2001 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
April 27th - May 6th

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 The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (NO&JH) which celebrated its 32nd anniversary this year also celebrated Louis Armstrong's 100th birthday is by far one of the best musical festivals any where on the planet earth. With two full weekends of music during the fess, and enough music during the days between the fess at the local record stores and clubs there's enough tunes to keep any music junkie on an adrenaline high.

 I arrived for the second weekend of the fess, it lasts four days versus three days for the first weekend, and immediately hop over to Kermit Ruffins new club in the Treme district. Kermit, who supposed to be there at 3 o'clock for a live broadcast on WWOZ (one of the best radio stations in the states), was delayed and still wasn't there after four, but no difference, on to the next happening scene. The Louisiana Music Factory, which features not only one of the best New Orleans CD collections but also feature's unbelievable live music during festival. A set of music by the Los Hombres Calientes and a couple of cold Abita beers, the local brew, and let the good times roll!

For our first night of entertainment, and let me tell you making a decision for the evening entertainment is no easy choice as there has to be ten must see's every night, but tonight it is a relatively easy one as Olu Dara is opening up for Femi Kuti at the House of Blues. Olu opens up with a laid-back world grove choosing his horn over his guitar for most of the night. He plays several tunes from his latest effort "Neighborhood", including "Herbman" a tune that is heard several times over the next couple days on WWOZ. As good as Olu was Femi and the band took it into the stratosphere. With a full band and three shake dancers, the lady dancers made me think of Bobby Rush's dancers and how close the ties between African music and the blues are, Femi began to tear the roof down. The crowd pored love onto the stage and Femi returned it tenfold. The band jammed on several tunes from Femi's latest CD "Skoki Shoki". When the band would get into a long groove it was the baritone sax players' responsibility to let out a short, but loud squank that would corral the players back into the song structures. Absolutely one of the best shows I have ever witnessed, what a way to start.

 Thursday, which is considered the slow day, still has enough music to keep us running. As always there's the gospel tent, the jazz tent, Congo Square and all the other stages. I catch Tab Benoit with the swamp master Tabby Thomas, Lucinda Williams, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Sonny Landreth, man that cat can play, and Lil Band of Gold which consists of C C Adcock, Warren Storm and Steve Riley, great swamp rock 'n' roll.

 Again the dreaded night time music decision and again it is an easy one. The great blues lap steel player Freddie Roulette is playing along with Toussaint McCall at the Circle Bar. The Circle Bar is the find on this year's trip. A tiny little place that featured some of the best classic blues, R&B and late night funk found anywhere in New Orleans. Its Freddie's birthday and he rips it up while Toussaint does his classic "Nothing Takes the Place of You", magical, just magical.

 Friday brings us Coco Robicheaux, who screams give me some "Louisiana Red Wine" then drinks from a large bottle of Tabasco, Wilson Pickett, of course he did "Mustang Sally", Sunpie Barnes, Rafual Neal and the Neal extended family, Paul Simon, who rocked, the Cajun master Bruce Daigrepont who did a wicked version of "Proud Mary", Sean Ardion 'n' Zydekool, the funkiest zydeco bands I catch that weekend, and southern soul great Willie Clayton.

 Friday night takes us to another new club Le Bon Temps Roule, where Theresa Anderson a violinist/vocalist is shaking it down. The club located uptown has no cover charge and there seems to be a good mix between locals and festers. Late night it's back to the Circle Bar where Freddie is playing again, and a late night (3 am) start for a cool funk band, Sugarman 3. We leave at 4 am and the place is still jumpin'! We now are burnin' the candle on both ends, but the saying goes "You can sleep when you die"!

 Saturday the fess brings Dave Matthews band to the large stage and the fess draws a record crowd of 160,000 people. Way to many people. I avoid that stage like the plague, but am still able to have a great day. Musically I catch Sonia Dada, a total surprise, they were very funky in a different way, Sansone, Krown, Fohl, who played some back porch blues, Los Babies, a merengue band that was tough as nails, the great slide player Deacon John, Othar Turner & the Rising Star and Fife & Drum Band, the Crown Seekers who tell the audience "the Devil is the boogieman" and Walter "Wolfman" Washington. Walter dressed in a red crushed velvet suit and a black and white zebra print hat is declared the best-dressed man at the festival. Its nighttime and the musical decision is a hard one. There's just so much to choose from that we base the decision on the club. The Mermaid Lounge wins, one of New Orleans funkiest joints. The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, Iris May Tango and All That are featured. The Klezmer Allstars tear it up, but Iris May Tango is the band find of the year. With some great jazz players they bring out a DJ and rapper and present some great live hip-hop. Killer groves and sites and another late night.

 The last day of the fest rolls around and the time is slipping away way too fast. It starts out with Ken "Afro" Williams, had to check him out with a nickname of "Afro", solid R&B. The day quickly deteriorates into music choices, Allen Toussaint or Big Joe Duskin, Earl King or Fats Domino, John Mooney or Ernie K Doe or Eddie Bo, The Wild Magnolias or The Neville Brothers or C J Chenier or Al Jarreau. That's the way it went all day, what to see and what to pass on and I didn't even mention the food decisions!

 One choice that is an easy one is making the decision to attend next year's festival.

(Dave Moskal)