I’ve been going to the New Orleans Jazz Fest since the very beginning, when I heard Bob French’s dad leading this band, and one of the things that always bothers me is the certain knowledge that one of these years, Jazz Fest is going to be there but I won’t. If, however, I could manage to bring this LP along with me wherever I’m going—yeah, yeah, I know you can’t take it with you but you know what I mean—if I had this one along, I’d feel I had at least a fair sampling of what the New Orleans Jazz Fest means to me. No, there are no world famous rock stars here or modern giants out of places like New York or LA or even our local blues, or gospel greats. What is here is the kind of good solid jazz that cuts across most definable genres except to say it comes from New Orleans, played by some of our top of the line local musicians, inevitably joined by some younger talents working their way up through the ranks. And who could better represent that part of the formula than Troy Andrews, who may still play trombone as well as trumpet but who sure can’t be known as Trombone Shorty any more. The old pros (well, not THAT old) that Bob brought to his bandstand at Jazz Fest 2004 include pianist David Torkanowsky, nicely featured on “Sunny Side of the Street,”and trumpeter and flugelhornist Wendell Brunious, outstanding on “New Orleans.” But don’t let me forget Clarence Johnson III on reeds and Chris Severin on bass because everyone on this disc is doing a great job of doing what they do best. And let me sneak in special mention of vocalist Ellen Smith who for once got away without doing “You Got The Right Key But The Wrong Keyhole.” And how about everyone groovin’ away on the 14-minute opening medley and the seven-minute closer? Yeah, this is my idea of what Jazz Fest is all about. So hand me down that parasol, baby, and get out the way! We ready to roll!