onurblues: Journey To Nawlins, Chapter II - The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The 50th Anniversary 5-CD Set (2019)

→ Thanks also to the late Blue DeVille

→ The pics on this page concern only the artists featured in the 5-CD box Set

JazzFest : the fantastic New Orleans gumbo

The opening Golden Eagles track immediately takes you to the roots of New Orleans rich music : a mix of African chants and percussion, early jazz and blues lament. Next, Trombone Shorty and his band add a little Latin touch with their long “One Night Only”. With the Donald Harrison band or Terence Blanchard, we enter the world of classic modern jazz (“Free To Be”, “A Streetcar Named Desire”)… All the ingredients of the Nola musical heritage are featured in this fantastic 5-CD box featuring 48 artists, 50 songs, two announcements and… one rain alert (doesn't that remind Woodstock ?)

A monumental birthday compilation featuring the ladies (Irma Thomas, Marcia Ball, Dixie Cups, Germaine Bazzle, Big Freedia, a transsexual hip-hop artist presented as a woman in the huge indispensable booklet), the jazz bands (Original Liberty Jazz Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band), the second-liners (Dirty Dozen Brass Band), the horn boys (Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins, Donald Harrison Jr.), the iconic keyboard kings (Allen Toussaint, Champion Jack Dupree, Professor Longhair, Henry Butler, Dr. John), the Zydeco accordion wizards (Boozoo Chavis, Buckwheat Zydeco, The Savoy Family Cajun Band, Bruce Daigrepont, Beausoleil), the best funky R'n'B gumbo cookers (Neville Brothers, Funky Meters),

Zion Harmonizers

the six-string blues masters (Snooks Eaglin, Earl King, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, John Campbell, John Mooney, Kenny Neal, Sonny Landreth, Anders Osborne), the Mardi-Gras Indians (Golden Eagles, Wild Magnolias, White Eagles), the gospel shouters (The Zion Harmonizers, Raymond Myles, Johnson Extension), plus a few artists, probably less familiar to the average New Orleans sound aficionado (George Wein, John Boutté, Al Belletto, Tommy Ridgley, The Subdudes...)

Wild Magnolias

Several musical genres (jazz, blues, R&B, Cajun, Zydeco) intermingle to produce the inimitable Nola musical gumbo . This amazing blend, often called “New Orleans R&B” in the literal meaning of the term, originally derives from early jazz precisely born in the Crescent City, and has been enriched by successive influences. Today, it can be recognized by distinctive aspects : a typical beat ― a mix of Dixie jazz, second-line brass parades, Carnival and Mardi-Gras Indians traditions, bayou life and hoodoo culture ―, the quasi systematic use of horns, the prominent presence of piano, or accordion and fiddle in Zydeco, and Cajun music, a strong blues foundation, the integration of gospel (more specifically gathered in the last four tracks of CD 3), and more recently, of hip-hop…

Buckwheat Zydeco

A word about Zydeco and Cajun music : Louisiana is the only place in North America where accordion has been adopted as a lead instrument. The Zydeco and Cajun titles have been more specifically gathered in the first five tracks of CD 4, but one incomprehensible omission remains : nothing from Zachary Richard. Why ?

A word also about the great job achieved by the editing team of this special 50th Anniversary compilation and its impressive booklet : months of research work and undoubtedly many hard decisions to take concerning the selection of the featured artists and songs.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Let's say it once and for all, anyone of the 50 numbers featured here deserves a triple star, each in its own style. This huge compilation exhales a fantastic atmosphere, it takes you in the fascinating musical world of a unique city. That's the most important aspect I personally retain after listening several times to the five CDs besides the musical quality of these 50 tracks .

Donald Harrison

I will not risk myself to classify them by order of excellence, though some appeal to me more particularly than others according to my personal taste. The only risk I will take is to point out the most iconic New Orleans artists present in this box set, though they're all emblematic : in their way : the patriarchal Allen Toussaint, the inimitable Dr. John, the eccentric Professor Longhair, Earl King and his mischievous eyes, the old crocodile Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, slide master Sonny Landreth, Snooks Eaglin, Buckwheat Zydeco and Boozoo Chavis, The Neville Brothers, Champion Jack Dupree, Kenny Neal, and of course the jazz and brass bands (Trombone Shorty, Kermit Ruffins Big Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Al Belletto Big Band, Dr. Michael White and his Original Liberty Jazz Band), the Mardi-Gras Indians tribe groups (magnolias and other eagles of different color)...

Dr. John

A fabulous trip through the 50-year history of one of the most famous annual music festival in the world, and a master tribute to the incredibly rich musical heritage of the inimitable Big Easy, the city that lives night and day to the pulse of music. ■

► Live videos... are better than long speeches

→ Many live audio and videos documents can be listened to or downloaded free from rights at : https://archive.org/search.php?query=New%20Orleans%20Jazz%20%26%20Heritage%20Festival
→ On YT, I selected videos showing the incredible atmosphere and/or highlights of some of the annual editions of the Festival, and of performances of emblematic artists through the years : the “locals”, not all featured on the 5-CD set, then the “outsiders”. Some are amateur videos : sorry for the dubious shaky shootings…

→ But first  this interview with New Orleans Jazz & Heritage archivist Rachel Lyons, 2022 : https://youtu.be/tbk02f425yk

► The NO JazzFest : atmosphere & highlights

● 1988 :

Snooks Eaglin

https://youtu.be/C4GvsLSfUmg

● 1989 : https://youtu.be/_I6P1fkALqs

● 1991 : https://youtu.be/R2RgLIW-gB0

● 1999 : Buckwheat Zydeco, Terrance Simien, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Eddie Bo, Dr. John : https://youtu.be/fe9OgEkr8IU

● 1999 : Fats Domino, Nelson Riddle Orchestra, Willie Nelson, Santana : https://youtu.be/ZLqVVQcaKog

● 2013 (highlights)  : https://youtu.be/dpzB8j0VfNc

Allen Toussaint

● 2015 (highlights) : https://youtu.be/WFJTC0RObPk

● 2016 (atmosphere) :

→ #1 : https://youtu.be/JITMth1PrM0

→ #2 : https://youtu.be/sxRfVD9Y23c

● 2018 : https://youtu.be/6fWYOStD-KE

● 2019 : Hot 8 Brass Band, Wanda Rouzan, Al “'Carnival Time” Johnson, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Dixie Cups, Aaron Neville, Diana Ross : https://youtu.be/mSSpCEb-te4