Ernie K-Doe may have only been half-serious when he uttered his now-famous remark, ”I’m not sure, but I’m almost positive that all music came from New Orleans,” but some-folks take that kind of thing very seriously.
Fact is, although the neighborhood has birthed at least half a dozen musical styles, from Dixieland to Bounce, the blues birthright remains the property of the Mississippi Delta, midwifed by Chicago, perhaps.
However, the post-war New Orleans has become a mecca for ALL musicians, and that, coupled with the inbred desire to have a good time at all costs, is what makes Jazz Fest what it is, the largest (and finest) music festival in at least these United States.
More and more folks discover that every year, which is fine, but it’s getting to where any blues or R&B fan needs to sift through hundreds of performers to find what he needs.
Fortunately, we here at OffBeat are about to help you hit the heights and see the sights. You can’t plan to see the good stuff at the Fest. That’s like trying to count every blade of grass at the Fair Grounds. But if you’re looking for the best blues acts, here’s where the big boys (and girls) play:
FRIDAY APRIL 23
Four-time Grammy winner John Hammond brings his down-and-dirty Jimmy Reed-by-way-of-Howlin’ Wolf grit to the stage, and you won’t be dis- appointed-his live shows are always first-rate. Tab Benoit adds a little Cajun spice to the mix, blending Buddy Guy with the bayou in a way that always satisfies. He’s still supporting his live CD, Swampland Jam, so expect him to measure up to those high standards.
For a little hometown flavor, there’s the easygoing jump-and-stroll of Clarence “Frogman” Henry, who performs his hits , (like his signature song, “Ain’t Got No Home”) with tenacity if nor much flash. Better still, check out New Orleans’ King of the Stroll Tommy Ridgley and his Untouchables for a set of pure heart-breaking beauty.
SATURDAY APRIL 24
Irma Thomas may not just be New Orleans’ Soul Queen, she may be Queen of the whole Fest itself. She highlights her bluesier material for the Fest, although she’ll always end up giving the crowd a taste of her classic R&B hits like “Done Got Over.” She had the audience in the palm of her hand last year, and she was fighting an illness. Imagine what a. healthy Queen will do for your afternoon.
Former Son House sideman and local legend John Mooney takes the stage with Bluesiana to essay an extremely funky take on the blues: the band’s always stocked with some of the city’s best, so you’ll want to seek this out for sure. Mooney’s set at last year’s Fest was one of its highlights.
Roomful of Blues founder Duke Robillard is a jack-of-all-blues who unveils songs from his sterling new CD, New Blues For Modern Man. If you like a little swing in your groove, this is the man to see. Last, but certainly not least, there’s Walter “Wolfman” Washington and the Roadmasters: These guys are the embodiment of the crack funk-blues big band: they practically have musical telepathy. A little slick, but tight in all the right places. A perennial favorite.
SUNDAY APRIL 25
This day is probably your best bet for getting the blues in a good way. Sunday is a cornucopia of Iiving legends and fierce upstarts, led off by the King of New Orleans, Fats Domino himself. Watch him run through his staggering number of hits and realize that this is the cornerstone on which New Orleans R&B (and a large section of rock and roll) was built.
The Genius is here as well: Ray Charles, the man who took the blues to church and vice-versa, delivers a set spanning his more than 40 years of recording. (Which, it should be noted, started right here in town with straight blues like “The Sun’s Gonna Shine Again.”)
A darker kind of fire comes from Bobby “Blue” Bland, whose music is intensely, almost gothically obsessed with betrayal and revenge. No one else makes it sound so fun, however, and so liberating. Expect him to give you “I Pity The Fool” and “Further On Up The Road,” but also to deliver other artists’ songs that fit the milieu, like Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
Tired of fake swing acts? Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown is out here to promote his new CD, tentatively called American Music-Texas Style. He’s got the big band with him, and they’re set to add a little blues chooglin’ to the hipster “revival.” Anyone who’s seen ‘Gate’ or heard his last swing album, Gate Swings, knows what they’re in for. The rest of you may be advised to brush upon your jitterbug.
Snooks Eaglin swings in his own way, too, but there’s nothing smooth about him: this former street musician and Professor Longhair sideman is all about keeping it rough and wild. A model of versatility, he can essay everything from country blues to second-line funk and put the Snooks stamp on all of it – even oddball covers like Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman.”
Eddie Bo is either a dream or a nightmare to witness, depending on whether or not you tickle the ivories yourself. For those of us non-musicians not shamed into a corner by the mastery of his playing, his performance is usually a dependable treat, focusing mostly on soul and R&B but with a few blues nods here and there.
Same goes double for Jean Knight, who may be best known for “Mr. Big Stuff,” and “My Toot-Toot” but who can also satisfy your blues-mama cravings with sassy fare like “(Take Him) You Can Have My Man” and “Your Six-Bit Change.”
Luther Kent and Trick Bag and Amy and The Hank Sinatras round out the lineup: one functions like the Louisiana version of Roomful of Blues (big-band style, filled with brass and a large repertoire of styles), the other is a smokin’ quintet that handily erases the line between country swing and jump blues, with side detours into ballads and R&B. Both feature the Crescent City’s best session players.
THURSDAY APRIL 29
This is traditionally the leanest day of the Fest, but you wouldn’t know it from the lineup. Any day that features Taj Mahal is musically complete: the man is a walking repository of musical forms whose vision of the blues is large enough to include Hawaiian and Caribbean music, bluegrass banjos, and the Monkees’ “Take A Giant Step.” That’s right, you heard me. Taj is a force of nature that has to be seen to be believed (or even understood).
Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater is the real hardcore deal; picking his blues up from Alabama and bringing it to the Chicago West Side. If you like it served raw and bleeding, this is the man to see; he may deliver the world’s best version of Guirar Slim’s “The Things I Used To Do.”
Fot those who want to really FEEL the swampy menace in their grooves, you’re advised to check out Coco Robicheaux and the Perspirators. The “Louisiana Medicine Man” works the same side of the bayou as Dr. John (that is to say. the dangerous side), while his huge band more than lives up to its name with appropriate moss-covered menace. Chris Smither works a similar vein, although his gris-gris is both folkier and more stripped-down. Watch him unfurl his newest (and best) album, Drive You Home Again, track by track.
FRIDAY APRIL 30
This may actually be the least bluesy day on the bill, but there are some highlights. Marcia Ball, for example. The first woman ever invited to play the annual Piano Night at Tipitina’s, Ball is a tall drink of water that, like the rest of us, worships at the altar of Professor Longhair. Unlike many, however, she can make you think Fess is in the room. With her pristine visual style sitting oddly next t0 her blazing chops, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel pegs it: “The secret love child of Miss Manners and Little Richard.”
Then there’s Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes and the Louisiana Sunspots, bringing their much-heralded zydeco-blues fusion to the Fairgrounds. With Sun pie, the best bet is to forget about musical genres entirely, grab another beer our of your pack, and’ find some cutie to dance with. Rockin’ Tabby Thomas and Guitar Slim Jr. ate also on hand, serving up pleasant if uninspired versions of blues evergreens.
Noted local character (and harp wizard) J. Monque’D also appears with the Little Pats of Butter and no red local pianist Henry Gray.
SATURDAY MAY 1
Almost too much to mention. First off, before we count The Steve Miller Band out as ‘another non-roots headliner, we should remember that this was one of THE pre-eminent white blues bands of the Woodstock era, and that the blues inform everything Steve puts down.
That said, you have to love a day that features the Blues Queen of New Orleans, Marva Wright, and her BMWs. Marva is a belter in the fine blues-mama tradition of Koko Taylor and Ruth Brown, but she has a gospel pedigree to die for as well, so her shows tend to be a grand mixture of the sacred and the secular. She’s performed at the White House and the Superbowl already, One song and you’ll see why the world is clamoring for her.
Earl King and the Butanes will perform King’s repertoire of R&B classics, including “Trick Bag,” “Come On,” and “Those Lonely Lonely Nights.” He’s also known as one of the Fest’s premiere showmen; his suits and onstage patter are as wild as his influenrial guirar licks. Along wirh Lee Dorsey, King may very well be rhe missing link berween New Orleans moll and Sta)( soul. His is always guaranteed to be one of the don’t-miss performances.
Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials are about nothing but straight-up, house rockin’ Chicago shuffle and boogie. Looking to pump yourself up after a long sweltering day of waiting in the beer line, Lil’ Ed and Co. will get you back on track with hardball originals like “Life Is Like Gambling” and “Chicken, Gravy and Biscuits.”
If you’re feeling a little too, well, MELLOW for that, you can go catch Henry Butler, whose rolling, roiling, boiling piano is squarely in the tradition of Fess and James Booker. Jr’s sloppy and greasy boogie-woogie, served up nice and hot and destined to make you feel drunker than you are.
Bryan Lee & the Blues Power Band spent over a decade as the Old Absinthe Bar’s house band, so you know they’re used to playing to discriminating audiences. Now based in Chicago, they return to New Orleans, full of sass and typically ferocious; they still play as hard as if they’re depending on the beer money.
SUNDAY MAY 2
For blues fans, the last day’s a bit of a letdown (or a wind-down, depending on how much you’ve had). The Fest is never without merit, however. For straight blues, there’s the B.B. Major Blues Band and the Little Freddie King Blues Band. The latter in particular is worth the trip to the track, mainly because of his John Lee Hooker-style rough-and-tumble swamp boogie, Deacon John is one of New Orleans’ best kept R&B secrets, and also a sure bet for a fiery performance.
The real news on Sunday is in the R&B world: Frankie Ford, Dave Bartholomew, and Bobby Marchan represent a large chunk of Crescent City musical history all on their own. Frankie will run through his hits (“Sea Cruise,” “Roberta”) and the tons more that should have gone national.
Hope and pray that he decides to favor us with “A Man Only Does,” one of the great lost R&B ballads. Bartholomew, the other half of Fats Domino’s legacy, usually trots our his big band for a set of jump-blues classics like “Hey La Bas,” And Marchan, king of the sad stroll, unveils what may be the Fat’s weepiest set with tunes like the legendarily tragic “There Is Something On Your Mind (Part 2),” Chances are you’ll be sunburned and stuffed at that point anyway.
With the Fest becoming more and more crowded and crazed every year, you may NEED a good cry. (Although if he reprises his old hits from the Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns days, you may find yourself dancing all over again.)
