It’s pretty late as I write this: I’ve been working since eight this morning (it’s almost 10 p.m. now) on OffBeat’s most important issue of the year—and it’s all, oh-devoted-to-our-music-beloved readers, for you.

So much has happened since OffBeat first started some 14 years ago. The Jazz Fest has grown to be the biggest and best music festival of its kind in the world; local musicians have a lot more venues in which to play; the Internet has changed the way we find, buy and listen to music; three major record stores have opened in New Orleans. I could go on and on. A lot has changed, but as they say in New Orleans: the more things change, the more they stay the same. The music’s still great, the absolute best in the world.

This issue, which has about twice as many pages as usual, allows us to publish more about local music than any other issue. And there’s more, so much more we could write about every month. There is an endless stream of great music emanating from Louisiana. I hope you get to experience as much as you possibly can during Jazz Fest. Love the Fest, love the musicians, love the clubs, love New Orleans. Come back for more, any old time.

In choosing our Jazz Fest covers, we like to honor musicians who have made a real contribution to local music. With this issue, we honor Fess: Henry Roeland Byrd, Professor Longhair, who is included as a “Louisiana Music Master” this month. Fess will once again will grace the Jazz Fest with his spiritual presence, and we’ve been told by Festival Productions that Fess’ image will once again reign over the Fest at the Acura stage (his image was removed last year). Fess represents the musical spirit of Jazz Fest, and so we honor him on both of our Fest issue covers this year and his “return” to the Fest.

We also honor one of New Orleans’ great photographers who has documented Jazz Fest from its very beginnings: Michael P. Smith (both cover photos were made by him; see more of his photographs on page 88). The photo on our free edition was cropped from an original shot that was made by Smith of Fess and Robert Plant in 1973 (cool, huh?).

The Jazz Fest has also rightfully decided to honor the late Allison Miner by naming the Musical Heritage stage in her honor. If anyone represented the spirit and value and love for local music and musicians, it was Allison Miner. Check out the stage in the Grandstand; it’s always been one of our favorites.

SATCHMO RULES

The Jazz Fest honors the centennial of Louis Armstrong’s birth this year, with performances, the official poster and a special section of the Fest devoted just to Armstrong.

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra honors Armstrong too, with a tribute on Wednesday, May 2, entitled “Satchmo and the Symphony,” that will combine music, words and images to demonstrate the influences that the young Louis Armstrong absorbed in his formative years, including classical music. The LPO presentation is a multi-media work written by Bruce Raeburn, of the William Ransom Hogan Jazz Archives, and two other historians. Dr. Michael White and his band will perform, along with singer Thais Clark, Afro-Cuban drummer Luther Gray and Shakespearean actor Tony Molina. The one-time performance is at 8 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts. Call (504) 523-6530 for ticket information.

Continuing with the centennial celebration of Louis Armstrong that’s the theme of this year’s Jazz Fest, on August 4 and 5, the Satchmo Summerfest will celebrate the anniversary of Armstrong’s birth with a festival celebrating his music and legacy, with a good soupçon of food, crafts and the other things that make us the “festival capital of the world,” thrown in for good measure. Concerts, children’s activities and a pub crawl are just a part of the festivities. Contact French Quarter Festivals, the Satchmo Summerfest organizer, at 504-522-5730 or at frenchquarterfestivals.org for more info on events and hotel availability.

The University of New Orleans will also participate in the Satchmo activities with an academic symposium devoted to Armstrong’s life, historical influences, music and more. The symposium will begin on August 2, with the bulk of the symposium taking place at the Old Mint (the site of the Summerfest as well) on August 4.

See www.uno.edu/armstrong for more info on the conference.

UNO’s School of Jazz Studies will present a fund-raising—and historical—concert on Saturday, August 4 at the UNO Kiefer Area, with the entire Marsalis family (patriarch Ellis, and sons Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason) performing, along with Harry Connick, Jr., and his orchestra, with some surprise special guests expected. Expected to draw nearly 5,000 jazz fans, the event will be the first time that musicians Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason Marsalis along with Harry Connick, Jr., have all appeared on-stage with Ellis at the same time. Proceeds from the concert will be used to endow the Jazz Studies Program at the University of New Orleans in Ellis Marsalis’ name. General admission tickets to the Satchmo to Marsalis concert are $100 each and will go on sale May 15, 2001 through Ticketmaster. Advance patron tickets are $250, and sponsorships are available and can be secured by calling (504) 280-7410.

OUTSIDE THE FEST GATES…

For those of you who are interested in a less-crowded and more creative musical environment, check out the first annual Zeitgeist Creative Music Festival from Friday April 27 through Sunday May 6. The fest will include many musicians who were not booked at this year’s Jazz Fest, including Joe Krown, Michael Ray & The Cosmic Krewe, Afroskull, The Naked Orchestra, and many more. A highlight of the event is the “Children of The Sun: A Tribute To Sun Ra,” which will bring together former members of the Sun Ra Arkestra. And tickets are only a “$5 minimum donation!” The festival will take place at the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center at 1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. (formerly Dryades) and Felicity. Call (504) 525-2767 for more information or check out www.crosswinds.net/~zte.

This magazine, which we hope you enjoy, would not be possible without the very hard work of our staff members, writers and distribution staff. So this is a public thank you from me to them for their devotion to the local music scene, and for helping make this magazine vision (sometimes it’s a nightmare!) into a reality. Thanks everybody!

One more thing: a few weeks ago we were emailed by one of our subscribers who had a special question that he wanted to pose to someone very important to him. He’s made that query in this issue—and y’all have a very, very happy time at the Jazz Fest and in your lifetime together!