And on the fifth day, Jazz Fest created… crowds.
It took a week to get off the ground, but Jazz Fest 48 was flying high Friday. The place was packed on Cinco de Mayo under a sunny sky with cool temperature and a stiff breeze that continued to dry out the rain soaked infield.
For me it was one of those Jazz Fest days where I kept running into old friends and getting sidetracked. As a result my observations are sketchy.
Anders Osborne. Photo by Elsa Hahne.
Plus side: A friend wanted to meet at William Bell. It was as good as it gets, a Stax classic straight out of the Isaac Hayes days. The band was tight and the arrangements superb. Bell is a great singer who has lost nothing from his heyday.
“I’m back on Stax, 40 years later,” said Bell, looking suave 70s in a silver Mylar suit. He introduced his classic “You Don’t Miss Your Water” with a shout out to New Orleans: “This city was the first city where the song was Number One.”
Bell played several other classics, a couple from his new album “This is Where I Live” and closed with “Born Under a Bad Sign.”
Minus side: I ran into some other great friends and drifted over to Wilco, which I found very disappointing. They overloaded the sound system to distortion level. But I had a great time with my friends.
My original plan was to hang at the Lagniappe stage, where I enjoyed Leyla McCalla’s set and sitting in stall 5 at the paddock listening to The Deslondes easygoing Holy Cross groove. That’s when I ran into my friends.
More plus: There’s always something wonderful when you least expect it. Walking away from a truly mediocre national act on the Gentilly stage I peeked into the kids tent and there was James Singleton playing a gorgeous bass solo. He was playing with David & Roselyn, who were positively joyous. “We used to sell our cassette tapes off the stage to make money,” said Roselyn by way of reminding the crowd how long they’ve been playing Jazz Fest.
