The ‘Cream of the Crop’ features three little girls singing the chorus on songs for J. Monque’D and his band in the Blues tent. Photo by David Griggs
Amedee Frederick VI, 5, plays guitar next to his father, Amedee V at the 2017 Jazz Fest in New Orleans. This is another strong Louisiana musical family. His sister Victoria is the girl on the left in ‘Cream of the Crop’, and their grandfather, Amedee IV, was in the audience. Photo by David GriggsBy DAVID GRIGGS
Foreign Correspondent
Los Alamos Daily Post
An estimated 425,000 fans packed the fairgrounds for another memorable Jazz Fest this year in New Orleans. The festival features seven days of music on 12 stages, plus more than 70 food vendors, arts, crafts, demonstrations and cultural displays.
The Jazz Fest operates under the umbrella of the nonprofit New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, which works year-round to promote and perpetuate the culture of Louisiana. The Foundation supports numerous school music programs, the Don Jamison Heritage School of Music, radio station WWOZ, and several other Louisiana music festivals.
In addition to highlighting musical stars and legendary performers, the Jazz Fest also works to promote future generations. The Kids’ Tent alone hosts 45 performances, most of them by young musicians and dancers. Amanda Shaw, now a wonderful young woman who plays the big Gentilly Stage, has been playing her Cajun fiddle at Jazz Fest since she was ten years old. Established artists like old-school bluesman J. Monque’D include some great kids in their acts to give them a running start in on-stage performing.
The Cultural Exchange Pavilion this year featured the country of Cuba, and hosted demonstrations of rolling cigars, making drums, constructing Carnival costumes, and crafting stringed instruments. Numerous excellent Cuban musicians and dancers performed. My favorites were: Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro from Havana, a band that reminded me of Buena Vista Social Club; Conga Los Hoyos, a dynamic drum and metal percussion conga group; and Daymé Arocena, a strong vocalist and a dynamic presence on stage.
Thanks to recommendations by Emile from Hawaii and Bryan from New Zealand, friends at the India House Hostel for the second year, I spent a considerable amount of time in the Blues Tent. Some of the acts I caught included:
- Aaron Neville played one of the best sets I have ever heard him do, with such favorites as Everybody Plays the Fool, Louisiana 1927, Gonna Lay Down My Burden, Don’t Worry About a Thing, and Congo Square.
- Rhiannon Giddens: This is the first time I have seen Rhiannon, and I was blown away. Rhiannon Giddens is the lead singer, violinist, banjo player, and a founding member of the Grammy-winning country, blues, and old-time music band Carolina Chocolate Drops. She was especially powerful in Freedom Highway and Odetta’s song Water Boy.
- Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, a rocking Jersey Shore group that is closely associated with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band.
- Henry Gray, 92-year-old blues legend played electric keyboard and sang such favorites as Sweet Home Chicago and Stagolee.
- Jonathan “Boogie” Long, an incredible blues guitarist and singer from Baton Rouge.
Other great acts I enjoyed at Jazz Fest:
- A tribute to Pete Fountain, the man who made the clarinet a standard feature of New Orleans Jazz.
- Dr. John: Performing on the big Acura stage, Dr. John and his band put on a great set, including such classics as Iko Iko, Right Place, Wrong Time, Wang Dang Doodle, Big Chief, and Walk on Gilded Slippers.
- Irma Thomas: I had the joy of catching Irma Thomas in the Gospel Tent, where she treated us to renditions of I Found the Answer, Ain’t Gonna Study War No More, How Great Thou Art, and Come Children, Let’s Sing.
- Chris Owens is a burlesque performer, singer, and local celebrity who for years has had a nightclub on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Recently, a local paper ran a photo of Chris and her husband Sol dancing at the Tropicana Nightclub in Havana during the Batista years, before Castro took over. That dates her. Chris is still performing on stage at 84.
- Herb Alpert and his wife, singer Lani Hall, put on a great show in the Zatarain’s Jazz Tent. Ah, memories of the famous Green Album! The tent was packed and it seemed like nobody left, even though it was the last set of a long, hot day. Old favorites included Lonely Bull and This Guy’s in Love with You”.
My friends would find it amiss if I did not mention food. At the Jazz Fest, I feasted on WWOZ Mango Freeze, iced coffee and beignets from the Café du Monde stands, Crawfish Strudel (twice), boiled crawfish, boiled shrimpred beans and rice, shrimp and grits, grilled spiced tofu with peanut sauce and vegies, boiled crawfish, boiled shrimp, a muffuletta, meat pie, popcorn, crawfish étouffée, soft-shell crab po’boy, hummus with pita, ropa vieja, frijoles negros, tostones, and crawfish pie.
Jazz Fest was finished over a week ago, but I have not yet been able to escape the clutches of the Big Easy. Coming up this weekend is Bayou Boogaloo, a free music festival that takes place along Bayou St. John, only six blocks from the hostel. And the following weekend is the Greek Festival, also on Bayou St. John. And then…
The boy in the Mardi Gras Indian costume is one of three members of the Lil’ Creole Wild West that were a colorful part of J. Monque’D’s act. Photo by David Griggs