Sydney, Oxford Art Factory, 10/6/12
A killer night! Amazing musicianship and creativity was oozing out of every note played. I wanted to pack my bags and move to New York after this night. That’s where all these wonderful musicians reside.
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The three words that sum up my trip to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (NOJHF) 2012 the best are ‘mesmerising, unforgettable and delicious’.
We all know that a picture often speaks more than a thousand words and I feel that whatever I say about New Orleans and the Festival will not do it enough justice and won’t quite bring across what an amazing experience the festival really is. So please take a look at my photos and experience the festival with me through my lens.
I will only name a few of this years big names at the NOJHF: The Neville Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, The Foo Fighters, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, The Beach Boys, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, Janelle Monae, Glen Hansard, Steve Earle, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings and many more.
However, I have to say that I did not make my way to New Orleans to see the big headliners (although fantastic). My favourite stage during the festival was the “Economy Hall Tent”, which featured mainly traditional jazz and local acts, followed by the Blues, Jazz and Gospel tents, where the spirit of New Orleans was so alive. All my personal highlights were either New Orleans musicians or acts which played in the smaller tents like Dr John (who joined Warren Haynes), Troy Andrews, Leroy Jones, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Irma Thomas, John Boutté and his family, Anders Osborn, Wanda Rouzan, the Wycliffe Gordon Quintet (with local musicians joining Wycliffe on stage) and the wonderful Allen Toussaint and his fantastic band just to name a few. Some of the most wonderful music you will stumble upon by chance. So if you are on the way to one of the big stages, just take the time and have a look and a listen into the smaller tents or check out who is on the Congo Stage.
I really hope that the festival will continue to feature and preserve New Orleans music in the future the way it does today. It is what makes this festival so special and there is no need for more big international acts. New Orleans has so much to offer! The only negative is that it is impossible to see every act at the festival and you will have to make choices and are bound to miss someone wonderful. But whatever your choice may be, it is going to be fantastic!
The festival also features local and international craft artists on the Congo and Heritage Square. Discover ancient crafting techniques, for example by the blacksmith, paintings, sculptures and handmade jewellery. Again, it is wonderful to see that the heritage of New Orleans is preserved and featured at the festival.
Last, but certainly not least, there is the food: simply divine! Just the thought of it makes my mouth water. My favourite was….drumroll please…. Minnie Pearl’s Creole Cream Cheese Cake with Strawberries, followed by a wide variety of Po’ Boys (so much more than just a sandwich!), Jambalaya, Mango freezes and Beignets. Music, food and a whole lot of love. What else do you need?!
I doubt that I will ever hear such an abundance of wonderful music of such high calibre anywhere else in the world. You hear it not only at the fest, but even just out on the streets. Not every person in N’awlins is born into a musical family, plays an instrument or sings, but it surely feels like it. It seems like music is the foundation of this city and that without it, it would probably seize to exist.
Can you still see the aftermath of hurricane Katrina? Most certainly, if you open your eyes. On the way to the fest I passed many houses that were destroyed by the hurricane or the flood and it’s owners could not afford to rebuild their homes or they simply never returned to the ‘city care forgot’. Back in 2005 the city lost over 1500 people, who either died or are still unaccounted for and 80% of the city flooded due to the biggest civil engineering disaster the country has ever seen. I heard many heartbreaking stories, which I will never forget. However, I will also not forget the friendliness, hospitality and uplifting spirit you encounter almost everywhere. I made friends for life on a street corner.
Take for example Doreen. She plays the clarinet and has lived in New Orleans all her life. You will see her on the first photo in the gallery below. When the festival was over, I met Doreen and her band playing on the corner of Royal and St. Peter in the French Quarter. Here you will find them for most of the year playing for tips. One of the wonderful things about the NOJHF is that it supports local musicians like Doreen and gives them exposure to such a big audience.
If you ever make it to New Orleans, please talk to it’s people, let them tell you about their wonderful city and see it with their eyes. A sign on a little grocery store at the festival read “Be nice or go home.”. It made me wonder how many people must not have been nice that someone felt they had to put that message out there. So please take the time to get to know New Orleans and it’s people and do so with respect.
If you want to get an idea about life after the hurricane and about how much of a role the music plays in New Orleans, I suggest you watch the HBO series Tremé, which begins three month after the hurricane and features many local musicians and tells the story of how they tried to rebuild their lives.
My friend John Hardaker (http://wordsaboutmusic.wordpress.com/) once commented on one of my photographs: “You are making a silent image of a sonic artform.” I am trying to create a sonic image and make my photographs sing and play to enable the viewer to almost hear the music and see and feel the joy and passion behind it.
Watching and capturing someone doing what they truly love, is what I truly love. It’s like the musicians share their passion with me, make me feel what they feel, they make me smile, move me to tears, seem to almost lead me and really create the image themselves by doing so…and often they don’t know I’m even there.
Ideally a connection is being created, often not consciously, which ables me to capture musicians in their most intense moments and show their personalities and their art in a sonic image.
Katja – Blue Moon Photography
Sonic Image Factory 