Big fun in the 'Big Easy'

New Orleans jazzes up again

More than half-a-million people attended the 2000 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

In this story: ... and then there's the food RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Helyn Trickey
CNN

(CNN) -- Louis Armstrong got a king's welcome when he returned to his hometown in 1931. The young man with the big sound had gone away to Chicago, way up in Illinois, and spent nine years blowing hot, sweet notes through his trumpet.

His return to New Orleans was a party. In a Lousiana city that prides itself on merrymaking, Satchmo's homecoming was an event. So was his death in 1971.

Were he alive today, Armstrong would be 100. It's no surprise, then, that the 2001 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is honoring the centenary of Armstrong's birth by sponsoring a pavilion featuring exhibits and discussions commemorating his life.

QUICK FACTS WHAT: 2001 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival WHEN: Friday through Sunday, April 27-29 and Thursday through Sunday, May 3-6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: New Orleans (The Heritage Fair takes place at the Fair Grounds Race Course, about 10 minutes from the French Quarter) HOW MUCH: Ticket prices are $15.00 (advance), $20.00 (gate) for all-day admission   RESOURCE Read more about this year's Jazz Festival

B.B. King, Paul Simon, Fats Domino, The Neville Brothers, Ziggy Marley, Dave Matthews Band, Wilson Pickett, Widespread Panic, and many more local musicians will perform this year.

For music fans, the festival is a universe of sound, encompassed in a small space.

"It's just so many people," says Ellis Marsalis, professor and director of jazz studies at the University of New Orleans. "I've been there (the festival) since the beginning."

"Well ... I may have missed one," he concedes, "but other than that ..." What makes this festival unique is that it emphasizes heritage, says Marsalis, patriarch of the famous musical family featuring Branford, Wynton and Delfeayo.

"You have zydeco, rock, blues, and they have a gospel tent which features local gospel singers," he says. "The Mahogany Hall features mostly the traditional and early jazz."

Bongo Joe, left, with Dizzy Gillespie, right, 1970. Photos courtesy of Michael P. Smith

Indeed, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is a gumbo of musical traditions and a great place for young musicians to see how musical styles meld together to influence today's sounds, Marsalis says.

Last year, more than a half-million people crowded into the mid-city fairgrounds to sop up the sights and sounds like so much shrimp etouffee.

"With Mardi Gras, you get a lot of tourists and they leave the place as if a bomb went off," says Isaac Colunga, 25, a music fan who has been flocking to the fest for about eight years from Chicago. "But during jazz fest the locals and the tourists just get along. The attitude is great. Everything is just a good time."

Everything can get a bit confusing, too. Navigating more than 10 different stages, plus all the food vendors, and arts-and-crafts booths can be a challenge, festival-goers say.

"You have to remember that it is sweltering hot out there. If you are a first-timer, take an umbrella or something to give you shade," advises Colunga.

In addition, say festival veterans, it's important to drink lots of water, bring a blanket or folding chair and dress comfortably -- not necessarily fashionably.

And get ready to party.

"I notice a lot of tourists will go down there and just camp out on the main stage, and they don't get a taste of all the local music.

You really have to be on your feet," says Colunga. "Check out the jazz fest schedule, and then plot out your course."

Marsalis has already given his route some thought.

"I always like to catch the Neville Brothers there, and Fats Domino too," he says. "Of course, Max Roach is a perennial favorite."

And Colunga? "This year I wouldn't miss BB King. That old man is amazing," he says. "I wouldn't miss Paul Simon, either."

Colunga also favors the local pared down brass bands made up of tubas, trombones and trumpets.

... and then there's the food

Revelers enjoy the variety of food available as much as the music

"When people come to New Orleans they expect great music and great food," says Jan Ramsey, 50, publisher and editor-and-chief of Offbeat Magazine, a monthly publication about the New Orleans' music industry.

She craves soft-shell crab po'boys (the Big Easy version of the big hero) and crawfish bread, which is something like a calzone with cheese and crawfish.

"It's stellar," she says. "It's not like you can't get them elsewhere but everything tastes better at the jazz fest."

Marsalis readily admits his festival trips are nearly as much about eating as listening. He likes to do a lot of both, even though his wife has lectured him about the sins of gluttony.

Marsalis listens to her, but says he's occasionally slipped. He particularly recalls one vendor who sold pies he couldn't resist.

"He would sell his potato pies and apple pies at the festival," he recalls, hunger in his voice. "Of course I was younger then, and now I kind of have to watch it."

But listening cannot hurt, and the festival offers plenty.

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The Official Home of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
OffBeat Magazine: New Orleans and Louisianna Music
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation

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