New Orleans Jazz festival

[Adam]

Well, a couple made it in.

Fats Domino, Dylan to Headline Jazz Fest

By CHEVEL JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS - Fats Domino, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon will join Keith Urban and Yolanda Adams at this year's New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as it celebrates this city's music and culture in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Festival organizers on Wednesday announced a lineup filled with hundreds of the city's most famous musicians, many of whom are seasoned performers at the festival. The event is being billed as a homecoming for many musicians.

"The true heart and soul of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, as with New Orleans itself, is music," said Quint Davis, the festival producer. "It's the force that drives and defines us. It's not just for entertainment, but it feeds our soul."

Many other big acts will grace the festival, such as the Dave Matthews Band, Lionel Richie and Jimmy Buffet.

The festival is scheduled to take place April 28-30 and May 5-7. As usual, it will be held at the New Orleans Fair Grounds, a horse racing track that flooded and was seriously damaged by the storm.

Irma Thomas, New Orleans' acclaimed soul singer, encouraged displaced New Orleanians to attend. "Find a way to come back home because this is where your heart is," she said.

The festival will feature, as always, many of Louisiana's favorite musicians. They include blues guitarist Walter "Wolfman" Washington, singers Charmaine Neville and Clarence "Frogman" Henry, clarinetist Michael White, voodoo rocker Dr. John, pianist Allen Toussaint, the Rebirth Brass Band, clarinetist Pete Fountain, singer Marcia Ball and the Dixie Cups.

The festival was born in 1970 and has grown into one of this city's biggest annual events along with Mardi Gras.

[Spontooneous]

There's a fuller listing of artists on the festival web site.

The site is nojazzfest.com. The name tells you what you need to know.

[Jim Alfredson]

Most jazz festivals these days are going away from jazz and incorporating more styles. Why they keep calling them jazz festivals and not just music festivals is beyond me, but whatever works.

[kenny weir]

I don't what they're calling themselves these days, but it's always officially been known as the New Orleans Jazz AND Heritage Festival.

As someone who has attended it many times, I'm not in favour of the likes of Paul Simon and so on getting a gig, but it should be noted that it has never been billed simply as a jazz festival - the likes of Fats, zydeco, cajun, Mardi Gras indians have always been integral to the festival.

Edited February 16, 2006 by kenny weir

[Stereojack]

I don't what they're calling themselves these days, but it's always officially been known as the New Orleans Jazz AND Heritage Festival.

As someone who has attended it many times, I'm not in favour of the likes of Paul Simon and so on getting a gig, but it should be noted that it has never been billed simply as a jazz festival - the likes of Fats, zydeco, cajun, Mardi Gras indians have always been integral to the festival.

I attended the Festival four times in the years 1979-1989, and there was always a strong jazz presence, with at least one stage devoted exclusively to jazz, both traditional and modern. Aside from the many fine local jazz artists who played, I saw Sonny Stitt, Art Blakey, Sam Rivers, to name three. I remember a group that was under George Wein's leadership that included Warren Vache, Scott Hamilton, and Harold Ashby (who blew everybody away).

[LWayne]

While I ave attended each of the past 13 consecutive JazzFests, my streak will probably come to an end this year. It has become much harder to book flights and hotels post-Katrina without getting gouged, and this year's lineup of true jazz acts is the worst that I can recall.

While I do enjoy catching other types of music-zydeco, Cajun, R&B, etc.-I have always attended because of the lure of top-flight international and national jazz acts.

Given that the festival has been eroding in recent years, and has been transforming into a true "Music" festival, this year's lineup is obviously geared towards attracting a wider-ranging audience and boosting attendance in the wake of corporate sponsorship.

What a shame. Hope that JazzFest is not going the way of the DoDo..extinction, baby!

LWayne