamed vegetables and rice
Laurie
Had Before: Day 11 last year, although we've had the same platter with fish every year except 2012.
This tasty dish is served by Palmer's Jamaican (read more about Cecil Palmer at the Day 8 in 2015 report). It's steamed cabbage, carrots, and squash on top of a bed of rice. And of course you fire it up with hot sauce.
Food! PQA
Jeff
Had Before: Day 10 in 2013, Day 9 in 2016.
What in the world is PQA, you ask? Well, Jazz Fest insiders know it's the acronym for pheasant, quail, and andouille sausage gumbo. It is the richest, most flavorful gumbo I've ever had. It's prepared by Prejean's Restaurant of Lafayette. You can read about this dish in the 2013 report. The secret, as in any top-notch gumbo (mine included I might add) is in the roux. I couldn't come close to this one.
Prejean's officially opened for business on April 15, 1980. The first menu was on a trawl board with brass letters and they served only boiled seafood and oysters on the half shell and refrigerated York peppermint patties for dessert. Now, Prejean's serves some of the best Cajun cuisine available in the south, not just the seafood dishes that have made them famous, but also steaks, wild game dishes, and world-famous gumbos. At Jazz Fest, they also serve seafood-stuffed mushrooms and crawfish enchiladas, both of them really good, but nowhere near as good as PQA!
Jesse McBride Big Band
Jeff, in the Jazz Tent
Seen Before: Not the big band, but McBride presented his Next Generation band last year on Day 3.
Jesse McBride, a talented and adventurous pianist and bandleader, is often compared to the late Art Blakey for his determination to encourage and develop young talent.
Originally from Houston, McBride started playing music on violin at age four, going on to win numerous competitions. He took up piano while studying at the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He came to New Orleans to study at the University of New Orleans(UNO) with Ellis Marsalis.
It was at UNO that McBride began an association with the late educator, saxophonist, and record producer Harold Battiste, who encouraged McBride to carry the mantle of his conceptual project, the Next Generation. While studying, and later teaching at UNO, and then at Tulane University, McBride has continued the tradition of helping young artists develop a personal voice in music.
"It's the preservation and the expansion of the second 50 years of the 20th century of New Orleans music," McBride explains. He adds that the first era of New Orleans jazz from 1900 to 1950 and artists like Louis Armstrong, Buddy Bolden, and Sidney Bechet have received the bulk of the attention. "The guys from the 1950s to the present also had a major contribution to this music. It should be celebrated as well because the music didn't stop in 1950."
An important aspect of the McBride's Next Generation philosophy and thus the band's repertoire is to perform material composed by some of New Orleans modern jazz greats. The Next Generation's sets are likely to include tunes penned by Battiste, drummer James Black, pianist Ellis Marsalis, saxophonist Alvin "Red" Tyler, and trumpeter Clyde Kerr Jr.
"All of these young people that are coming up -- no matter where they go to school and no matter who they come in contact with -- they're still not exposed to those cats. I spend hours and hours and days and years to make sure that they are and that they understand the way those cats taught me. I want to help them understand the New Orleans music culture."
Educators like the late Alvin Batiste and Kerr didn’t just talk notes, scales, or techniques. When they spoke of those things, they often included life lessons -- thoughts on humanity, community, politics, and history. McBride takes their lead in his approach to mentoring young musicians. "It's a continuum of that thought," he says. "Yeah, we're going to cover a lot of music but inevitably, life is going to come into that. The Next Generation is a life perspective."
McBride is presently a full-time professor at Tulane University teaching big band, combo, and improvisation classes. However, eager, young jazz musicians often gather at his studio or home to soak in his knowledge.
"How it usually goes, is one or two of them will start shedding with me and they'll tell their friends, 'Hey, we're learning something over here.'"
Among the musicians I could could identify today were people we see playing all over New Orleans, including Max Moran on bass, Joe Dyson Jr. on drums, Derek Douget and Khari Allen Lee on sax, and Ashlin Parker and John Michael Bradford on trumpet. There were many more, all accomplished.
Audio/Video: Here is my video from the Jazz Tent this afternoon, and here is the Munck Music audio sample of each tune played by the band. Here's a short video of the band at the Prime Example club a couple of years ago. And, because I want to be sure to get this in somewhere, here is a long conversation McBride conducted with Ellis Marsalis later this year. Really insightful talk about jazz education.
Laurie and I eventually met at the Acura stage. She was deep in the crowd, I was on the fringes, but I eventually worked my way in to where she was.
Galactic
Jeff and Laurie, at the Acura stage
Seen Before: Yes. You can find a whole lot more info on and video of Galactic at Day 5 in 2012, Day 10 in 2013, Day 4 in 2014, Day 9 in 2015, and Day 11 in 2017, and Day 12 last year. We also saw them at the Instruments-a-Comin' benefit at Tipitina's on Day 5 in 2013, and we see members of Galactic here and there during Jazz Fest and evening shows, too many times to keep track of.
There really have been few if any better sounds at Jazz Fest than Galactic with Erica Falls doing vocals. Galactic is big and bold, and Erica has a big, bold voice. She also has an attitude that keeps her unfazed in front of the incredible musicians that make up Galactic, and in this case again they were +1 with the addition of Shamarr Allen and his pocket trumpet to go along with Ben Ellman's sax and Corey Henry's trombone. Add to that Stanton Moore's drums, Rich Vogel on keyboards, Robert Mercurio on bass, and Jeff Raines on guitar.
"I've never been able to put a label on what we do," Ellman says. "I could say it's funk or I could say it's R&B or jazz or whatever else, but really, it's all of that."
"It's not that we're always trying to push boundaries," says Mercurio, "But we definitely take influence from our hometown and try to do something new with it. We tour all around the world and we're exposed to tons of elements that filter their way into our consciousness and come out through our music."
There is nothing like it. And, as if their perpetual tour schedule weren't enough, Galactic just a couple of weeks before Jazz Fest, announced that they had purchased and will be managing the legendary Tipitina’s nightclub in Uptown New Orleans.
"We're so incredibly honored to be tasked as the current caretakers of such a historic venue," says Ellman. "My connection with the club started way before I was lucky enough to take the stage. My first job in New Orleans was at Tipitina's as a cook in the (now defunct) kitchen. The importance of respecting what Tip's means for musicians and the city of New Orleans is not lost on us. We're excited for the future of the club and look forward to all the amazing music and good times ahead."
Audio/Video: Here is my video of Galactic on the Acura stage today, and here are the Munck Music samples of all of the songs in the set. For some more, here they are at the French Quarter Fest this year. Galactic was one of the reasons we first came to Jazz Fest, way back in 2012, and we have never missed them since.
Galactic was on just before the Dave Matthews Band was to close out the Acura stage with one of their patented two-hour-plus shows, which Laurie was going to take in after a trip to the WWOZ tent and some food. I walked around the back of the stage with her and veered of toward the Jazz and Heritage stage, where the next band I wanted to see would be performing. I was early, though, so I decided to get some food, too. However, as usual, I got distracted by the band that was on the stage.
Tribu Baharú
Jeff, at the Jazz and Heritage stage
Seen Before: First time!
For its 50th-year celebration, Jazz Fest was bringing in acts from all over the world. These guys are from Bogota, Colombia, and play music called Afro-Champeta. They are the leaders a wave of Nuevas Musicas Colombianas based in the capital city who are reestablishing it as a prime force and adding more to its original form.
Champeta derives its name from the knife used by fishermen to remove fish scales as it is the music of Colombia's Atlantic Coast. Its rhythms are based on Colombian folk music, Central African soukous-rhumba (out of the Congo), South Africa's Soweto Township jive, and other Carribbean-originated music such as zouk, calypso, soca, compas, and reggae.
Audio/Video: Here is my video of this cool band. Sometimes you can luck out at this stage and get pretty close if you approach it at the right angle at the right time. Their webpage has a couple of videos, including one with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and here's another one with the PHJB from one of their Midnight Preserves shows. If you like, here's a full show from the Festival International in Lafayette this year.
Food! Vietnamese Bun (vermicelli with shrimp)
Laurie
Had Before: Day 2 in 2013, Day 9 in 2016, Day 12 last year. We've also had their spring rolls with peanut sauce a lot.
Ba Mien Vietnamese Cuisine's booth in the Heritage Square food area is a handy stop, as it is located near the Acura stage and between the Jazz and Blues tents. Their food is consistently good and is perfect when you are looking for something light to get you through the afternoon. The plate of vermicelli topped with grilled shrimp is served with a sweet and hot nuoc cham dipping sauce.
Food! Soft-shell crab po'boy
Jeff
Had Before: Day 4 in 2012, Day 4 in 2013, Day 4 and Day 11 in 2014, Day 2 and Day 9 in 2015, Day 2 in 2016, Day 8 in 2017, and Day 10 last year. Wow! This is another one of the best things to eat at Jazz Fest.
I do not know how Galley Seafood does it. Their soft-shell crabs are always huge, filling the po'boy bread and then some. Frankly, they make Maryland soft-shells look tiny.
Dennis and Vicky Patania have been serving the awesome sandwiches at Jazz Fest since 1976. They opened Galley Seafood in Old Metarie, located between the airport and the Fair Grounds, in 1991. Their menu runs well beyond boiled and fried seafood to Creole-Italian, home-baked corn bread, and white beans with shrimp.
Dave Matthews Band
Laurie, at the Acura stage
Seen Before: First time at Jazz Fest. We wanted to see them in 2013, but just couldn't deal with the pouring rain that year, so we passed on them at Jazz Fest and bought tickets to see them at the Jiffy Lube ampitheater that summer, where we got drenched walking back to the car after the performance. Karma, I guess.
Today, Matthews, as usual, invited a group of friends to join the party, including Robert Randolph, Warren Haynes, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
The show started off with the band doing "What Would You Say," "Anyone Seen the Bridge," "Too Much," and "Warehouse." Sacred steel master Robert Randolph (see below) jumped onstage for an upbeat "Louisana Bayou." As many of their fans know, Randolph is a regular collaborator with the band, having appeared at upwards of 40 DMB gigs through his career. Randolph then hurried off to his own closing set in the Blues Tent.
From there, Matthews and company played "That Girl Is You" from their new recording Come Tomorrow, with additional instrumentation by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band (namely Ben Jaffe, Branden Lewis, Charlie Gabriel, Clint Maedgen, Kyle Roussel, Ronell Johnson and Walter Harris).
Following a number of fan favorites like "Don't Drink the Water," "#41," and "Funny the Way It Is," Matthews invited Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes to add his Les Paul to "Tripping Billies." Haynes, too, is a common sight at DMB gigs. Later, after a funk-filled "Jimi Thing / Sexy M.F." segment, Matthews invited the Preservation Hall Jazz Band up for one last get-down, rocking out to "Ants Marching." The band alone closed the massive Jazz Fest set with their version of "All Along The Watchtower."
Audio/Video: Here is a video of "Ants Marching" that I could find, also "Tripping Billies" with Warren Haynes, and "What Would You Say." Love the DMB, and it was hard not to see this set, but great audio and video are readily available (here's a full show from later this year at the aforementioned Jiffy Lube Live, for example). That said, Dave Matthews is one of the big-name artists who gets what New Orleans and Jazz Fest are all about, as seen in the guest artists he invited to share the stage.
As for me, I covered three more performances while Laurie was at the Acura stage.
Voices of Peter Claver
Jeff, in the Gospel Tent
Seen Before: First time!
This choir from the St. Peter Claver Catholic Church on St. Philip Street in the Tremé. It's a vibrant, spirit-filled, evangelizing community that is grounded in the Eucharist and celebrates the culture and traditions of its African-American heritage and I might add the city in which it is located.
It should come as no surprise that music is a major part of St. Peter Claver's worship. The choir is rather small, but their sound is really big!
Audio/video: Here's my video from today, and here they are ... in church. This is really good traditional gospel music.
Now I had to do something that I really really wanted to do but really wish I didn't have to at the Jazz and Heritage stage.
Storyville Stompers Brass Band
Jeff, at the Jazz and Heritage stage
Seen Before: Day 11 in 2014, Day 11 in 2016, Day 3 in 2017, Day 11 last year.
I've always had a great time with the Storyville Stompers. They do the old-time brass band favorites but with a modern twist, but not too much. And they have had a whole lot of fun doing it, especially as led by Grand Marshall Wesley Schmidt, always dressed in a colorful suit and shoes, strutting back and forth and dancing around with the other Grand Marshall, Jane Harvey Brown. Eventually he would end up leading a second line through the crowd at the Jazz and Heritage stage, and that was always great fun.
Sadly, Wesley Schmidt passed away a few months before this year's Jazz Fest. He was only 68, but after smoking as a young man and working in smoke-filled clubs most of his life, lung cancer took him. In addition to his tradition-minded grand marshalling with the Storyville Stompers, he was proprietor of the Snug Harbor club on Frenchmen Street, a bastion of modern jazz that we go to a lot. So he was pivotal in maintaining the traditions of the New Orleans brass band and also provided a space for the purveyors of modern jazz, such as Ellis Marsalis, who plays at Snug Harbor every Friday, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Donald Harrison Jr., Charmaine Neville, and many others.
The band honored Schmidt before their performance today with a heartfelt tribute by Stompers founder Woody Penouilh. They placed a pair of Schmidt's colorful shoes on a stool at the side of the stage and then played a very emotional "Over in the Glory Land." Unfortunately, these tributes are becoming more and more common at Jazz Fest, as an older generation moves on to the Glory Land. Fortunately, there are enough younger musicians who care for the traditions and the music to keep it going.
The rest of the set was the usual rollicking Storyville Stompers production, with great horns fronting an unrelenting rhythm section. The only thing not there was the second line. Wesley Schmidt will be missed.
Audio/Video: Here is my video from today, which includes most of Woody Penouilh's tribute to Grand Marshall Schmidt.
Next I headed to the Blues Tent for an unexpected treat, possibly the latest addition to the cubes ever.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Jeff, in the Blues Tent
Seen Before: First time at Jazz Fest, but caught at the State Theater in Falls Church in 2016 with a smaller band.
Robert Randolph and the Family Band were not on the original Jazz Fest schedule for today. They were the latest addition to the schedule we've ever seen, possibly because of Randolph's traveling with Dave Matthews and supporting the DMB on its tour. I'm not sure how it all came to be, but I know that he must have literally raced over to the Blues Tent after his appearance at the Acura stage with Matthews.
I've seen Randolph, a renowned pedal steel guitarist, singer, and songwriter before, at the State Theater in Falls Church, in April 2016. However, that was not with the full band, and today it most definitely was. The tent was packed, but I found a spot at the front of the standing area with a pretty good view, except for the aisle that runs in front of the standing area which is a parade of people passing through.
Many musicians claim that they "grew up in the church," but for Robert Randolph that is literally the case. He led such a cloistered childhood and adolescence that he heard no secular music while growing up. If it wasn't being played inside of the House of God Church in Orange, New Jersey -- quite often by Robert and members of his own family, who upheld a long but little known gospel music tradition called sacred steel -- Randolph simply wouldn't know it existed.
This background makes it all the more remarkable that Randolph is today an inspiration to the likes of Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Derek Trucks, all of whom have played with him and studied his technique. It wasn't until he was out of his teens that Randolph broke away from the confines of his social and musical conditioning and discovered rock, funk, soul, jazz, and the jam-band scene. But it didn't take him long to forge his own sound by fusing elements of those genres.
"It was all church music. It was a movement within our church and that's all we used to do," says Randolph of the sacred steel music he played at the time, music whose association with his church stretches back to the 1920s. Once Randolph began to discover other forms of music, he saw how they were all connected, and was eager to find his own place. "All music is related. Gospel is the same as blues," he says. "The only thing that changes is in hardcore gospel people are singing about God and Jesus and in the blues people are singing about 'my baby left me' and whiskey. When we first started out, guys really weren't allowed to leave the church. I was the one that stepped out and started this thing. My dad would say, 'Why do you come home smelling like beer and cigarettes?' 'Well, we just got done playing some smoky club till 2 a.m.!' It was all foreign and different."
In the early 2000s, Randolph began applying his dazzling steel guitar technique to secular music, and from that grew the Family Band. The group's sound was so unlike anything else around that they were soon packing New York City clubs. Their first album, Live at the Wetlands, in 2002, was recorded at that now defunct jam band haven (listen here). It was followed by four studio albums and another live set, each widening the band's audience, and they have since been regulars on the festival circuit while broadening their stylistic range as well.
"Things happened really fast," Randolph says. "When I look back on that time, to be honest, I had no idea what the hell we were doing. We'd get told, 'You guys are going on tour with Eric Clapton.' OK, I thought, this guy must not have a clue who I am. But the first time I met him we talked for about an hour and played music backstage."
The Family Band's improvisational skills quickly made them mega-popular among the jam-band crowd, but for Randolph and his band, what they were doing was just an extension of what they had always done. "The jam band scene has that name but it's really a true music art form scene where you can just be who you are," Randolph says. "We fit in that category in some sense but the jam band scene itself has changed a lot since that time. I've grown to like songs and I like to jam within the song."
"The Family Band" is not just a name meant to evoke connections of togetherness. They are an actual family. The group that supports Randolph is anchored by his cousins, bassist Danyel Morgan and drummer Marcus Randolph. Robert's sister, Lenesha Randolph, is the vocalist.
"That whole thing sort of gets lost," says Randolph. "People are always wondering, 'Are these guys really a family?' Yes we are!"
The set started out with a Sam and Dave's "I Thank You," which somehow ended up in a monster take on Black Sabbath's blistering "War Pigs." The rest was a nonstop assault on the senses, both instrumentally and vocally. Lenesha can wail, let me tell you, and the jams were spectacular. And the band is interchangeable, too. At one point Lenesha was drumming while Marcus was doing vocals.
Audio/Video: Here is my video from today. For something longer with less commotion, here is a full concert from Jerry Jam in July of this year. Here's Robert and Stevie Lawson doing four songs and then Robert with Joey Williams and Cousin Ray doing four more at the Paste studio in New York. OK, one more with Stevie from the Paste stuio because these are so darn good. Archive.org has a ton of Randolph's music, as does Randolph's YouTube page. If you are interested in sacred steel in general, Arhoolie Records has produced this documentary.
When our respective shows were over, we headed over to the back of the Gentilly stage, where Rachel had been seeing Diana Ross in what was regarded as one of the great Jazz Fest performances. Rachel thought it was spectacular.
We hopped on the bus and took another slow ride down Canal Street amid the Saturday evening traffic, once again arriving at the Sheraton after dark. We parted ways with Rachel for the evening, which is a big mistake on my part because I assumed the evening show we were going to would be easy to get into, but it sold out before I had a chance to get an extra ticket. You just never know.
That evening show was at the intimate Parish Room, upstairs at the House of Blues. We've been here a couple of times before. It's not easy because of its intimacy. The stage is low and it's not easy for short peple to see. However, we are used to that, and for this show, because we know the artists well, we were content to hang in the back.
Those artists were Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, preceded by the awesomeness of Erica Falls.
Which leads me to divulge the second big mistake of this evening. Everybody knows about NOLA time. When a show advertises a 9 p.m. starting time you are lucky if it starts by 10, It's a fact of life here. Except, and I forgot this, at the House of Blues. They are notoriously punctual. So we cleaned up after a relatively muddy day of Jazz Festing, hung out a bit, and headed over to the House of Blues on Decatur Street with what we thought was plenty of time to spare, only to find Erica Falls already performing ... her last song. Major disappointment, totally avoidable.
That said, Shamarr and the Underdawgs were fantastic, as always. They did all of our favorites, like "My Girl Won't Have Enough) Sex with Me," "Can You Feel It," "Sleep All Day and Party All Night," and of course the "Weekend Dance." Their blend of jazz and brass band music with bounce, hip-hop, funk, soul, rock, and R&B can only be called, as Shamarr says, True Orleans. Shamarr's music is an upbeat celebration all things New Orleans, including music, Mardi Gras Indian culture, boiled crawfish, Saints football, and just hanging out and greeting neighbors on street corners. It just bursts with local pride, and does not ignore the city's problems.
Here's my quick video of the scene at the House of Blues this evening.
You can read (and hear) more of Erica Falls elesewhere in this blog, Erica on Day 2 in 2012, Day 8 in 2014, and Day 5 in 2018 (plus with Corey Henry's Treme Funktet on Day 9 in 2013 and with Galactic on Day 9 in 2015, Day 11 in 2017, Day 12 in 2018, and ... today!). Shamarr is found all over the place, with Galactic, the Midnite Disturbers, the Paul Sanchez Rolling Road Show, the Treme Brass Band, Bo Dollis Jr. and the Wild Magnolias, and Terrance Simien, but with the Underdawgs specifically on Day 8 in 2013, Day 2 in 2014, and Day 8 in 2015, where we had the great fun of being near Shamarr's father, who was called out for not doing the Weekend Dance.
This show really ended way too soon, but in a way we were grateful because to be honest we were worn out!
Any late show at the House of Blues is inevitably followed by a late night snack at Daisy Dukes on Chartres Street, just a couple of blocks from the House. And late night "snack" at Daisy Dukes inevitably means omelettes with grits (sometimes potatoes, but not often because they do grits just right) and toast. Tonight it was seafood omelettes for each of us, only I, as usual, added alligator sausage to mine.
The trip, as all trips must, is coming to a close, but we have one more (forecast to be dry) day full of great music to come, plus even more time in New Orleans on Monday!
