Issue Articles — Features
A Joyous Celebration: Michael Doucet avec Lâcher Prise let things happen organically
Side projects involving your favorite musicians are often intriguing and a growth experience for the musician and attentive listener. BeauSoleil’s fiddling front man Michael Doucet is certainly no stranger to side projects.
Exuberance and Passion: Angélique Kidjo makes a lot of music
Angélique Kidjo is rapturously, ravenously eating crawfish, stuffing her mouth from her hands, making ecstatic noises, then rubbing the top of her shaved head in the throes of pure elation, never mind the residue and spices she’s getting all over.
Hey Hey, All Together: Ivan Neville’s Touch My Soul is his first solo album in 19 years
If you’re a renowned New Orleans artist and you want to write a song about the need for everyone to get along, it will probably come out funky and uplifting. But if you’re Ivan Neville, you can also pull out your address book and get a dream team of guests to perform it with you.
Jazz Icon Ellis Marsalis’ ELM Records: David Torkanowsky pays tribute to the ELM Music Company
It’s actually a rarity to see David Torkanowsky leading an ensemble at Jazz Fest. That’s not to say it’s rare to see him, one of New Orleans’ finest, most talented and spontaneous musicians, at the piano on a festival stage.
This is Latin Jazz: Charlie Sepulveda’s jazz journey started with Louis Armstrong
Trumpeter-bandleader Charlie Sepulveda brings a lifetime of Latin and jazz musicianship from his home in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, a place with hundreds of years of musical tradition preceding him.
Dead & Company Will Play Jazz Fest Debut
The Grateful Dead goes on forever. The Jerry Garcia-led band played its final show at Chicago’s Soldier Field on July 9, 1995, just weeks before Garcia died, and has continued in various incarnations ever since.
A Joyful Thing: Renee Rosnes and ARTEMIS capture the heart of jazz
As Renee Rosnes describes the various attributes of members of ARTEMIS, the all-star jazz sextet that the pianist-composer-arranger leads, certain words and phrases seem to come out in boldface.
Loose Cattle (Finally!) Set for First Jazz Fest
I’ve been a Loose Cattle devotee since 2017, when they debuted with the instant-classic holiday album, Seasonal Affective Disorder. The album encapsulates the push-pull dynamic of the molten core of my favorite Americana cowpunks in New Orleans: Michael Cerveris, who adores Christmas, and Kimberley Kaye, who is shadowed by the holiday’s darkside.
Soul Food: Dustin Dale Gaspard plays songs to tell his stories
Dustin Dale Gaspard makes his Jazz Fest debut this year. It’s a career breakthrough for the soul and swamp pop-inspired singer songwriter from southwest Louisiana. Upon learning he’d be on the Jazz Fest roster, Gaspard felt relieved and grateful. “It was something that I needed in that moment,” he recalled. “I’d been wondering if this whole music thing was going to work out, if I could get a break.”
South Louisiana Marsh Blues: Michael Juan Nunez is an incredibly inspired songwriter
No matter how you slice and dice it, 2022 was a banner year for Michael Juan Nunez. After years of writing and preparing for his then-upcoming album Rouxsta, the merciless pandemic delayed its release by three years. Finally, things fell into place. The pandemic subsided, Jazz Fest resumed, and the Erath, Louisiana bluesy guitar slinger finally released his best work to date among a stellar catalog—all deserving national airplay.
