If you’re heading down to Frenchmen Street this week….Let’s face it, you’re probably there already. Which means you’ve likely happened on the very cool set of photos being displayed there, with notable musicians holding their instruments where their heads should be. This pop-up exhibit “InstrumentHead“, which will be at the Art Market on Frenchmen daily from 7pm until late, is the work of world-class music photographer Michael Weintrob. His idea was to blur the line between the artists and their art—or to show, in his words, “where their head’s really at.” As he explains on his website, “I decided to place their instruments in front of their faces in an attempt to blur the boundaries between each individual personality and the tools of their trade… When I began to really think about these intriguing, larger-than-life characters for whom music is seemingly just as important as air, I thought that “Where their head’s really at’ summed up the whole idea perfectly.”

One surprise in Weintrob’s portraits is how recognizable the musicians are, even with their heads obscured. Look at the wiry gent with a captain’s hat perched atop a Treme bass drum, and there’s no doubt that it’s Uncle Lionel Batiste. Ditto Monk Boudreaux, in full Indian regalia with the tambourine covering his head. Others are more surprising, like the affable Bill Summers in warrior guise, Viking horns atop his head and a bloodied sword in his hand.

Bill Summers in warrior guise.

Other local heroes in the exhibit include Cyril Neville, George Porter Jr. and Big Chief Donald Harrison.

The exhibit is open for free nightly during Jazz Fest, at the Art Market on 619 Frenchmen (across from dba). And from now through the weekend there will also be live music at the gallery. The schedule is:

Thursday: High & Mighty Brass Band 9pm

Friday:: Leyla McCalla 8pm, High & Mighty Brass Band 9pm

Saturday: SunDog 8pm, High & Mighty Brass Band 10pm

Sunday: Single Atom Theory 8pm, High & Mighty Brass Band 9pm