photo by ricky richardson
THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. Use of the term "Jazz Fest" can also include the days surrounding the Festival and the many shows at unaffiliated New Orleans nightclubs scheduled during the Festival event weekends.
According to the official Jazz Fest website, "The Festival celebrates the indigenous music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana, so the music encompasses every style associated with the city and the state: blues, R&B, gospel music, Cajun music, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean, folk music, Latin, rock, rap music, country music, bluegrass and everything in between. And of course there is lots of jazz, both contemporary and traditional."
Jazz Fest is currently held during the day at the New Orleans Fairgrounds on two weekends. The weekends are the last weekend in April (from Friday through Sunday) and the first weekend in May (Thursday through Sunday). For two years following Hurricane Katrina, the second weekend was Friday through Sunday only, but the Thursday was restored in 2008. On a few occasions, severe rainstorms have closed individual days of the festival.
In addition to the Fairgrounds events, the Festival also holds various night concerts at other venues. The festival is a major tourism destination, with an importance for New Orleans only rivaled by Mardi Gras. In addition to the official Jazz Fest events, many more music events than usual take place around the city during Jazz Fest and the week in between the two weekends. Early Jazz Fests featured almost exclusively local acts; as the Festival grew more nationally known, acts (most recently Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett, Widespread Panic and Counting Crows) were scheduled in addition to local performers.
The Festival also features vendors with local foods and crafts.
The Jazz & Heritage Festival is run by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, which also owns the license to radio station WWOZ.
SUPPORT WWOZ
HISTORY
The Festival has been held yearly since 1970, when it was founded by George Wein along with Quint Davis and Allison Miner. After founding the fest, Miner ran its day to day operation for George Wein for many years. Miner also founded the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation Archive, which contains recordings from musicians interviewed at the festival. When Miner died on December 23, 1995, the interviewing stage was renamed in her memory. After her death, Wein and Davis, with Davis as the Festival producer and driving force in putting together the event, continued the festival.
GEORGE WEIN
ALLISON MINER
QUINT DAVIS
Similar "New Orleans Jazz Festival’s" were held by different organizers in the 1960s. The first two festivals were held in Louis Armstrong Park at Congo Square and the adjoining New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. More recent festivals have been held at the much larger New Orleans Fairgrounds, a horse racing track.
A few of the most popular jazz festival posters were works by Louisiana artists James Michalopoulos and George Rodrigue.
