For some reason I was awake at 5:30 this morning, and was rewarded with the views above and at the bottom of today's entry.
Moving ahead a few of hours, Day 3 of Jazz Fest was destined to be a busy one, with Katy Perry, Logic, and Leon Bridges headlining. We had no trouble getting up and out this morning. In fact, we were even a bit ahead of schedule, which can't hurt on a mega-headliner Saturday. The shuttle bus line was a bit longer, but we were early enough that it wasn't a problem, and we were at the Fair Grounds well before the music started. The Fest people seem to be allowing people onto the grounds a bit earlier this year compared with previous years, and that's a welcome change.
By the way, props to Katy Perry, who really seemed to "get" Jazz Fest and tailored her performance by bringing in some local musicians like the Soul Rebels and the Gospel Soul Children (despite turning the stage into a giant pink box!). She was also seen roaming around the Fair Grounds yesterday (in a not-so-subtle disguise) and appeared to be having a great time.
The temperature was 75 when we left the hotel this morning. The high was 79 around 3 p.m., and when we were out this evening it had cooled down to the upper 60s. The sky again was a bright blue all day with hardly a cloud to be seen. That again made it seem a lot warmer than the high temperature, especially considering the very low humidity that made the sunshine very direct. A fairly steady breeze around 10 mph off the Gulf helped a bit.
Check out today's cubes here.
Food! Ya-ka-mein
Jeff
Had Before: Day 4 in 2015, Day 3 in 2016, Day 3 last year.
Linda Green has become a New Orleans culinary star, having won on an episode of Food TV's Chopped competitions. She is also a fixture at many second lines around the city, selling this interesting concoction of spaghetti noodles, a hard-boiled egg, green onions, a dash of soy and hot sauce, and boneless chuck roast. Plus Ms. Linda's special, secret sauce, which takes it from just a soup to ya-ka-mein. It is known for its hangover-fighting qualities, but I have never had to try it in that capacity. Really. Seriously. I mean it.
Food! Jama jama (sauteed spinach) and fried plantains
Laurie
Had Before: Day 4 in 2012, Day 9 in 2013, Day 3 and Day 11 in 2014, Day 4 in 2015, Day 8 in 2016, Day 2 in 2017, and Day 3 last year.
Obviously a go-to for Laurie. It's prepared by Bennachin, which is an African restaurant in the French Quarter. It's spicy sauteed spinach and perfectly fried ripe plantains. She says it has been remarkably consistent in quality over the years.
Maggie Koerner
Laurie, at the Gentilly stage
Seen Before: Day 9 in 2015, Day 10 in 2017. Also with Galactic on Day 4 in 2014.
Maggie Koerner is an excellent singer-songwriter who comes to New Orleans by way of Shreveport, Louisiana. When her voice and stage presence blew us away when she appeared with Galactic in 2014, she became a favorte of Laurie's. While associated with Galactic, she and David Shaw of the Revivalists co-wrote two of that group's best songs, "Hey Na Na" and "Dolla Diva." Her smoky southern tone oozes with soul and feeling, but when she wants it to, her voice could raise the dead.
Audio/Video: Here's one from today at Jazz Fest, and here is one from this year's French Quarter Festival. Finally, here's 40 minutes from the Vinyl Music Hall in Pensacola, Florida.
Laurie stayed for this entire set and also the next set at the Gentilly stage. Meanwhile, I was covering four stages in the first cube alone. What can I say? I'm a maniac.
Semolian Warriors Mardi Gras Indians
Jeff, at the Jazz and Heritage stage
Seen Before: First Time!
Representing Uptown New Orleans, Big Chief Yam (James Harris, formerly of the Wild Magnolias) heads this Mardi Gras Indian tribe. They were really heavy on the drums and percussion while doing all of the usual chants, today helped by Ju'Wan Boudreaux, grandson of Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and leader of the Mardi Gras Indian funk band Cha Wa. A great way to start a Jazz Fest day. Here's my video of this performance.
Next I hurried over to the Fais Do Do stage, which, as we all know by now, is my favorite Jazz Fest stage early in the day.
Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys
Jeff, at the Fais Do Do stage
Seen Before: First Time!
Founded in 2001 and hailing from Duson, Louisiana, Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys play a traditional style of zydeco with a touch of funk. Terry Domingue is a native of Duson, a small community located 10 miles west of Lafayette. Coming of age in this hotbed of Cajun and Creole culture, he developed a passion for zydeco. Since emerging on the scene nearly two decades ago with his own band, Terry has been hailed as a rising star who is carrying deeply traditional zydeco into the 21st Century.
Growing up immersed in French Creole culture, Terry first heard zydeco at trail rides he attended with his father. At these community gatherings at the intersection of Creole cowboy and musical heritage, the four-year-old would stand at the foot of the stage, enthralled by the accordion. After teaching himself to play, Terry got his first accordion at the age of eight. Learning to speak French Creole was also central to his upbringing; his grandparents would not have it any other way.
Terry quickly gained acclaim for the group's commitment to a zydeco sound that can be traced to the music's roots in Creole la-la music and for playing some of the most interesting zydeco today, both highly innovative and deeply respectful of tradition. He proudly sings both traditional and original compositions in French. For Terry, playing this music serves a higher purpose. "Music, to me, is my therapy," he explains. "When I get on stage, I forget about all my troubles and free my soul."
Audio/Video: Here is my video from the Fais Do Do stage this morning, here are "We Gonna Zydeco," "Duson Two-Step," and "Pretty Girl Waltz" in excellent quality from the KRVS studio, and here's a full hour from the awesome Swamp 'n' Roll TV show.
My Jazz Fest zip line next took me to the Blues Tent.
Johnny Sansone
Jeff, in the Blues Tent
Seen Before: Not on his own, only with the Voice of the Wetlands All Stars on Day 3 in 2013, Day 9 in 2015, Day 8 in 2017, and Day 4 last year.
Jumpin' Johnny Sansone started playing music early. His father, a saxophonist who'd been in Dave Brubeck's band during World War II, introduced him to the saxophone at age 8. He picked up the guitar and harmonica by the time he was 10 and had a life-changing experience at 12 when he saw a Howlin' Wolf show. That was the moment the young Sansone knew he was destined to play the blues. He sat in with Honeyboy Edwards at 13. During the 1970s he studied with blues harmonica legends James Cotton and Junior Wells. In the 1980s he toured with Ronnie Earl, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Rogers, and Robert Lockwood Jr.
Sansone settled down in New Orleans in 1990. As leader of Jumpin' Johnny and the Blues Party, he played harmonica and guitar in the fierce Mississippi Delta blues style. Living in New Orleans brought a swamp rock tinge to his gruff vocals and emotional playing style and, after attending a wake for zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier, he started playing accordion as well. By the end of the decade he had developed into a full-fledged Louisiana artist, combining blues, boogie, and the front-porch Cajun and zydeco sounds of the bayou country.
During the early 2000s Sansone played in a variety of settings, including a trio with pianist Joe Krown and guitarist John Fohl (who was with him today). He joined the Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, a group of Louisiana musicians who made a recording to draw attention to the disappearing wetlands and the destruction of the Louisiana coastline, in early 2005. By the time that record was released, later in 2005, New Orleans was under water due to the Federal flood after Hurrican Katrina.
"The record was designed to be a warning about what might happen," said Sansone. "Then it became a matter of I-told-you-so."
Sansone was forced from his home when New Orleans was depopulated in the months after the flood and went on tour with the Voice of the Wetlands. He began writing great songs about the Louisiana experience tempered by the emotions of watching the city being destroyed and slowly returning to life.
In 2009, he wrote the breathtaking "The Lord Is Waiting and the Devil is Too" as he continues to pen his unique brand of Louisiana story songs. These include a memorable account of the fire that destroyed the Hubig's Pies factory, "The Night the Pie Factory Burned Down," and the powerful boogie "OZ Radio," a tribute to the radio station WWOZ.
Sansone's howling, rip-through-the-plaster voice and deep grooved electric harmonica riffs are the main attractions, but fans also appreciate the wit and wisdom of his character songs and Louisiana stories. In his band today were John Fohl on guitar, Jeff Bridges on bass, and John Milham on drums.
Audio/Video: Here is my video from the Blues Tent, and here is a full performance from the Crescent City Blues and Barbecue Festival at Lafayette Square later this year.
One more to close out the first cube, at the Jazz Tent.
Robin Barnes
Jeff, in the Jazz Tent
Seen Before: First Time as leader, but with Pat Casey last year on Day 9
Robin Barnes, the Songbird of New Orleans, is a native of the Lower Ninth Ward, where she grew up around New Orleans music royalty such as Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew, a fact whose significance didn't become fully clear to her until she was in her late teens. "You don't realize the type of legacy that you're a part of until you're older and you understand it," she says. "You see these legends walking around and you're not going to be like, 'That's Dave Bartholomew! That's Fats Domino!' You're just like, 'Oh it's Dave! Oh, it's Fats!' You don't think about it."
Her family was musical as well, and she enjoyed singing in the church choir and playing tambourine in her father's band from a young age. But when it came time for college, Robin's parents encouraged her to consider a different path from the musical one her six older siblings had pursued and to study business instead. She earned an MBA from the University of New Orleans, but knew she was a musician at heart and would defer her dream no longer.
Since then she has evolved into a unique and complex composite of so many musical influences from her native New Orleans, with a stunning alto-to-first-soprano range to back it all up. She is supported by her inimitable band, the Fiya Birds, led by her husband, the outstanding Pat Casey, on bass. We've seen Pat Casey with his band The New Sound and all over the place with various other groups. Barnes and her band presented a great blend of soul, funk, and jazz, in a thoroughly enjoyable set.
Audio/Video: Here's my video from the Jazz Tent today, and here are Robin Barnes and the band in the WWOZ studios during the station's membership drive later this year. The latter includes a great take on Allen Toussaint's "Ruler of My Heart."
So it's finally time to start the second cube. Yes, just the second cube. Laurie is still at the Gentilly stage, while I headed to the Blues Tent.
Paul Sanchez and the Rolling Road Show
Laurie, at the Gentilly stage
Seen Before: Day 10 in 2016, Day 2 in 2017
Paul Sanchez and the amalgamation of local singers and players he calls his Rolling Road Show is an eclectic bunch. Sanchez is a troubadour from New Orleans, a storyteller, his own as well as ours. He is a student and a teacher, a traveler that finds home in a thousand different faces every night. In his own words, he is "New Orleans born, New Orleans bred, and when I die, I'll be New Orleans dead." The Rolling Road Show is a gathering of local singers and players, a collaborative of his friends in which nobody tries to steal the show. Sanchez distributes songs and solos like an emcee at an old-time music hall. He is warm and appreciative of his friends and the audience, and this annual concert at Jazz Fest is always a great time.
Audio/Video: Here's the Rolling Road show doing "Light It on Fire" and "Fa Da Do" (with Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil) at today's show. Munck Music has an excerpt of each tune here.
I wish I had joined Laurie for this. Sanchez welcomed local roots and blues legend Spencer Bohren to the stage as part of the show. It was a special moment, as Bohren lost his battle with cancer a little more than a month later.
Mem Shannon and the Membership Band
Jeff, in the Blues Tent
Seen Before: First time!
Mem Shannon, New Orleans taxi driver turned blues musician, is a Jazz Fest regular, and it's hard to believe this was my first encounter with him. He was playing guitar by the age of 15, inspired by his father's collection of blues records, but started seriously practicing only after seeing B.B. King. He played in local bands for several years and enjoyed some success, but his father died in 1981 and he had to take the job driving a cab in order to help his family pay bills. His music career was put on hold until 1990, when he began playing in local clubs at the urging of a former bassist. It was then that he formed the Membership band. They first appeared at Jazz Fest in 1991. He gave up cab driving for good a couple of years later.
Shannon's well-crafted songs ring true, with intelligent, literate lyrics. His guitar work does, too. It is pure, clean, and straightforward. And the Membership band can cook up a hot blues stew, spicing the affair with touches of New Orleans-style swamp rock, R&B, and funk. This was really enjoyable.
Audio/Video: Here is my video from the Blues Tent today, and here is a full performance from the 2018 Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival in Lafayette Square. And check out this Munck Music page for a sample of every song in today's Jazz Fest set.
There was to be one more stop on my morning binge, a fun jam session that is always a highlight.
Blodie's Jazz Jam
Jeff, in the Jazz Tent
Seen Before: Day 3 in 2016, Day 3 in 2017, and Day 11 last year
Gregory "Blodie" Davis, who plays trumpet in the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, brings together a group of bandmates and friends for this free-wheeling annual funky jam. The talent in the band is exceptional, and the show puts on display all that is good about New Orleans funky jazz. You can count on a bunch of horn players out front, keyboardists, and percussionists, jazz elders and rising stars alike. The jam consists of lengthy improvisations on just three or four wildly swinging tunes over the span of its rowdy hour or so.
Players I could identify today were Kirk Jospeh on tuba, Roderick Paulin on alto sax, Jesse McBride on piano, Roger Lewis on baritone sax, Aurélien Barnes on trumpet, Julian Addison on drums, and Takeshi Shimmura on guitar.
Audio/Video: Here's my video of the Blodie's jam today in the Jazz Tent. And here's the Munck Music sampler of all six tunes they did.
After our second cube experiences, Laurie and I managed to find each other at the very crowded Jazz and Heritage stage. There are but a few acts that can bring such a mob to that stage, and the Midnite Disturbers are one of them. We'll never miss them.
Midnite Disturbers
Jeff and Laurie, at the Jazz and Heritage stage
Seen Before: Day 4 in 2013, Day 10 in 2014, Day 10 in 2015, Day 10 in 2016, and Day 4 in 2017. We didn't miss them last year, or should I say we did miss them, because they didn't appear for some reason.
The Midnite Disturbers are a what I call a brass-band all-star team. They get together at Jazz Fest and have a blast, blasting the crowd with brass. It's all driven by co-founders and drummers Stanton Moore and Kevin O'Day.
Today, the brass that I could identify were Big Sam Williams, Corey Henry, and Mark Mullins on trombones; Erion Williams, Roger Lewis, Skerik, Ben Ellman, Lucas Ellman, and Nick Ellman on saxophones; Shamarr Allen and Chadrick Honore on trumpets; and Matt Perrine on sousaphone. There were others, too.
Audio/Video: Here is my video from today, and here are one more and another (an excellent one) that others took. You can see what a crowd this group draws and get a real feeling for the "wall of brass" sound they make.
After this, and it does take a couple of minutes to catch your breath when it is done, Laurie split for the WWOZ hospitality tent. We were going to meet again real soon at the Fais Do Do stage, but for now I went to the Gospel tent. While on her way to meet me, she got waylaid at the Blues Tent.
The Zion Harmonizers
Jeff, in the Gospel Tent
Seen Before: Day 12 last year
There is little danger of hyperbole when speaking of the Zion Harmonizers, who have repeatedly won every award there is to win for gospel in New Orleans and have performed all over the world to enthusiastic audiences. They literally are living legends, as one would expect from a group that has been together for more than 60 years.
Benjamin Maxon organized the Zion Harmonizers in 1939 out of an old neighborhood in New Orleans known as Zion City. Maxon's aunt was Alberta French Johnson, who led the renowned all-women's gospel group the Southern Harps. She trained her young nephew, Sherman Washington, in the style of the traditional gospel quartet, an art form that they still practice. Over the years, the personnel have changed a little and the Zion Harmonizers have added some modern instrumentalists, but they still rely heavily on the old-time a cappella style, using four-part harmonies to get their message through.
The purpose of gospel music is to praise God and spread the good news. Few have been so successful at it as the Zion Harmonizers. For this, they can thank two fortuitous circumstances. One is their radio show, which has been running since 1956, on what is now totally gospel WYLD radio in New Orleans. The second was the group's appearance at the first Jazz Fest, held in the old Congo Square in 1969. Festival organizer Quint Davis then asked Washington if he would curate a Gospel Tent. With some misgivings, he agreed. While it required the church folk to mingle with party-goers, it presented a great opportunity to sing about the good news. The Gospel Tent is a big success story of Jazz Fest and, especially because of the 50th anniversary of the festival, the Zion Harmonizers are getting star billing there this year.
Audio/Video: Here's my video of this awesome group, and here is one more from the Gospel Tent today. And here is a full performance from Sunday morning at this year's Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival at lafayette Square.
The Gospel Tent has become a favorite place for me over the years. Although I've only seen the Zion Harmonizers there once before, their legacy is present any time you walk into the tent, as it is dedicated to Sherman Washington. You can go to a lot of music events, but you'll never find another venue like the Gospel Tent at Jazz Fest.
Mr. Sipp
Laurie, in the Blues Tent
Seen Before: Jeff has seen Mr. Sipp on Day 2 in 2017 and Day 12 last year
Castro Coleman, a.k.a. Mr. Sipp, the Mississippi Blues Child, has become very popular at Jazz Fest in the three years he's been performing here. His background is in the gospel realm, where he has received many awards. However, in 2012, Castro decided that he wanted to venture into the blues. He formed a band and competed in a regional blues competition in the fall of 2012 and won that, earning a spot at the International Blues Competition in Memphis in January 2013, where made it to the finals. He also won the next regional competition, in the fall of 2013, again went to the 2014 finals in Mephis, and that time won the whole thing.
Maybe it's his gospel roots, or maye it's just the way he is, but Mr. Sipp puts on a high-energy show, thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. His sound is joyful, almost neo-soul like with a bit of gospel and a lot of guitar. Mr. Sipp and his band play with an honest enthisiasm that may not be the most polished but certainly gets the audience into the music.
Audio/Video: Here's "I've Been Down That Road Before" from today's show, and here are 1 and 2 longer ones from I'm not quite sure where.
Laurie and I once again found each other in the crowd at the Fais Do Do stage. Jazz Fest was definitely crowded today, but we know where our go-to spots are.
Lil' Nathan and the Zydeco Big-Timers
Jeff and Laurie, at the Fais Do Do stage.
Seen Before: Day 3 in 2012 (our first zydeco at Jazz Fest!), Day 8 in 2014
It had been awhile since we had seen Nathan Williams Jr. and his band, so we wanted to make a point of it this year. I always make a point of seeing his father, so it was only fair.
Audio/Video: Due to the crowd and the fact that we were dancing for the entire time Lil' Nate was on the stage, there is no video of mine. In liew of that, here are "That L'Argent" and "Go Hard or Go Home" from the KRVS studios recently.
Laurie was now off to the Acura stage, while I was going back to the Jazz Tent. Food was going to be involved along the way, too, before we met back at the Jazz and Heritage stage to end the day.
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Laurie, at the Acura stage
Seen Before: Day 4 in 2013 and Day 9 in 2014 at Jazz Fest; Day 9 in 2017 at the Civic Theater
This band has gone through a revamping since we first saw them back in 2013 and 2014. But the one constant has been the writing and singing of Alynda Segarra. She has a subtle, expressive voice that she wraps around songs that draw on the sounds and styles of the American South, her youth in the Bronx, and her Puerto Rican heritage. Her lyrics, often fiercely political, definitely represent a reimagining of American roots music.
Beyond the lyrics, the musicianship of the entire band is stunning. They are keyboardist Sarah Goldstone, bassist Kellen Harrison, guitarist Jordan Hyde, and drummer Charles Ferguson.
The band hit the stage with the title track of their career-defining concept record, from 2017, The Navigator. In contrast to her lyrics, Segarra's political statements between songs are mostly matter-of-fact, with a momentary "Power to the people!" or "Rock and roll is the people's music!" -- that is, until "Pa'lante."
"It means 'go forward,' and that means all of you," she said from the stage, introducing her most powerful song. "Not to let people in power divide us up." Her calls at the end of the song end with an excerpt from Pedro Pietri's poem "Puerto Rican Obituary," a refrain of working-class Puerto Rican names "Juan, Miguel, Milagros, Olga, Manuel" that was absolutely stirring. It could seem anticlimactic to follow a bold song like "Pa'lante" with, well, anything. But the band's cover of Blondie's lighthearted "Dreaming" as a finale lifted off the emotional heft of "Pa'lante."
Audio/Video: Nothing from Jazz Fest today, but here are 45 minutes from a concert in the Netherlands in 2017.
Hurray for the Riff Raff are another band that are just right for Laurie. After the show, she went exploring for some food, and found something new at the mini-food area outside the Cultural Exchange Pavilion.
Food! South African veggie curry
Laurie
Had Before: First Time!
Carmo Restaurant's colorful "Bunny" chow is based on a traditional South African curry. No bunnies were harmed in the making of this vegetarian dish, which is based on chickpeas and potatoes and has an earthy, smoky flavor in the curry and a salsa-like hash of tomato, red onion, and green onion over a bed of sour cream to swirl in. Bunny chow is typically served like a bread bowl filled with curry; this version is poured around a roll instead.
Food! Meaty white beans and rice
Jeff
Had Before: Day 4 in 2016
Down Home Creole Cookin' of Baton Rouge makes this really tasty dish. You can also have it with BBQ pork ribs or turkey wings, with coleslaw, of course, but I went with the scaled down version today. They also make a very good peach cobbler. The beans are cooked with smoked ham hocks, smoked sausage, andouille, tasso, and ham. Need I say more?
Naturally 7
Jeff, in the Jazz Tent
Seen Before: First time!
Roger Thomas started Naturally 7 in 1989 with his brother, Warren, and five other talented singers they had come to know over the years from singing around New York City. Having been in and out of several traditional male groups over the years, Roger had developed an affinity for a cappella sounds and a unique ability to create distinct harmony arrangements. As a result, the group won several local and national competitions.
Riding the wave of this newfound success and still unable to decide if Naturally 7 was going to be an a cappella group or a traditional band, Roger had a novel idea: they could be both. He remembered that, as a child, Warren always wanted a drum set but their mother always told him no because it was just too noisy. So Warren learned to make true drum sounds, with different ways of making the kick, toms, snare, cymbals, and other drum sounds, to compensate for not having real drums to play. Roger approached Warren with the idea from their childhood, and asked if he could become the band’s drummer, so to speak, to accompany Naturally 7 on up-tempo songs.
The idea evolved, and the other band members found unique aspects of their own voices to determine which members would be which instrument. After all, Roger thought, if the human voice truly was an instrument, it should not matter which instrument it needed to be. That's how "vocal play" was born. What is the difference between vocal play and a cappella? A cappella is defined as singing without instruments; vocal play is singing as instruments and becoming the instrument with the voice.
Naturally 7 are Roger Thomas (musical director, arranger, first Baritone, and rap), Warren Thomas (percussion, guitar, clarinet, third tenor), Rod Eldridge (first tenor, scratching, trumpet), Napoleon "Polo" Cummings (fourth tenor, guitar), Dwight Stewart (second baritone, vocals, trumpet), Garfield Buckley (second tenor, harmonica), and Armand "Hops" Hutton (bass).
Audio/Video: Here is my video, with an astonishing version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and also "By the Rivers of Babylon." Here are Muck Music's excerpts of every song in the set today. For some more, here is a full concert from a DVD issued quite a few years ago, but the music is the same.
I hadn't even highlighted this group on my cubes, but I was in the right place at the right time, as I heard them while I was at the Heritage Square food area just outside the Jazz Tent. What luck!
Tonia Scott and the Anointed Voices
Jeff, in the Gospel Tent
Seen Before: Day 2 in 2015 and Day 3 last year
This group was founded 20 years ago at Ebenezer Baptist Church in New Orleans. Under the leadership of the late Rev. Dr. Lawrence E. Landrum Jr., thay originally were created to spice up the weekly radio broadcast from the church and were known as the Anointed Voices of the Ebenezer Radio Choir. Tonia Scott has served as the group's director the entire time.
Audio/Video: Here's my video of the scene in the Gospel Tent with this classic gospel group.
One more to go, as Laurie and I were now on our way to meeting at the Jazz and Heritage stage, but for some reason (maybe I knew that there would be no food before we headed out for Saturday night), I felt the need for some more food.
Food! BBQ chicken sandwich
Jeff
Had Before: First time for the chicken, but I've had their brisket on Day 4 in 2015, Day 10 in 2016, and Day 11 in 2017.
I grabbed some of this deleicious BBQ at Food Area I. The sauce on the chicken sandwich from Squeal's Smoke Street Catering in New Orleans is on the sweet side, and that's OK by me. However, as with many po'boys around Jazz Fest, it's the bread that makes the sandwich stand out. Squeal uses a hamburger bun with a crackly crust and airy, chewy inside from Dong Phuong bakery, and this elevates the shredded chicken inside. Coleslaw adds extra moisture and crunch.
The Original Pinettes Brass Band
Jeff and Laurie, at the Jazz and Heritage stage
Seen Before: Day 10 in 2017, and a walk-by on Day 2 in 2012
The Original Pinettes are an all-woman brass band, believed to be the only such band in New Orleans. The band was founded in 1991 at St. Mary's Academy, a Catholic girls school. Taking direction from band director Jeffery C. Herbert, they began playing New Orleans-style jazz. At the school's spring concert in 1992, the band played the Rebirth Brass Band's "Freedom" (you can hear the Rebirth version here), and the favorable crowd response gave Herbert the idea that he could fashion the musicians to play contemporary brass band music rather than traditional New Orleans jazz. Some of the band members' parents were having difficulties paying tuition to St. Mary's, so Herbert's idea was to capitalize on the possible commercial success of an all-female brass band to pay for tuition to the school. He dubbed the band the Pinettes, a feminization of the name of his own band, the Original Pinstripe Brass Band.
The primary members of the band are, in addition to Jourdain, are Dee Holmes on tuba, Dionne Harrison on trombone, Natasha "Saxy Lady" Harris on saxophone, Veronique Dorsey on Trumpet, and Jazz Henry on Trumpet. Jazz is the daughter of Corey Henry of Galactic and the Tremé Funktet (see Day 3). Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph from Tank and the Bangas provides vocals.
Audio/Video: Here is my video of today's show, and here's "Break Away," also from today.
That was it for today for us at Jazz Fest. We found Rachel, who had been all in at the Acura stage with Katy Perry. All reports were that she did a fabulous show and was one of the rare big-name artists who actually seemed to "get " New Orleans.
In fact, Perry was roaming the Fair Grounds during the day in some kind of crazy disguise. Here's an hour of her show, just so you can see what it was all about. The Soul Rebels Brass Band appears at the 31-minute mark and the Gospel Soul Children at the 1:00 mark for some New Orleans flavor. For the life of me I don't know why pepole sing along at concerts. Weird. But they sure were having fun!
So the bus got us back downtown and we rushed to do another quick de-Festing. Rachel met us at our hotel and we then Lyfted out to Mid-City Lanes, aka the Rock 'n' Bowl to meet some more friends from back home and see the awesome Louis Prima Jr. and the Witnesses.
Louis Prima Jr. was born in Las Vegas on Father's Day 1965. His mother was Louis Prima's fifth wife, the late singer Gia Maione Prima, who also had a daughter named Lena with Prima. Lena Prima, also a singer in her parents' mold, recently moved back to New Orleans. You can read more about Louis Prima and the family history in the report from Day 3 in 2015. Both Primas will be performing at Jazz Fest, Louis in a tribute to his father tomorrow, and Lena next week.
Prima says his father's acute audience awareness is in his genes. "Anybody can do the songs," he said. "But I want people to remember what it was like to see him; the energy, the happiness he brought." He does that remarkably well.
The Rock 'n' Bowl was definitely rocking for this show. It was just outrageously good music from a band that could only be described as a rollicking perpetual motion machine. Wow, were they ever hot!
Audio/Video: Here is my video from the Rock 'n' Bowl, and here are "Soul Finger" and "Jump, Jive and Wail," and "I Want You" (featuring Kate Curran) from a show in New York last year.
After a great couple of hours of this show, we Lyfted back downtown and called it a day. And a good day it was!
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