No mere side acts

Jazz fest's big names will draw crowds, but smaller acts merit attention as well

By Eleanor Berman
TRAVEL ARTS SYNDICATE
Thursday, March 20, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — A fiddle, an accordion and a washboard may not sound like much of a musical ensemble, but put them in the hands of a great zydeco band and pretty soon everybody in the audience is up on their feet, clapping, swaying and ready to dance. In fact, they were dancing in the aisles for one of these bands at the "Fais Do-Do" stage, my first stop at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, one of the biggest jazz celebrations in the world.

Not even Hurricane Katrina could spoil this festival. Star musicians, determined that the fun must go on, came out in large numbers to ensure that the crowds would return, and Shell came through as sponsor. This year, with Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett, Stevie Wonder, the Neville Brothers, Elvis Costello, Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea and Santana on the bill, the 39th annual festival will be back for seven days for the first time since Katrina. The dates are April 25-27 and May 1-4.

Young and svelte, old and stout, dressed for the weather in shorts and T-shirts, everybody seemed to be having a wonderful time wherever I wandered at this giant party. When brass bands in glittery costumes paraded through the grounds, lots of fans gleefully fell in line behind the marchers. Even the crowds jammed together in front of the biggest stages seemed to be having fun, chatting and laughing while they waited for the next star to appear.

Zydeco, a Louisiana specialty, is just one of the many kinds of music played on a dozen stages ringing the 145-acre oval of the Fairgrounds Race Course, with sites strategically spaced and performances timed so as not to compete with their sounds. Rock, rap, reggae, blues, Cajun and zydeco, folk, funk, gospel, Dixieland and bluegrass, Afro-Caribbean, Latin, brass bands, dance clubs, Mardi Gras Indians, and, of course, jazz, from old time to new age, spark this event, which continues to lure the best musicians and thousands of fans to New Orleans each spring. Add the fabulous food and the displays of Louisiana heritage, including art and fine crafts, and one day isn't enough to take it all in.

The most famous names are scheduled on the big outdoor stages, and fans in the know come prepared with blankets, sun-tan lotion and shady hats in order to grab good seats early. But it's a mistake to focus only on headliners and spend too many hours waiting for them because so much of the pleasure comes from groups that are not yet famous. The music goes nonstop from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Sheraton Fais Do-Do stage is a must for the irresistible rhythms of bluegrass, Cajun and zydeco groups. Rockin' Dopsie & the Zydeco Twisters and Jeremy & the Zydeco Hot Boyz may not yet be familiar names, but groups like these often make the favorite memories of the day. African, Caribbean and Latino musicians perform on the Congo Square stage, and nearby booths offer African foods, art, clothing and musical instruments.

At the Louisiana Folklife Village, master artisans demonstrate basket weaving, woodcarving and boatbuilding, and the adjacent Louisiana Marketplace features work by both traditional and contemporary local artists.

Heritage Square is a showcase for the work of a wider range of contemporary crafters and is also home to large tents where gospel, blues and jazz performances are held. Tent seats are a nice respite when the Southern sun gets strong. The air-conditioned grandstand is another welcome retreat — a chance to see some of the smaller, more off-beat groups perform, to admire photo displays and often to get close to some of the performers who are taking a break and are happy to talk to their fans. Grandstand cooking demonstrations of local dishes like gumbo and crawfish étouffée are also interesting.

Food is one of the highlights of the festival. Around the food stands lining the back of the racetrack, the warm, spring air is scented with Creole stuffed bread, fried frog legs, oysters on the half shell, pecan catfish Meunière, pheasant, quail and andouille-sausage gumbo. Crawfish and shrimp, two Louisiana specialties, are each served more than a dozen ways. For a quick meal between sets, New Orleans sandwiches such as fried-oyster po' boys and muffulettas may be just the thing. Desserts such as peach cobbler and bread pudding with praline sauce are too good to pass up.

Food has been a feature of this festival since its first year in 1970. Held in Congo Square in the city's Armstrong Park, that year's roster of musicians included Duke Ellington, New Orleans legends like Pete Fountain, Al Hirt and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who returned to her home town for the event. When Jackson came upon the Eureka Brass Band parading through the square, she sang along with the band and joined the parade. Her spontaneous reaction set the joyous tone that has marked the event ever since.

Only about 350 people attended that year, but the word spread, and within two years the event had outgrown its first home and moved to the fairgrounds. As many as 100,000 have attended in peak years. Jazzfest has become a treasured tradition, one that seems even more important after Katrina made it clear that New Orleans can no longer be taken for granted. The first spring after Katrina, when the flooded fairgrounds were still being cleared of water less than three weeks from the starting date, top stars like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen came to show their support for the city and the nonprofit event.

Last year, 375,000 fans were on the grounds, a crowd that is manageable because it is dispersed among so many venues. The food choices have also grown, from 20 vendors that first year to dozens of food stands today.

The good food, like the music, doesn't end at sunset. New Orleans' restaurants remain among America's best, and the sounds of jazz pour out the doors of dozens of clubs on Bourbon Street and all over town into the wee hours of the morning.

It's that great combination of good food and good music that turns New Orleans into a round-the-clock party town every spring.