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After a three-year hiatus because of COVID-related cancellations, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival returned this year for its 51st edition, featuring 600 acts spread across two weekends in April and May. And like New Orleans food, it was all good. Many of this year’s performers will be headed to the Boston area this summer. Here’s a sample what I saw and heard from some of them:
Many of the best bass players in NOLA wield sousaphones, not guitars, like Kirk Joseph of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The group led a tribute to late NOLA great Dave Bartholomew, one of many tribute sets at his year’s Fest. Formed 45 years ago, the Dirty Dozen are granddaddies of the brass band resurgence of the last few decades. Their expansive jams and grooves, as sprightly and vital as ever, took the tribute through classics including “Right Place, Wrong Time,” Saturday Morning,” and “Hey Pocky A-Way.” They were joined by Al “Lil Fats” Jackson and Elvis Costello, who sang his heart out. (Plymouth Memorial Hall, June 19)
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The guitar windmills were toned down, half the original group is gone, the other half — Peter Townshend and Roger Daltrey — is well into their 70s. But The Who still sounded like The Who, with Zak Starkey on drums, Pete’s brother Simon on guitar, bassist John Button, two keyboardists, and orchestral backing. It’s a compliment to the hybrid band that they delivered on their songs’ lasting appeal. They kicked into a 15-song set heavy on the hits, with “Who Are You,” “You Better You Bet,” “Love, Reign O’er Me,” “Substitute,” “Join Together,” and “See Me Feel Me.” “Won’t Get Fooled Again” had the proper energy even if it wasn’t as raucous as the original. The iconic “Behind Blue Eyes” was a bit low key, but by the time the classic “Baba O’Riley” closed the set, it was hard to recall the band’s few slips. (TD Garden, May 18)
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A last-minute replacement for Foo Fighters, the Red Hot Chili Peppers invited the widow and family of late Foos drummer Taylor Hawkins to be part of their “celebration of his life and music.” Dave Grohl was also on hand. Chad Smith had a hawk emblem on his kick drum with “Taylor” inside as he punched out the band’s tight rhythms. For the other half of the Peppers’ rhythm section, Flea’s hopping, loping basslines both propelled and held the Peppers’ songs together. John Frusciante, in his first show back with the band, discharged soulful super-riffing behind the rat-a-tat vocals of Anthony Kiedis on a slew of tracks from the new “Unlimited Love” album. RHCP’s set included “Californication,” “The Zephyr Song,” “If You Have to Ask,” and closed with “By The Way.” (Fenway Park, Sept. 10)
The thousands of fans who crammed the field at the Festival Stage for the Red Hot Chili Peppers missed one of the Fest’s most majestic sets over in the Jazz Tent, by Terence Blanchard & E-Collective with the Turtle Island Quartet. The show highlighted tracks from the group’s album “Absence,” inspired by Wayne Shorter. The set was dedicated to the late Ellis Marsalis and featured beauteous, jazzy, big band instrumentals that were spiked by Blanchard’s trumpet, while Turtle Island provided an icing of sweet, laid-back strings. The Turtle Island Quartet’s lovely neoclassicism was given its own solo spot and elicited a mid-set standing ovation. Then the Collective blew through modern jazz passages with great guitar and drum work to finish with another standing O. (Mass MoCA, North Adams, Aug. 26)
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Elvis Costello, who has a big-time affinity for N’awlins, and his band the Imposters thundered from the Gentilly Stage like a sophisticated ‘60s garage band. Costello is such a good songwriter that there is no fall-off during his shows; new tracks instantly sounded like old favorites. With Charlie Sexton on lead guitar and swamp pop heroes Tommy McLain and CC Adcock sitting in for a few tunes, the set included “Watching the Detectives,” “Penelope Halfpenny,” “Allison,” and “Wake Me Up” before ending with the one-two punch of “Pump It Up” and the Nick Lowe gem “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” (Leader Bank Pavilion, Aug. 15)
Dumpstaphunk keyboardist Ivan Neville’s hard-hitting New Orleans soul and funk fusion outfit featuring two elite bassists, Tony Hall and Nick Daniels, continued to kick up their stage energy as they modernize the Meters’ old-school family R&B grooves with guitar-slashing rhythm and melody. After a bristling bass duet intro, the band launched into the always stompin’ tunes “Dancin’ to the Truth” and “Justice.” “We want people to dance and be inspired at the same time,” said Neville. The group peppered the rest of their set with skilled jams and cuts from their roaring album “Where Do We Go From Here,” as well as solid renditions of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Stand” and a version of Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” in tribute to Taylor Hawkins. (Appearing with Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown, Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton, N.H., June 10; Leader Bank Pavilion, June 11; Bold Point Park, East Providence, R.I., June 17)
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The Cowsills took us back to the ‘60s with a mantra of peace and love, something we could all use a little more of these days. And the happy faces and swaying bodies in the crowd made clear we were glad to be along for the trip. The group’s gleaming multipart vocals carried chestnuts like “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things,” “Indian Lake,” and the theme from “Love American Style.” The Rhode Island natives rocked up to the present day with a couple samples from “Rhythm of the World,” due in September. They also covered the Hollies, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, and the Four Tops like a sharp nostalgia band, ending with their hit “Hair.” NOLA resident Susan Cowsill played her own set at the Fest, a charming slice of tunes that showcased the emotive grit underlying her angelic vocals. (Appearing on the “Happy Together” tour at Lowell Memorial Auditorium, June 12; Calvin Theatre, Northampton, June 18; Lynn Auditorium, June 19; Cape Cod Melody Tent, June 21; South Shore Music Circus, June 22; Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton, N.H., June 26)
Led by drummer and Berklee grad Joe Gelini, Cha Wa was irresistibly rhythmic. Their spyboy mashup included Mardi Gras Indian chants and intricate outfits, assorted instrumentation (drums, bass, horns, keys, guitar), and percussive Big Chief grooves. The vocals of frontman J’wan Boudreaux (grandson of Wild Magnolias’ Monk Boudreaux) and Honey Banister further powered the “Firewater” harmonies that framed Cha Wa’s set, featuring songs from their 2021 album “My People.” (Green River Festival, Greenfield, June 25)
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With a horn-powered big band behind him, PJ Morton, a NOLA singer-songwriter-producer known to many as a keyboardist for Maroon 5, continued to expand his R&B, hip-hop, gospel, and jazzy visions. His new, self-produced album “Watch the Sun” provided much of the set list for his soulful, vibrant, Jazz Fest appearance. Songs included “On My Way,” “My Peace,” and a particular fave, “New Orleans Girl.” Morton also led the crowd in the “biggest choir competition ever.” (Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, R.I., July 31)
The Soul Rebels have worked their show into one of the best in the city. Once a bright, new face on the brass band scene, they’ve expanded their scope into butt-kicking pop appeal while maintaining their street chops and expanding their vocal syncopation and tight ensemble interplay. Playing tracks from 2019′s “Poetry In Motion,” the Rebels’ songs were full of foot-stomping and hand-clapping beats. (Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, R.I., July 31. Also appearing with Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown, Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton, N.H., June 10; Leader Bank Pavilion, June 11; Bold Point Park, East Providence, R.I., June 17)
First introduced to Jazz Fest through its cultural exchange program, Nigerian guitar slinger Bombino (Oumara Moctar) is known as the “Sultan of Shred.” With his exotic mix of nomadic Taureg traditions with Tamasheq vocals, blazing guitar work, and influences that run from Hendrix and Mark Knopfler to Delta blues, Bombino’s genre-busting repertoire was wholly satisfying. He raised the roof in the Jazz Tent with yet another electrifying performance. (The Sinclair, Cambridge, June 10)
Fiddler David Greeley rejoined Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys for a hot set of Cajun-Creole, squeezebox, two-step romps, with Riley’s 12-year-old son, Burke, on drums. Riley and his accordion have long been dependable regulars at both Jazz Fest and the annual Rhythm & Roots Festival in Charlestown, R.I., which will be returning for its 24th year over Labor Day weekend. Rhythm & Roots is something of a mini Jazz Fest and offers a taste of what the mother event is all about. (Rhythm & Roots Festival, Charlestown, R.I., Sept. 3-4)
Ever since taking over for the Neville Brothers several years ago as Jazz Fest’s de facto mainstage closing act, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have played scorching sets. Shorty (Troy Andrews) is a consummate performer with vocal and ‘bone chops to back up his charismatic bravado. Echoing his new album “Lifted,” Andrews’s set wove the brass band mantle into a fabric of explosive, funky, get-off-your-seats rock ’n’ soul. When he comes north this summer, Andrews will lead Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown, a traveling show featuring fellow NOLA greats Dumpstaphunk, Cyril Neville, the Soul Rebels, George Porter Jr., Tank & the Bangas, and Big Freedia. (Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown, Hampton Beach Casino, Hampton, N.H., June 10; Leader Bank Pavilion, June 11; Bold Point Park, East Providence, R.I., June 17)