VAN MORRISON IN CHICAGO 9/29/09

VAN MORRISON IN CHICAGO 9/29/09:

It's been a few years since I've seen Van, but the recent reviews led me to hop on a plane from Ohio and head to the Windy City, and let me tell you, it was worth every penny I paid!!!
Always loved "Astral Weeks", but it's not my personal favorite (that goes to the more obscure "Poetic Champions Compose") so actually liked the first set of the show even better than the AW section (which was terrific).
Just a stunning set list, starting with Northern Muse (Solid Ground). Highlights were Fair Play, In The Garden, and an unbelievable Little Village where Van found that transcendence we true fans are always hoping for. In fact, I thought he was there (or at least pushing that envelope) several times during the night..... notably his shout of "Mercy!" during Slim Slow Slider and an incredible Ballerina that just seemed to build and build, much like Madame George at the end of the set.
Even casual fans should have been thrilled with the inclusion of Brown Eyed Girl, Gloria and Have I Told You Lately in the set. Last time I heard him do Have I Told You Lately, he was doing his "Vegas" version, which frankly pissed me off, but not last night! This was a true to original form version with another terrific vocal performance from Van.
On top of that we got to see Van at the piano, play both rhythm and lead guitar licks, blow the sax, and wail a bit on the harmonica during Mystic Eyes/Gloria!!!

What more can I say, except if he's anywhere near you with this stellar group of musicians he's assembled....GO TO THE SHOW!!!! It doesn't get much better than this!

Van Morrison set list Tuesday at Chicago Theatre:
1 Northern Muse (Solid Ground)
2 Brown Eyed Girl
3 Fair Play
4 Foreign Window
5 The Mystery
6 Little Village
7 Have I Told You Lately
8 In the Garden

Astral Weeks album
9 Astral Weeks
10 Beside You
11 Slim Slow Slider
12 Sweet Thing
13 Cypress Avenue
14 The Way Young Lovers Do
15 Ballerina
16 Madame George

17 Mystic Eyes/Gloria

Jazz Fest 2009- The final chapter

Alright, I'm gonna try to put this year's fest to rest with this chapter (barring any untoward hospital interruptions!).

After the Toussaint interview session, at the end of which he autographed the bill of my Dooky Chase hat, I walked down the stairs and caught the very end of the set by a young band called Everest who were hand-picked by Neil Young to open his current tour. Must admit that I wasn't overwhelmed by anything I heard, but a few minutes at the Lagniappe stage with it's surrounding gardens is always a pleasure.

My next goal was to catch Aaron Neville's spiritual set at the Gospel tent. Aaron used to join the Zion Harmonizers on the last day of fest as a not so surprising "surprise guest", but for the last couple of years he's been doing his own gospel set. My attempts to see it last year were thwarted by the throngs of people that stacked up like planes over O'Hare outside the tent entryways.
This year I decided to try to beat the crowds, and not only did I succeed in getting a decent seat, but I was also treated to an inspiring set by The Greater Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church Mass Choir (quite a mouthful, huh?).
As I've said before, I don't care what your religious perspective is, your soul will get some healing if you spend any time at this venue here at the Fest. As you can see by this picture, these kids are most definitely "in the spirit"!!!

The Greater Antioch Full Gospel Baptist Church Mass Choir Praising The Lord!!

After a short break, in which the Fire Department repeatedly threatened to shut down the Gospel Tent if the aisles weren't cleared (an event that would have surely sparked religious uprisings not seen since the Inquisition), Mr. Neville made his way onto stage to perform his solo gospel set. While he stretched the definition of what counts as a gospel song (including opener "Stand By Me" and a gorgeous "Bridge Over Troubled Water"), no one would argue that his voice wasn't angelic!! My personal favorite was a simple but heartfelt rendition of the classic children's hymn "Jesus Loves Me". Simply beautiful! Hard to believe that a man this big can sing so gently and beautifully!

Aaron Neville on the Gospel stage!

By this time I was really dragging---remember I'd only gotten to bed at 5:30 that morning--- but I still wanted to see one more act before hitting the buses.

Chris Thomas King is perhaps best known for his role as Bluesman Tommy Johnson in the 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou" . In the film he not only accompanies the Soggy Mountain Boys, but also performs several numbers on his own.
His father Tabby Thomas is also a well known Delta bluesman and Chris was an early pioneer in combining blues and hip hop music. He has since moved on to a more traditional rock, blues, and gospel sound but he can truly make any style his own.
His varied set featured a number of songs from one of my personal favorite post-Katrina New Orleans records called "Rise", including the Gospel inflected "What Would Jesus Do", the brilliant blues number "Baptized In Dirty Water", and a mournful "Saint James Infirmary". This young Louisiana native ought to have a long and successful career!!


Chris Thomas King



This was a perfect closeout to Day 3 of the fest for me, so I headed back to the hotel trying to decide if I should power nap before we headed out to see Zachary Richard at his night show or just continue to ride the beast until it gave out from shear exhaustion!!

Wisely deciding not to try to sleep, we all headed out to the House Of Blues for a little bite to eat before Zach's show at the Parish. Now normally I wouldn't say much about a HOB meal, but how could you go wrong when they tossed a soft shell crab on top of a steaming plate of pasta already laden down with a boatload of shrimp and crawfish swimming in a cajun cream sauce!! It was actually a damn fine meal and Dave and Bob seemed pretty satisfied by their Shrimp po' boys too (inspired by Allen Toussaints repeated praises for the crustacean filled sandwich)!

Unlike the previous night, there was no wait for the doors at the Parish tonight! The crowd was also a little heavier, forcing us back to the front of the stage again despite our earlier plans to try to find a table and sit for this show. Turns out to be a good thing though, as we had the chance to really interact well with Mr. Richard and his band throughout their two set show.

As I said earlier, Zach is a native Louisianan with strong Acadian roots. He is very well loved here in New Orleans and was met by an enthusiastic crowd that was very happy to have their homeboy back in town, and Zach didn't disappoint. He riddled both set lists with fan favorites, including "Crawfish", "File Gumbo", and "Double D's" all of which had the crowds on their feet dancing and singing along. I was also happy to have him throw in a few wonderful new songs from his just released record like "The Levee Broke" and title track "Last Kiss". But the highlight for me was when he came out for his final encore and, accompanied only by himself on piano, closed out the night with a lovely version of The Band's "Acadian Driftwood" a song that chronicles the forced displacement of the Acadian people from the areas that are now Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the 1700's. It is a powerfully sad song and Zach truly did it justice with his mournful version. It was the perfect end to another incredible day and sent us off in just the right frame of mind for some much needed sleep after our marathon 2 day stretch!

But as they say, "no rest for the wicked", and so we were up and at it again fairly early the next day. We all three agreed that after a quick bowl of gumbo we needed to get to the Interview stage early for the rare opportunity to sit in on a personal conversation with the Night Tripper himself, Dr. John!!

As I'd said, we all had a bit of concern about his health after his show at HOB on Friday night, but all those worries were set aside about 2 minutes into the interview. There's nothing that will get the Doctor fired up more than discussing the (lack of) response to Katrina by the powers that be!! Listening to Dr. John almost requires a translator!! He ranted about the atrocities the Army Corp of Engineers had "pergistrated" upon the people of New Orleans and later, while discussing his role as an Los Angeles session player for such players as Sonny and Cher and the band he referred to as The Buffalos (Buffalo Springfield) he discussed the "jobnocity" of working as a session man.

Dr. John pontificates on the "pergistrations" of the Army Corp!

It was amazing to bear witness to his incredible memories. Numerous times the interviewer would ask him if he could play a sample of some obscure song that he'd either been involved with in his early days or that he'd been influenced by as a youth, and each time, despite his protestations that he wasn't sure he could really recall it, he would shut his eyes, lay his hand on the keys and simply nail it dead on!!!

Reachin' back!!

I can't recall ever spending so much time at the interview stage before but you just don't get many chances to be this close to the likes of Dr. John and Allen Toussaint and it was well worth the time to hear these legendary players discuss their roots and play in such an intimate setting!

And speaking of Mr. Toussaint, he was about to take the stage at the Acura site and so it was off and running again!

But first, I had to make a quick stop in the jazz tent to catch the final moments of a guy that had grabbed David's attention last year. Shamar Allen is a young trumpet player whose roots are in the New Orleans Brass band tradition, but he also has the jazz and swing chops to be asked to join Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel on their current Texas swing concert tour. I was disappointed to arrive at the stage only to find Allen closing out his set without my really geting to hear him. Next year!!!!


Shamar Allen

So I made my way on over to the Toussaint set just in time to hear him do a medley of his early hits (including Workin' In A Coalmine, A Certain Girl, and Yes We Can Can) and follow this with a masterful song "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" from his collaboration with Elvis Costello (The 2006 record "The River In Reverse"). As fun as it was to see him play solo at the interview stage, it was a blast to watch him front a 13 piece big band!!

The Allen Toussaint Orchestra!!

A.T. and background singers!

From there I made the mad run across the fairgrounds for my last chance this year to see Dr. John perform live, this time with the collective known as The Voice Of The Wetlands All-Stars, a band of activist musicians including Dr. John on keys, guitarists Tab Benoit and Anders Osborne, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone on accordian and mouth organ, Waylon Thibodeaux on fiddle, George Porter, Jr on bass, Johnny Vidochovich on drums, and the Neville Brother's own Cyril Neville on percussion! They all share vocal and songwriting duties and truly represent a New Orleans super group if ever there was one!! Can't wait to order the live recording of this set when it becomes available!!

VOTW All-Stars

Anders Osborne, Waylon Thibodeaux, Dr. John, and Waylon's Dad on washboard!!

I could only watch a few songs from the All Stars if I hoped to get remotely near Neil Young who was making his first ever Jazz Fest appearance at this 40th anniversary weekend, so I was off across the grounds yet again. This certainly explains the 12 plus miles a day that David and his wife Joyce clocked each day of the first weekend, a number I suspect we matched the 2nd!
I was lucky though, because my dear friend Laura Murnen, whose brother Tom lives in NOLA, had come down for the Fest this year. I neglected to say that she and I had spent a wonderful Friday together at the Fest and now I was going to join her and Tom's extended clan of family of friends at the base camp they'd set up at the Acura Stage where Neil was appearing.


Laura and I at Jazz Fest 2009!!

The Truvee clan (Tom with wife Liz, brother Chris, and sister Laura)!

Despite being a modest distance from the stage and the ever threatening rainclouds gathering, we really had a great location for Neil's blistering hit heavy set. He started out with a loud, grungy "Hey Hey My My" and in quick succession reeled of hit after hit including "Love and Only Love", "Cinnamon Girl", "Needle And The Damage Done", "Heart Of Gold", " Old Man" and on and on!!!! I'd planned to only stay for 30 or so minutes of his allocated 2 hour set but found myself still there an hour and fifteen minutes later!

Neil Young rockin' the free world at Jazz Fest!

Neil Young

Still, there were other things I had to see so I reluctantly bid my farewells to Laura and Neil and moved on to the Fais Do-Do stage to see a folk/country music icon every bit as large in stature as Neil is to the rock and roll world, Mr. Guy Clark! This masterful songwriter wrote such classics as "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting For A Train", the former of which I got to see him perform!! Clark was accompanied onstage by longtime friend and sideman Verlon Thompson.

Verlon Thompson accompanying Guy Clark.

As I was wandering away to catch the last of Los Lobos set on the Gentilly Stage I had one of those fortuitous magical moments at the Fest when I stumbled upon Times Picayune reporter Chris Rose sitting at the side of the Fais Do-Do stage. Rose chronicled the Katrina tragedy in a series of aticles for the Picayune that were later compiled in the book "One Dead In Attic", the finest book on the aftermath of Katrina that I have read. This was the first chance I'd had to thank him for this book that had left me in tears on more than one occassion with his heartfelt and deeply personal tales of the city and his own personal journey of recovery from the tragedy. He nearly had me in tears again after I expressed my appreciation and he asked if I ws fromdown there. When I replied no, that I was from Ohio, he reached up and took my hand and said "Welcome Home". It was all I could do to shake his hand and say my goodbyes without blubbering like a baby. If you haven't done so and you care in the least about the city of New Orleans, I strongly encourage you to pick up this book and give it a read. If you know and love New Orleans already, you will love it even more deeply, and if you don't know it, you'll wish you did!!

With that prelude, I ambled to the Gentilly stage where the East Los Angeles band Los Lobos was winding down their fest set. This is a band that is most widely known for the version of La Bamba they recorded for the movie of the same name but play a broad range of musical styles from R&R, R&B, Tex-Mex, and Chicano music.



Los Lobos!


As I wandered away I shot a few final photos of the fest to the strains of "Kiko and The Lavender Moon" and made my way to the bus and bid Jazz Fest 2009 a fond Adieu!












Until next year :

Jazz Fest 2009-Part 4

So, before we were so rudely interrupted by my wonderful Emeril's dinner, I had just been watching New Orleans own John Boutte, but the real reason I was at the Jazz Tent Friday afternoon was to see an equally small statured but hugely talented young lady who originally hails from Oregon. Only 24 years old now, she taught herself to play violin when she was 5 and only picked up the bass in high school! Yet, she was good enough to earn a full scholarship to the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, where she is now one of the youngest faculty members in the school's history!!! Not only that, she also sings like a bird!! It is truly rare for me to stay for anyone's full set at Jazz Fest----there's just too much to see and hear----but I just could not tear myself away from this incredible woman's set!! She plays both upright and electric bass and runs the gamut from funk to fusion to and sings in scat, English and even Portuguese! All I can say is that if you ever have the opportunity, you absolutely MUST see this woman play.

Esperanza Spalding!!!

It was truly a hard act to follow after Esperanza's outstanding show, but I had no doubt that guitarist John Scofield was up to the task. A Dayton, Ohio native, he has played with everyone from Charles Mingus to Gary Burton and Miles Davis. He recently put together a group of New Orleans musical heavyweights dubbed The Piety Street Band and set out to record a blues record. He ended up with a bluesy, New Orleans Gospel record, but who's really gonna quibble??!! The band includes Australian transplant Jon Cleary, who in addition to his own band (The Monster Gentlemen) tours regularly with Bonnie Raitt, bassist George Porter Jr., who seems to play with absolutely everyone at Jazz Fest and the aforementioned vocalist John Boutte.
I only stuck around for a few songs, but the record is definitely on my "to buy" list! One of the highlights was a great version of the classic track "Motherless Child"



John Scofield (who bears a more than passing resemblance to Bob Bernard!)

By now it was late in the fest and the day had really just started as we had tickets to two evening shows and still had to fit in dinner somewhere, so I decided to call it a day (an amazing one at that!) and headed towards the buses. God bless them for putting the Gentilly Stage on the path to the bus stop, as it allowed me to get to see vocal legend Tony Bennett. At age 82, he may actually be at the height of his popularity with a slew of best-selling records in the last several years. One of my favorite musical memories is seeing him as a surprise guest at a Les Paul show in a small club in New York a few years ago. I wasn't sure how he'd translate onto one of the large stages at Jazz Fest, but I should have known that this consummate entertainer would have no trouble wowing the crowd at any venue. He sounded just as good outdoors at the fairgrounds in New Orleans as he did in the intimate NYC club. Good for Tony, and good for Jazz Fest to have been able to attract someone of this caliber! And just in passing, Bennett earlier in the day spent his free time visiting local elementary schools where he donated thousands of dollars in musical instuments to needy, young aspiring players. A very nice way to close out Day 2 of the Fest!

But, as I mentioned, our day was far from done. After a quick freshening at the hotel, Bob, David, and I hit the streets for the House of Blues where it's become something of a tradition for us to see New Orleans legend Mac Rebennack, better known as Dr. John! The good Dr. is best known for his mid-70's hits "Right Place, Wrong Time" and "Such A Night", as well as his definitive version of "Iko, Iko", but his musical styles run the gamut. He's recorded Hoodoo psychedelia under the Night Tripper moniker and even done tribute records to Johnny Mercer and Duke Ellington. The last time we saw him at HOB, he played an entire show of Ray Charles tunes! On this night, we got a little bit of everything including the most upbeat version of "St. James Infirmary" I've ever heard. All of us were just a bit concerned about the Doctor's health. He'd clearly lost some weight (not necessarily a bad thing for him) and he just looked a bit pallid. Now mind you, his performance was every bit as strong as ever, and the good news is that his appearance at the interview stage on Sunday allayed any fears we might have had (keep reading)!!

Now you'd think all of this would be plenty for one 24 hour period, but no----we'd decided we needed more and had purchased tickets to a 2am show at the House Of Blues Parish (a smaller venue in the upstairs of the HOB building). When we arrived at the door just a little before midnight, we were informed that the early show was just finishing and we should come back in 30-60 minutes. So after strolling the Quarter for a bit we made our way back to the still closed gates. Deciding to just hang there and wait, we waited....and waited...and waited. When we saw the band unload their gear from a van at around 1:15 while we were still standing on the sidewalk we truly began questioning the wisdom of our decision to see this show. Yea, I know.....you all questioned our wisdom a long time ago!!! Anyway, at about 1:30 we made the decision to pull the plug on the whole deal if the doors weren't opened in 5 minutes. After all, we figured there was no way this thing was gonna get off the ground before 3 at this point!!

All I can say is thank the great Gods of soul music that they cracked those doors about 3 minutes later, cause otherwise we'd have missed one of the best live shows I and my partners in crime have ever seen (and it by God started on time too)!!!

Charles Walker is surely a name that most of you have never heard. A contemporary of James Brown, Nashville native Walker was singing funk and soul in the early 60's, but never acheived more than regional success, predominantly in the New York City area where he was a regular at the Apollo Theater before fading into obscurity.

Thanks to the recent resurgence of retro Funk and Soul, as evidenced by Amy Winehouse, Duffy, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Walker got a new lease on life when Bill Elder (who goes by the stage moniker of Leo Black) rediscovered him and asked him to front his band of crack Nashville players, The Dynamites. They spent 2 years getting it just right before debuting their 1st record, appropriately titled "Kaboom".

Walker was an onstage presence unlike any I'd ever seen, and it didn't hurt that we had positioned ourselves right in front of the stage. At times he seemed like a preacher and at others the devil himself, writhing and inticing the crowd with his blend of gospel shout and supple balladeering (that 2nd version of "Summertime" I mentioned last post). All of this backed by a horn heavy band that was as tight as a drum or to quote the website Jambase.com---"tighter than James Browns New Bag"!!! All I know is that there wasn't a soul in the building who wasn't shaking his ass and I don't think I've seen a bigger smile on anyone's face than I saw on David Strait's for the next 2 hours. Later David said that Walker was the best soul singer he'd ever seen (and I was with him when he saw James Brown!). For those of you who know David's extensive musical knowledge and experience, this is truly an incredibly impressive statement!

So finally, after a little iHop breakfast, we dragged our dead dog tired asses back to the hotel and called it a night (or day since the sun was not long from rising) at around 5:30 in the morning.

It was to be a very brief rest. Not only did Bob have to get up early to retrieve the credit card he'd accidentily left behind at Dante's Kitchen Thursday night, but I was bound and determined to get to the Fairgrounds by the 11:15 am start time for the Cuban flavored New Orleans band Otra's opening set at Jazz Fest! I first saw these guys at the Congo Square stage a few years back. After Katrina these guys seemed to disappear (I believe they ended up in Colorado for a while), but they've recently re-emerged on the New Orleans scene and I didn't want to miss them. So, after grabbing a quick bowl of gumbo I headed to the Acura stage for the first music of Day 3! While not quite as tight a set as I recall from the first time I saw them, they still had the early festgoers on their feet dancing!

Latin Jazz/Funk band Otra!

Next up was the reappearance of a guy who'd been a regular at Jazz Fest in my early years coming down here (for those who don't know, this is my 17th year). Zachary Richard is a Louisiana native who achieved a modicum of fame with his 1992 record "Snake Bite Love" when Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed him the "Cajun Mick Jagger". A few years back, he relocated to Quebec, Canada where he immersed himself in his Acadian roots, releasing several records in French, including the excellent "Cap Enrage". He has just now released his first English language record in many years and we were very lucky to have this guy back at the Fest! I won't say a lot about his Jazz Fest set, as I also saw him later this night back at HOB Parish. Suffice to say he drew a pretty nice crowd for early in the day and it was great to have him back home!

Zachary Richard (with David Torkonowsky on keys).





By this time the crowd was starting to get thick at the Acura Stage. I wish I could say it was because of Zach, but the number of Bon Jovi t-shirts and buttons told the true story! And while I'm happy to have anyone at Jazz Fest that will help to boost the local economy, I most certainly didn't want to be in that crowd! Besides, Allen Toussaint was due to be back at the Allison Miner Interview Stage, this time not as part of a tribute, but rather on his own.





I think the best way to describe Toussaint (besides the usual things used to describe him like genius and extraordinary and the like) is that he is both a gentleman and a gentle man!! It would surprise me if he has ever said a bad word about anyone. While not many people know him by name, if you've been alive the last 4 decades, you've heard his work! He wrote a number of 60's and 70's hits, including "Working In A Coalmine" and Glen Campbell's "Southern Nights". In addition he's a legendary producer who's best known work includes the Labelle album that spawned the hit "Lady Marmalade", not to mention the abundant work he has done with local legends Irma Thomas, Ernie K. Doe, Lee Dorsey and scores of others. And as if that wasn't enough, he is also an incredible arranger. My personal favorite of his works in this vein are the stunning horn charts he wrote for The Band's "Rock Of Ages" album!!


He more recently came into the national spotlight after he briefly was forced to leave his beloved New Orleans home after Hurrican Katrina. He became a true champion and ambassador for the citie's recovery and, as an offshoot, collaborated with Elvis Costello for a truly wonderful record, "The River In Reverse" that brought him renewed and well deserved new fame!

It was a real joy to listen to him share his memories of all of these artists and even a greater joy to be sitting only a few feet away as he performed slections from his vast career.






Allen Toussaint

Making A Musical Point!

I'm afraid I'm gonna have to take a break at this point to get some other work done, but I promise to get back to work on this soon and get it all wrapped up.........stay tuned!!

Jazz Fest 2009- Part 3

Don't know how far I'll get with this, but since I've been tardy getting it done I thought I'd at least get started again.

We left off after a busy Day 1 of the fest had ended, and day 2 didn't slow down a bit. In fact, it turned out to be a marathon day, ending at around 5 the next morning!!

Things started off pretty leisurely. We heard a little Fredy Omar getting off the bus and onto the grounds, but per usual heading straight for the gumbo. It was a pretty good fest food day. After gumbo I had a new item at the fest--- the Cajun Duck Po' Boy! It was as tender and flavorful a duck as I ever ate and the baguette it was on was delicious. Damn near as good as the soft shell crab po' boy!

First music of the day was the famed cajun/zydeco band BeauSoleil with Michael Doucet. These guys may be the most famous Cajun band to come out of Louisiana. A BeauSoleil show is always a good place to be if you want to dance and shake it a bit!

Dancers at BeauSoleil set.

After a bit of zydeco to get the blood flowing, I made my way over to the jazz tent to see the James Rivers Movement. Rivers is one of the 17 artists that was at the first fest (this is the 40th!!) playing this year too. In fact, Rivers has actually played all 40 festivals!! Unbelievable!!



James Rivers 40th appearance at Jazz fest!



I snapped this pic during the James Rivers set. This father and 8 week old baby girl are both first-timers and came all the way from Australia! Let's hope she's here for the 80th anniversary of the Fest!!

After a quick detour to the Gospel tent where Trombone Shorty and Paul Sanchez made a surprise appearance to do "I'll Fly Away" with Shorty's brother Glen David Andrews, I hustled back to the Acura stage for the New Orleans queen of the piano, Marcia Ball. Ball plays much in the style of famed New Orleans piano greats Professor Longhair and Fats Domino and is always a real treat to see. Since I'd really missed out on her free Lafayette Square set on Wednesday, I felt the need to make it up at the fairgrounds. She treated us all to a lot of "Peace, Love, and BarBQ"!!

Marcia Ball

From there the pace truly quickened for me as I managed to see a least parts of 5 more acts before the day was over!
First up was legendary songwriter/picker, Doc Watson. Doc, blind since before his first birthday is an extraordinary flatpicking guitarist, who at 86 years of age has lost none of the nimbleness in his fingers or power in his voice. Highlights included "T for Texas" complete with yodel, and the first of 2 versions of the Gershwin classic "Summertime" that I'd hear before I finally went to bed the next morning at 5 am!!

Doc Watson!!

After a few songs from Doc, I trotted over to the Jazz tent just in time to see the seemingly ubiquitous Paul Sanchez join local jazz vocal favorite John Boutte for a killer version of Paul Simon's "An American Tune" John is a little guy stature-wise, but has one of the more powerful voices and stage presences you'll ever see!

John Boutte belting out "An American Tune"

I'm afraid I'll have to pick up the next chapter a bit later. Dinner at NOLA calls---and I'm never one to miss a meal, especially not if Emeril Lagasse is the host!!! Catch ya'll soon!

Jazz Fest 2009- Part 2

Day 1 of the Fest is now history and there's so much to tell you about! So where did we leave off??

The remainder of our Wednesday was fairly sedate. After Bob and I met for a traditional first drink at the Carousel Bar (David had a business conference call so we gave him a pass), we headed back to the hotel for a quick power nap since we'd gotten up to go the airport at 4 in the morning!
From there, we headed to Lafayette Square (after a free Abita Amber in the hotel lobby!) to hear Marcia Ball. They hold a free Wednesday afternoon concert in the square during the summer months (don't you love this town) and it seems that Marcia is always playing our Wednesday---and good for us, cause you won't find a better example of New Orleans musicianship than Marcia and her crack band!
Must admit I didn't really see much of it, as I ran into my old Med School classmate Gene Arrington and his wife Nan and spent most of my time there reminiscing with them.
After Marcia we walked a block down to Herbsaint for our first evening meal. I have no idea how we managed to eat anything after all the food wi'd stuufed down our necks earlier in the day at Dooky's...... but we somehow managed!
I'm not usually much for ordering chicken out, but I couldn't resist the broiled chicken with chicken sage sausage over polenta and grilled brussel sprouts. David had two small ( a relative term down here) plates of shrimp and grits and crawfish spoonbread, while Bob had the special of speckled trout over the butteriest (if that's not a word, it should be) mashed potatoes I've ever seen.
After dinner we walked back into the quarter to pick up prizes Bob and I'd won at the Threadhead raffle. The Threadheads are participants in the official Jazzfest online forum who each year hold a charity raffle for the New Orleans Musician's Free Clinic and raise thousands of dollars!! Who says the internet isn't good for anything!!! Jeff and Amy Potter do a marvelous job each year of gathering donations, holding the online raffle and then managing to distribute the booty at the Fest. God Bless them and all of you reading this need to check it out next year and purchase some tickets!!!
On the way back to the hotel we stumbled on a brass band of what looked like young high school kids playing in the street for money. They were just terrific! Reminded me of Will Rawlins kids from the book "Nine Lives", one of the better books about New Orleans I've ever read. I strongly encourage reading it.
And that was about it for day one. We were all bushed and had full stomachs, making for a quick trip to dream time in anticipation of the first day at the fest!

Day 1:

What a great first day. Despite the overcast skies and the few early sprinkles, it turned out to be a wonderful first day at the fest. The crowds were light and mellow which made it a perfect day for wandering around and getting our bearings.
But of course, first things first, and that means getting off the bus and making a beeline to the Prejean's food booth for the best tasting food that has ever passed my lips---the legendary Pheasant, Quail, and Andouille Sausage Gumbo!!


First gumbo!!!

After chasing the first gumbo with a bowl of Cajun Jambalaya (I prefer the slightly drier, brown jambalaya over the sweeter red jambalaya, but they have both at the fest!) we each went our separate ways and the music began!

My first stop was at the Heritage stage, which always kicks off with the traditional Mardis Gras Indians. Now this is a tradition that, despite coming down here for nearly two decades, I am just beginning to understand!

Mardi Gras Indians have been parading in New Orleans at least since the mid-19th century, possibly before.

When Carribean communities started to spring up in New Orleans, their culture was incorporated into the suits, dances and music made by the "Indians".

In the late 19th century and early years of the 20th century, the tribes had a reputation for violent fights with each other. This part of Mardi Gras Indian history is immortalized in Sugar Boy Crawford's "Jock O Mo" (better known as "Iko Iko"), based on their taunting chants.

As the 20th century progressed, physical confrontation gave way to assertions of status by having better suits, songs, and dances. Generations ago when Mardi Gras Indians came through neighborhoods, people used to run away; now people run toward them for the colorful spectacle.

There is a lot of good reading about this in Dan Baum's book "Nine Lives" that I referred to before.

The Big Chief!!

From there I spent the better part of the morning simply wandering around and listening to one or two songs at each stage, including The Inspirational Gospel Singers, Bamboula 2000 ( a latin flavored group), and Sonny Bourg's Bayou Blues Band who I watched from the book tent!

I then headed over to the Acura Stage (one of three large stages, including the Getilly and Congo Suare stages) to see local favorites Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, a group of young locals who defy any musical catagory. They combine rock and roll, blues, hip hop and even swing music into a style all their own. It's a little tough to translate it to CD, but they are a terrific band to see live!!
The Dirty Notes!


A Happy Fester Grooving To Johnny Sketch

From there I made my way to the interview stage which this year is really loaded with sessions with incredibly interesting people and musicians. My first trip there was to see a tribute to Snooks Eaglin.
Snooks was a blind singer/guitarist here in New Orleans with a reputation for being a human jukebox, a reputation confirmed by George Porter Jr., who played bass with Snooks the last few years and was one of the panelists at the tribute. Also onstage was Snooks childhood friend and legendary songwriter and producer, Mr. Allen Toussaint. Their love for Snooks and his music was abundant in their words and the songs they played for the grateful crowd that had gathered to honor the man!
Snooks Tribute with George Porter Jr on bass and Allen Toussaint on keys.


I was truly honored to have the opportunity to meet and have my picture taken with Mr. Toussaint!


Despite the fact that Emmylou Harris was next up on the interview stage, I really had my heart set on getting a seat in the Jazz tent for the George Wein All Stars.

For those who don't know, Mr Wein (now 84 years old) is the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, which really was the first of it's kind. He was also instrumental in the birth of the New Orleans Jazz Festival 40 years ago. As evidenced by my own experiences today, his idea of having multiple acts playing that would draw you in while you wandered around the grounds has truly come to fruition! To honor his contributions, he was asked to put together an all star group to perform (he himself is quite a good piano player). The group included Howard Alden on guitar, 25 year old bass phenom Esperanza Spalding, Israeli clarinetest/saxaphonist Anat Cohen, Randy Brecker on trumpet, and the legendary drummer and sole surviving member of the Miles Davis band that made the "Kind Of Blue" album Jimmy Cobb.

I can't begin to say what a great show they put on. Each member was featured repeatedly and there was no doubt why Wein chose these players. They were all truly masters!!!

Randy Brecker


Esperanza Spalding


Anat Cohen


Howard Alden

Jimmy Cobb



George Wein

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention that just before the All Stars set I had the pleasure of catching the last couple of songs by Wynton and Branford Marsalis' younger brother Delfeayo's band, which also included the youngest musical Marsalis, Jason, on drums. Delfeayo closed with a beautiful version of "Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" with him on trombone accompanied by piano.



Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis

From the jazz tent, I took the advice of George Wein when he helped create this fest and went from stage to stage watching 2 or 3 numbers by each of the bands closing out day 1 of the fest.

I started with Ben Harper whose new band, The Relentless 7, is much grungier and heavier than the Innocent Criminals.

From there I made my way to the Congo Square stage to see soul legend Solomon Burke. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, he still belted out his own unique Memphis soul as though he were 50 years younger!
The Solomon Burke Band

From Solomon I decided to end the day with Emmylou Harris, so I began making my way over to the Gentilly Stage.

Forgive me Kevin Rock, but I'd somehow managed to forget that Rosie Ledet was also closing out day 1. But the music Gods smiled on me and took me right by the Fais Do-Do stage on my way to Gentilly and so I didn't miss the chance to catch the The Zydeco Sweetheart in all her glory!!

Rosie Rocks!!!


Two young fans dancing to Rosie at the Fais Do-Do.

I truly had to tear myself away from Rosie's set but I finally ended the day with Emmylou Harris who closed out day one for me with her gorgeous song "Orphan Girl" as I made my way back to the buses for the trip back to the Quarter.

Emmylou Harris ends Day 1 on the Gentilly Stage.

It was a truly wonderful first day and it was nice to have a seat on the bus and relax and reflect on all the good food and music as I headed back towards the hotel to rendezvous with Bob and Dave for dinner.
We started with a couple of tall Wild Turkeys and diet coke to get the night off to a mellow start and then caught our cab out past Carrollton to try a new restaurant, Dante's Kitchen. Turns out it's right across the street from another long time favorite, Brigtsen's. And it turns out to be every bit as good. After a couple more drinks (as if we hadn't had enough) we started our meals with appetizers of shrimp and grits and barbequed shrimp. I had the Redfish entree topped with minty greens and crab meat while David feated on a trio of filets including one topped with Stilton Blue Cheese and another with BarBQ pork and Bob downed the Maple glazed chicken with a side of potatoe hash topped with a fried egg! We finished off the meal with warm spice cake topped with chocolate sauce and one of my personal faves, Key Lime Pie. Between the full bellies and the significant whiskey buzz, we all felt fine as we headed off to get some rest before day 2 begins........a day that won't end until about 4 am tomorrow!!

Stay tuned!!!!