Issue Articles — Features
Quite A Ride: Samara Joy, the new Ella Fitzgerald
“Oh man,” Samara Joy sighs, pulling her hair back, her eyes widening behind a pair of glasses. “Um, it’s been quite a ride.”
Cajunize: 50 Years of BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet
In February, the world’s most famous Cajun band celebrated its 50th anniversary year with two nights of concerts. The Grammy-winning BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet invited a stage full of friends and collaborators to the hometown party at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette. Guests included Sonny Landreth, Don Vappie, Dickie Landry, Steve Conn, Tiff Lamson, Annick Colbert, Gary Newman, Chad Viator and former BeauSoleil members Tommy Alesi and Jimmy Breaux.
A Flower of the Forest: Saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s spiritual pilgrimage
It can hardly be denied that saxophone master Charles Lloyd has long been most widely recognized for his composition, “Forest Flower” that appears on his 1966 release Forest Flower—Live at Monterey. It was one of the rare jewels that shined beyond jazz realms and into the popular mainstream. With so much great jazz out there, why did this beauty break the genre barrier?
Cimafunk’s Star Power
Cimafunk, the band, is a nine-piece treasure with skills in their steps and joy in their souls. This translates well to their sound and live shows. They’re also the sweetest people you could meet and are thoroughly enjoying their upward trajectory. It makes sense, since the mindset of music, work, and community is typified from top-down by the rockstar frontman himself who goes by Cima.
Your Very Own Dream: Clay Parker and Jodi James go electric
Clay Parker and Jodi James are making their third Jazz Fest appearance this year. The Baton Rouge singer-songwriters first performed at the Festival in 2018, a memorable debut for the musical duo that’s a couple in real life.
Jourdan Thibodeaux – Preservation For A New Generation
Jourdan Thibodeaux apologizes for his appearance as he signs on to a video chat. He’s taking a break from work, he explains, and he’s covered in sweat and sawdust. “We got a new business out here,” he explains, looking around at the construction he’s been doing. “Cypress Cove Landing.”
The Colombian Connection: Jazz Fest celebrates Columbia with 17 bands.
The musicians will put a brilliant spotlight on the rich heritage of Colombia across most of the stages and inside the Expedia Cultural Exchange Pavilion. It is the largest celebration of a single country in the long history of the Jazz Fest’s annual cultural exchange. Here’s brief description of some of these great musicians and bands.
Donald Harrison Jr.: A Conduit of The Universe
Donald Harrison Jr. is an essential link between modern jazz and the music and culture of the streets. He is without question a voracious thinker, actively working to expand sonic bandwidth. In doing so he’s become a guru to some of the finest young musicians out there. Harrison is an American treasure and a New Orleans native who was more than willing to go deep about his life and career.
Forgotten Souls Honor Tradition and Memory
Ever since the jazzman Danny Barker returned to New Orleans in the mid-‘60s after a successful career in New York, the once-moribund brass band culture in his hometown has reinvented itself with each new generation of musicians. When Barker discovered there were very few young musicians playing the old songs in the old style, he almost singlehandedly was responsible for reviving the tradition with the Fairview Baptist Church Marching Band.
Gogo Jewelry: Celebrating 20 Years at Jazz Fest
Bold. Bright. Geometric. There’s no mistaking a piece of Gogo jewelry, handcrafted by Gogo Bordeling, who’s celebrating her 20th anniversary as a Contemporary Crafts vendor. And if you’ve been to Jazz Fest before, chances are you already own a piece or two.
