It was one of those special New Orleans nights when the music communityplayers and fans alikerallied for a cause and partied down. The troops gathered at Café Brasil for a tribute to the Ooh Poo Pah Doo man, the late great Jessie Hill and raise money for tombstone to be placed on his grave at Holt Cemetery.

The essence of Hill, an immensely popular and flamboyant musician who died in 1996, channeled through his grandsons trumpeter James and trumpeter/ trombonist Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews. It was obvious that the bloodline flows strong in this musical family as the brothers displayed the same lively sense of showmanship that endeared Hill to so many.

The strongest musical buzz surrounding the show was the continued amazing growth of Troy Andrews who blew either trumpet or trombone most of the night. While the teenagers talents have long been touted (hes been on the scene for over a decade!), Troy really put the whole package together as a musician, bandleader and host.

It became increasingly apparent on this chilly March night that Troy holds a unique position among the next generation of Crescent City musicians. As an artist who came up playing traditional jazz and brass band sounds on the streets to become a student at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA) who has shared stages with the likes of modernist Wynton Marsalis, Troy embraces a wonderfully broad spectrum of jazz. In the few days surrounding the benefit, Troy played with creative jazz master, multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers at several workshops and wound through neighborhoods with the New Birth Brass Band during the Sidewalk Steppers very hot second-line parade.

For the tribute to Hill, Troy led his own band that included many fellow NOCCA students. They blew on tunes like Big Fat Women, a song that booms at secondlines and from jukeboxes in Trem barrooms. In bringing this older music to the group, Troy shares the tradition he knows and loves with his bandmates and helps perpetuate the music. Classics like St. James Infirmary were given a modern flair by these young jazzers and even took a turn south of the border for what Jelly Roll Morton called the essential Latin-tinge. James took over on trumpet and Troy returned to trombone for the Mardi Gras Indian chant ooh nah nay with the crowd, which was filled with folks from many walks of life, taking up the call.

Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews performs at the French Quarter Festival, Saturday, April 13 at the Jackson Square Stage at 2 p.m.

PRESTIGIOUS COMPANY

The energetic saxophonist/ flautist/pianist/composer Sam Rivers went far beyond the call of duty during his stay in New Orleans. Before his superb gig at the Contemporary Arts Center with his long-time trio of fellow multi-instrumentalists Doug Matthews on upright and electric basses and bass violin and Anthony Cole on drums, saxophone and drums, Rivers held two workshops. The one given at Southern University of New Orleans was for music students and the other was a workshop/ performance meeting of the minds with Jonathan Freilichs Naked Orchestra at the Zeitgeist. Impressed by the talent-laden orchestra during rehearsal, Rivers went back to his hotel room to write a piece especially for the ensemble to play the next day. Wow.

The music Rivers presented at the CAC was certainly challenging in its range, yet because of the leaders warm presence it always invited the audience to join in the spirit of its creation. A smile crossed Rivers face after each piece during a two-set night that appropriately began with his gracious number, Offering. As each of the hugely gifted musicians moved to various instruments they continually formed ever-changing melodic and rhythmic combinations. We didnt hear just one band we heard many. At moments, Rivers and his band punctuated tunes with audible ooohs and ahhhs as expressions of emotion and enthusiasm. As the audience stood applauding at the end of the evening, it echoed these sounds of pleasure back to the terrific trio.

The good news is that if you missed the winter Jazz Journey concert by the renowned vocalist and composer Abbey Lincoln and gospel diva Liz McComb both return to New Orleans to appear at the Jazz Fest. At 71, Lincoln stands alone as the most captivating vocalists in jazz today. Her delivery of her sometimes haunting, sometimes philosophical lyrics was totally hypnotizing; her timing was perfection. She lit up the crowed with her superb sense of dynamics on her well-known tune The Whole World Is Round that rose from a hush to a scream. Lincoln performs in the Jazz Tent on Sunday, May 5.

Vocalist and pianist Liz McComb, a Cleveland native and Paris resident, opened the concert performing in a traditional style, drawing from her inspiration, Mahalia Jackson. Down the line, McComb took off her shoes and got funky. By mid-set, this dynamo had the place rockin with a rousing Youve Got To Give It Up. McComb performs in the Gospel Tent on Friday, May 3.

UPCOMING

Theres no slowing down of the jazz scene during the post-French Quarter Festival and pre-Jazz Fest period. On Wednesday, April 17, the legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz, whose half-decade career includes work with such notables as Lennie Tristano, Miles Davis and Elvin Jones as well as heading his own ensembles, arrives to perform with students of the University of New Orleans (UNO) Jazz Studies program as part of the Sandbar Series. The altoist, known for his cool tones, teams with drummer Jason Marsalis and bassist Roland Guerin at the Snug Harbor on Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19.

Rajery, a master of the stringed bamboo harp known as the valiha, should feel at home among the UNO students for his April 23 Sandbar Series performance. One of the Madagascar natives many accomplishments is as an educator. On Wednesday Rajery brings his four-piece string and percussion ensemble to the campus and on Thursday the group heads to Snug Harbor.

In the liner notes of his new album, Dream Steppin, guitarist Mark Elf declares that a trio setting is his favorite format. On the disc released on his own Jen Bay Records, Elf bebops and swings with the aid of drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Neal Miner. The guitarist takes advantage of the legroom filling the space with his liquid clear lines and beefy chords on originals like the easy-grooving Griffs Riff and classics like Have You Met Miss Jones. The New York-based artist whose credits include sharing bandstands with organist Jimmy McGriff and our own Nicholas Payton again opts for a trio for his weekend stand at Sweet Lorraines on April 19 and 20 and kicks in at 10 p.m. and midnight with a local rhythm section.