I don't know if you know this, but it freaking RAINS in New Orleans. And as much of the city is below sea level, when it rains, it floods. We forded our (rental) car through some major water on our way down ... and while we freaked out, local residents did not bat an eye. This is all to set up our rainy Sunday spent at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
But first, though it had rained heavily the day before and the ground was quite soggy, we arrived to sunny skies and stopped in the gospel tent to hear Paulette Wright & Volume of Praise. The ensemble was dressed radiantly all in white, and from their volume (ha!) it sounded like there were far more people on stage than there actually were: Ten singers plus a small backing band. They were joyous and fun. We sat for one song to churchify the start to our adventure, but on the way out, they started in on "Tell Me Something Good," and we had to go back. I don't think the Rufus and Chaka version was talking about Jesus, though. But with a little tweaking, it actually works well as a song of praise.
When we finished up there, we headed across the hot concrete to catch Mamadou Diabate -- a man with a group hailing from Mali in west Africa and Brooklyn -- in the blues tent. Even their warm up was fun and bouncy. Diabate plays the kora, a traditional west African instrument that looks like a giant sitar mated with a gourd (also, the drummer played something that looked like a nerf ball). The music was largely instrumental, although there were a few songs with lyrics, both in French and English.
Not that I've ever seen anyone play this instrument before, but Diabate wailed on the kora. His virtuoso fingers danced over the strings and he's obviously a master of the instrument. The music was both challenging and soothing, structured like jazz, with a main beat giving way to each band member's solo. While the structure of the music is complex and rhythmically intense, the melody just washes over you. It was cool.
It was during this set that the storm clouds gathered and let loose. We were under a tent, so it was mostly alright, although at a certain point, the water crept up under the tent and covered the ground (up to about half an inch). It was the last time my shoes would be dry all day.
more after the jump...
We braved the rain, bought cheap ponchos and caught the end of a set by Davell Crawford. Cool New Orleans jazz.
Next up was Elvis Costello and Alain Toussaint. The pair has been working together since Katrina, and it's been a very fruitful collaboration. They have a great chemistry between the two of them, and very easily slip from genre to genre together, creating something new and exciting.
Costello came out with "Peace, Love and Understanding." He's no longer the skinny, dorky kid he was when he wrote that song, but he still can play. By this time the rain had let up a little, so we were all dancing out in the open air. It was a fun set.
They were backed by a strong horn section and walked the line between rock and jazz. Costello and Toussaint shared the mic and they switched between their separate catalogs like the were born singing each other's music.
We left Elvis early, however to go see Al Green. There was a bit of a hold up to the start of his set, but then, promising a night of magical entertainment, Al Green emerged, bearing roses. Let me tell you, that man is a ham, in the best way possible. Green threw roses to the ladies in the audience throughout the set, smiling it up and dancing like a goof. His voice has really held up, too. He hit those high notes like they were nothing.
His set was really as much a Performance as a concert. There's a lot of hyping of the crowd and waggling around the stage. He had the support of some really talented singers, who were actually handling the bulk of the vocals while Green strutted around the stage. Which is not to say he wouldn't pull out some amazing vocal pyrotechnics himself.
As a TKO, he pulled out "Amazing Grace," "Let's Stay Together" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." And we were done. He wasn't done, but we had been wandering around wet and muddy for hours, so it was time for us to call it quits on an amazing day.
You should have been there.
eh.www.amNY.com