Opening Day
Let’s hear it for Quint Davis and his merry band of festers. After enduring the chaos of the cancellation of headliners The Rolling Stones, the substitutes Fleetwood Mac; wrestling with refunds of old tickets and selling new ones; then juggling the whole festival schedule, heavy rains threatened opening day. Thousands of fans milled around in hotel lobbies checking their phones to find out when the gates would open, but even as the rain continued to beat down the staff started letting people in at 12:30.
—John Swenson
Taj Mahal
My day was made when the indefatigable Taj Mahal plowed into “Gonna Move to the Country and Paint My Mailbox Blue,” which I did (or at least to the Bywater). The Phantom Blues Band, led by Jon Cleary on keyboards, delivered that mail and some other great packages, like Horace Silver’s “Señor Blues,” and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ original version of “The Twist.”
—John Swenson
Zion Harmonizers
The Zion Harmonizers paid tribute to founder Sherman Washington, who died in 2011 and who was responsible for creating the whole Gospel Tent program from scratch. The five male vocalists and one woman vocalist wore snazzy grey sharkskin suits and the band was as tight as a drumhead as they ripped the place apart with “Leaning to the Lord,” and actually got the crowd shouting “I Love My Jesus.” But they went on to more pop-gospel material that really hit home, starting with “People Get Ready,” then a wild version of “If I Had a Hammer,” which went on for 15 minutes as two members of the band went out into the audience, shouting and walking through the crowd as everyone got their cell phone moment.
—John Swenson
Gumboot Dancers
The Gumboot Dancers are a fascinating dance troupe from South Africa. Backed by an acoustic guitar, fiddle, and keyboard, the group of ten men wearing the kind of boots that would be perfect for a wet day at the Fairgrounds, stomped and marched and stepped in syncopated unison while the fiddle keened behind them.
—Jay Mazza
Toussaint Tribute
The Tribute to Allen Toussaint demonstrated the fact that while Jazz Fest is communal, it is also personal. The Allen Toussaint Orchestra featured musicians who performed regularly with the legendary songwriter over the years including his son, Clarence. A parade of “very special guests” included musicians and singers who knew the pianist personally.
John Boutté sang “Lipstick Traces.” Davell Crawford was visibly moved as he worked through three Toussaint classics and remarked, “This is his legacy and his children up here.” Rita Coolidge, Jimmy Buffett, and Irma Thomas followed with a song each. Ivan Neville led a sing-along on “Yes We Can Can” before his uncle Aaron hushed the giant infield with a stellar rendition of “All These Things,” complete with the original horn arrangement.
—Jay Mazza
PJ Morton
At the Congo Square Stage, PJ Morton delighted an early afternoon crowd with renditions of his solo material and covers. “I’ve never played Jazz Fest this early,” he said before launching into “Sticking to My Guns,” from the album Gumbo. He took longtime fans back a few years with “New Orleans Girl,” which appeared on 2016’s Bounce & Soul, Vol. 1. The original version features Trombone Shorty, who wasn’t with PJ for this set. It didn’t matter. Morton’s band made up for the lack of horns, and then some.
New Orleans rapper Pell showed up to deliver his guest verse. His mic wasn’t functioning properly at the onset, but the adoring crowd took up the slack, rapping along. Morton really hit his stride when delivering a cover of his musical icon, Stevie Wonder. When “Higher Ground” started, all the folks who had been sitting got up and began dancing. It was clear Morton earned himself fans out of the people who had previously been unaware of his talent.
By the time the song was done, Mayor LaToya Cantrell was grooving along. Morton eventually ran through more of his own material, including “First Began,” “Go Through Your Phone,” and his take on the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love.”
—Amanda “Bonita” Mester
Let it Bleed
The Radiators cover songs in a way that many Fishheads feel are better than the originals. Granted, this is entirely subjective. But since their repertoire includes numerous songs by the Rolling Stones, there was considerable discussion, as fans waited for the band to take the stage, concerning whether any of those songs would be on the set list.
With a scant hour and ten minutes allotted, it seemed unlikely. So when the first notes of “Let It Bleed” sounded, a collective whoop went up. When they closed with “Sympathy for the Devil,” thousands of music lovers, including many who wished the Stones had played three days earlier, lustily sang along.
—Jay Mazza
Spencer Bohren
Spencer Bohren played an inspired set on Saturday morning, full of elegant musicianship and generosity of spirit. Acoustic blues is always his forte, but he threw in some stirring gospel (“Doing church a day early,” he noted). He ended the set with a strong rock ballad, “Making it Home to You” (his latest CD’s title track). His stage chat included a few references to the cancer he’s been fighting, but it was the positivity and musicality that came through. (Bohren also appeared later that morning in a reunion of loose-knit super-group the Write Brothers, one of the highlights in Paul Sanchez’s Rolling Road Show set).
—Brett Milano
Jason Marsalis
Most surprising cover of the first weekend had to come from Jason Marsalis, who’s moved back to drums after a few years concentrating on vibes. During a set of mostly-original new material, he unveiled a cover of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds track “You Still Believe in Me”—without doubt the first time one of Brian Wilson’s most sublime melodies has been reimagined as reggae.
—Brett Milano
Luther Kent
Thirty-two years ago at my first Jazz Fest, the barrel-chested baritone of Luther Kent was one of the New Orleans secrets that knocked me out. He was still in top form at Jazz Fest 50, storming through a classic set of blues and R&B at the Blues Tent powered by drummer Allyn Robinson, and a horn section that featured trombonist Jeff Albert. The classics just rolled out: “Cross Cut Saw,” “Just A Little Bit,” “Flip Flop and Fly,” “Let the Good Times Roll,” and a long second line rollout of “Hey Pocky Way.”
—John Swenson
Tom Jones
Tom Jones put on a headlining performance, delighting fans with classics like “Delilah,” “It’s Not Unusual,” “What’s New Pussycat,” and much more. For the reggae lovers, Ziggy Marley’s Congo Square Stage show was a must-see. The son of a global icon (Bob Marley, heard of him?), Ziggy reminded Jazz Fest that he’s a gifted musician in his own damn right.
—Amanda “Bonita” Mester
Diana Ross
With all the Rolling Stones talk going on, it seldom got mentioned that there was a ’60s group who had twice the number one hits the Stones did (12, to the Stones’ six), and their singer was alive and well at Jazz Fest. Yes, the Supremes were quite arguably the second-greatest group to exist in the ’60s, and the first half-hour of Diana Ross’ set was a beautiful run through their catalogue: seven songs (including the crucial “Stop in the Name of Love,” “Love Child,” and “Come See About Me”) that were played in full, not tossed off in medleys. This of course meant that the rest of her set was a bit of an anticlimax—the middle stretch was devoted to ’70s/’80s dance hits, the last section to ballads—but she sang well, though she had to compete with the loudly-miked backup singers. She also managed six costume changes in a 75 minute set, something not even matched when Lady Gaga played with Tony Bennett a few years back.
—Brett Milano
Closing Day
Jazz Fest wrapped up with one of its strongest days of music. The resilience of the culture really stood out as both big stages were packed with local artists: the Delfeayo Marsalis Big Band and John Boutté opened for Herbie Hancock at the Jazz Tent; soul music superstars Chaka Khan and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly rocked the Congo Square Stage; The Mavericks headlined the Fais Do Do Stage after a solid lineup of Cajun and Zydeco music; and Indians, brass bands and Boukman Eksperyans of Haiti kept the Heritage Stage packed with dancers all afternoon. The music comes with its own survival strategies to keep things growing even after 50 years and a lineup of ancestors longer than the list of current performers. Trombone Shorty of course brought the New Orleans family tradition into the 21st century with a triumphant fusion of the Andrews and Neville families to close out the festival. Indians show a remarkable ability to keep adapting their traditional chants and sacred songs into larger formats that embrace a lot more of the tradition. The Hardhead Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, resplendent in their colorfully feathered suits, use a woman vocalist and a funk rhythm section to take their music into different directions. Combining Indian chants and brass band rhythms with tuba-powered bass and powerhouse funk, they chanted “Clap Your Hands, Move Your Feet,” sounding like a New Orleans edition of P-Funk.
—John Swenson
