Many of the bands visiting Jazz Fest from Colombia have blended traditional sounds, like salsa and cumbia, with contemporary, global sounds, especially electronic and hip-hop beats and more. The Colombian bands performing Saturday hit a range of styles, from Afro-Caribbean percussion to Carnival music and the rural joropo of Cimarron.
Those were some of the highlights on a day with plenty to choose from around the grounds, from traditional jazz to DJ sets.
Rhiannon Giddens packed the Blues Tent for her unique blend of Americana, stretching from bluegrass to Cajun and folk, and beyond. She rose to notoriety in the Carolina Chocolate Drops, but her solo career has been stellar. She won a Pulitzer Prize last year for the opera "Omar," and she previously won a MacArthur genius grant.
In the Blues Tent, she shared the stage with Acadiana musician Dirk Powell, who she’s worked with before, and he played violin, guitar, banjo, accordion and keyboards during the set. They sang a Cajun French duet, with her on violin early in the set. There was no better example of the diverse sounds and magic the band strikes than a song introduced by Giddens partner, Italian keyboardist and accordionist Francesco Turrisi, who started talking about song’s root in northern Brazil. On Banjo, Ghiddens jumped in with some bluegrass picking, and then Powell and Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu joined in, rounding out a grooving tune. Giddens switched between banjo and violin throughout the set, but she also showed she’s quite good at scatting, which she did in several songs.
They played “The Love We Almost Had,” “Come Love Come,“ “We Can Fly,” and “You Louisiana Man,” a mix love songs and storytelling songs involving the history of slavery and the struggle for freedom, with many from her 2017 album “Freedom Highway.”
Giddens brought the tent to a standstill talking about “Another Wasted Life.” The song is about Kalief Browder, a young Black man who died by suicide after being held at New York’s Rikers Island for years without trial, much of it in solitary confinement. The performance featured a rapper sharing vocals with Giddens, often singing at the same time as her voice soared above his. Much of the crowd rose to their feet in applause.
New Orleans rappers Hotboy Ronald and Alfred Banks kicked off the festivities on the Congo Square stage, splitting the opening slot between them.
It was an interesting snapshot of New Orleans hip-hop culture, with Hotboy Ronald repping an old-school rap style and bounce, while Banks comes from the newer underground end of the hip-hop spectrum.
Banks, playing his first solo Jazz Fest set, brought an emotional energy to his set. Despite their early position — which can be a death sentence particularly for hip hop acts at Jazz Fest — they duo turned out a sizable crowd, and they both fed off that energy.
Antwigidee! made a strong case for the festival finally doing something with the downtime between bands and bring in DJs as daily hosts on the big stages. Antwigidee! is one of New Orleans best DJs, particularly when it comes to partying. He’s got tons of energy and a deep catalogue of music, and Saturday masterfully played an eclectic mix of classics like DJ Jubilee’s “Get Ready Ready,” Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” and Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” — keeping the crowd grooving and partying as the crew set up for the next band.
He even brought his momma out on stage and led the crowd in singing her happy birthday before dropping the bounce remix of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday.”
It’s not every day you find someone who can be that wholesome while making a couple thousand people p pop.
Colombian guitarist Lucio Feuillet records both solo singer/songwriter material and leads a full band. He started the day on the Gentilly Stage with the band, and they delivered a diverse set.
Feuillet may roll the R’s in rock and roll more than anyone, and his 10-piece band has their own unique sound, sometimes with dual clarinetists in addition to a full horn section, plus keyboards and two percussionists, neither on a full drum kit. At times, the band sticks to Latin beats, and sometimes sounds like it’s going to dip into German oompah music or martial music, or the keyboardists will add psychedelic flourishes and recorded tracks.
Feuillet also did a couple solo ballads, but the full band lineup is really about Colombian Carnival music, complete with a dancer in brilliantly colored costumes.
In the Cultural Exchange Pavilion, Matachinde also performed in colorful costumes. The group features six male percussionists on various drums and marimba. All the men wore streamers of all colors hanging from their clothes, and palm leaves around their necks. The four women wore long flowing white dresses, all with colorful ruffled fringe. Their music combines Afro-Caribbean polyrhythms and mostly group singing and chanting. There also are some Carnival-like rituals with colorful masks, and it was an energetic set.
Also in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion was Cimarron, which focuses on joropo, a traditional music from the plains of Colombia and Venezuela. The band features a harp, cuatro guitars, stand-up bass and a drummer, and at times with its furious string picking and foot stomping, it can seem like a style related to Spanish flamenco.
Cimarron also has a theatricality to it. Singer Ana Veydo came out in various outfits, from a black cowboy hat and gold dress to a red dress with a bull horn headdress. In the most dramatic song, she came out with a long red lace shawl covering much of her body and sang solo. She was flanked by two band members holding antlers, also under sheer red coverings, suggesting something like a hunting or bullfighting tragedy.
In Economy Hall, trumpeter and cornetist Gregg Stafford and His Jazz Hounds gave an eager crowd a "good taste of New Orleans jazz." Backed by a trombone, clarinet, upright bass, piano, banjo and guitar, 70-year-old Stafford joked with the mostly older crowd, and dedicated songs to a variety of people in his life, ranging from a friend of his who is currently hospitalized, "all the people who are no longer with us," and of course, "everybody in the house."
Before launching into "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home," Stafford told the crowd, "This is my version of Danny Barker's version," referencing his late mentor.
Gambit recaps the last day of Jazz Fest 2024.
Adding to the lively atmosphere was a small group of older jazz fans (and presumably a young grandson) who second-lined throughout the entire set, enthusiastically waving umbrellas and circling around the tent. Stafford played a host of classics, including Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World." For that, he improvised with some new lyrics. "Sometimes people are too political ...husbands running around at night ... wives spending all their men's credit cards...but still, what a wonderful world," he sang, in a voice that at times sounded like Satchmo's. He ended the set with "Bourbon Street Parade" as audience members got up for a standing ovation before, appropriately, second-lining out of the tent. As one self-described superfan put it, "This is some real New Orleans magic, baby."
At the Lagniappe Stage, Kristin Diable and The City serenaded a younger crowd of fans. The Baton Rouge native has been a force on the New Orleans music scene for years, with a flair for introspective and philosophical songwriting and her powerful, rich voice that seems to especially resonate with fellow millennials who have, like Diable, been through some serious heartache.
Diable characteristically incorporated a blend of styles into her performance. There was pop, blues, country and jazz. She performed 2012's "True and Natural Man" in addition to several songs from her impressive 2015 record "Create Your Own Mythology" record, like "Hold Steady," and "True Devotion" and of course, also offered up some new material she's been working on.
Ann Savoy also performed at the Lagniappe Stage, presenting new material from "Another Heart," an album released just a few weeks ago. Blending Americana, folk and Cajun traditions, Savoy is a dynamic performer, who is also a skilled writer and historian. Her new album includes covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen, The Kinks and Donovan. Througout her set, Savoy shared stories with the crowd, including a memory of her first time in New Orleans. "The first time I saw New Orleans, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven," she said.
Gambit will be out each day of the fest to capture all of the music, food and sights.
