Some JazzFest recommendations for Day 3 Sunday May 1

Lil Buck Sinegal

This is the final in my list of recommended shows for the first week of JazzFest, which is the weekend I am attending. I should mention that for those outside of New Orleans, WWOZ (wwoz.org) broadcasts selected concerts from the Festival and Monday May 1, they hold their annual Piano Night Fundraiser at the House of Blues, which is also broadcast.


11:15 AM in the Gospel Tent - Jo “Cool” Davis with guest James “Sugarboy” Crawford. The Gospel Tent features many great performers. Jo ‘Cool’ Davis is a singer that will suggest Bobby Bland for fans of blues and rhythm’n’blues, Special guest is James ‘Sugarboy’ Crawford, who led the cane Cutters and had a major hit with Jock-A-Mo, which folks may know as Iko-Iko. Crawford has given up secular music to sing gospel.

Luther Kent

12:20PM in the Blues Tent - Lil Buck Sinegal. After leading Lil Buck and the Gold Tops which included organist Stanley ‘Buckwheat Zydeco’ Dural, he played fort a number of years with zydeco king Clifton Chenier. A fine blues singer and guitarist, he is part of Buckwheat Zydeco’s band today. Its always a treat to see him play on his own.


12:30PM in the Jazz Tent - Jazz & Blues feat. Luther Kent, Phillip Manuel, and Big Al Carson. An intriguing appearnace together on stage of Bourbon Street staple, Big Al Carson; blues belter Luther Kent who once fronted Blood Sweat and Tears; and the smooth jazz vocal style of Manuel promises some musical fireworks.

Frankie Ford

12:50PM on the Gentilly Stage. Classic New Orleans Revue with Frankie Ford, Jean Knight and others. With the Blue Eyed Soul Band, Ford, who rocked the world with Sea Cruise for Ace Records in the 1950s and Knight, who had a smash hit with Mr. Big Stuff lead a revue to take folks back to the heydays of New Orleans rhythm and blues.

Tom McDermott and Evan Christopher

2:00PM at the Lagniappe Stage - Tom McDermott and Evan Christopher. McDermott is a marvelous pianist who can rag a Bach composition, make you think he studied under Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton as well as mesmerize you with his interpretations of Brazilian choros. Evan Christopher is a Jazz Journalists Association finalist for Jazz Clarinetist. He is rooted in the New Orleans clarinet tradition but also will play in a gypsy jazz context interpreting Ornette Coleman. He and McDermott make magic together when they are paired like at this set.

Deacon John at 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

3:00PM at the Gentilly Stage. Deacon John. Once a studio regular who grew up with music on the streets and in his home, Deacon John Moore can croon a standard with silky smoothness as well as revive an old The Spiders' classic I Didn't Want to Do It, or play slide guitar and revive Elmore James' Happy Home. A consummate entertainer, superb musican and singer, Deacon John always has tight bands that can jump an older Roy Brown classic as well as rework vintage B.B. King. His annual JazzFest performances are a treat. For recordings, sample Deacon John's Jump Blues. 

Red Baraat

5:55PM on the Jazz & Heritage Stage - Red Baraat. Led by Sunny Jain on the d’hol, hand held drum, Red Baraat superficially might be called Bollywood meets Bourbon Street, but in addition to the infectious grooves built upon Punjabi songs there is some strong solos. In addition to the leader, pay attention to the brilliant trumpeter, Sonny Singh and Mike Bomwell’s baritone sax. I have seen them at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and recently at the Kennedy Center, and I look forward to their joyous music with plenty of heart but also substance. 

Some Outstanding 2010 Releases That Are Neither Blues Or Jazz

My final list of outstanding releases. These are recordings that don't fall with the rubric of blues and/or jazz.

Deke Dickerson Live at Duff’s Major Label/ Hep 400. A record for guitar freaks. “Plenty of country swing and twang with some jazz and blues accents added, like James Burton meets Duane Eddy with other genre hopping just like the backing band of the Modern Sounds whose approach may be rooted more in jazz and swing traditions, but provides a thoroughly compatible and sympathetic backing …”

Johnny Moeller BlooGaLoo (Severn). Presently guitarist with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Moeller “has been turning heads with his raw, soul-funk blues guitar playing that comes across as a wild blend of Freddie King, Jimmy Nolan, John Lee Hooker and Frankie Lee Sims. … Fans of raunchy blues guitar mixed with heavy doses of funk, and rock’n’roll will certainly find this latest effort by Johnny Moeller much to their taste.”

Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers Up In Flames (self-produced). Accordion playing son of Rockin’ Dopsie, this is exciting zydeco in vein of the legendary Clifton Chenier. About the Zydeco Hellraisers I wrote, “Rhythmically they are tight and in addition to Dopsie’s accordion playing, saxophonist may be as good as sax player in an zydeco band I have heard since Blind John Hart was with Clifton Chenier and Rockin’ Dopsie.”

Ensemble Fatien Seguenon Presents Ensemble Fatien (Threadhead Records). I had the pleasure of seeing this marvelous african-jazz ensemble that includes Jason Marsalis on vibrophones, Margie Perez on vocals and Dr. Michael White on clarinet at the 2009 Jazz and Heritage Festival. This album captures the lively and enticing music of that performance.

Red Baraat Chaal Baby (Sinj Records). Led by Sunny Jain, Red Baraat is a brass band based in the music of the Indian subcontinent with a fresh take on the modern brass band.

Derek Trucks Band Roadsongs (Sony). The Derek Trucks is often labelled as a blues band which does not credit the originality of their music enough. As vocalist Mike Mattison states about the Trucks Band, “This was a multi-generational, multi-cultural, and above all, live band.” The music here ranges “from the bluesy “I’ll Find My Way,” and “Down in the Flood,” from Bob Dylan’s songbook; reggae with a gospel tinge on “Sailin’ On,” as a homage to John Coltrane on the Mongo Santamaria classic “Afro-Blues”…”