The 2025 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, now in its 55th year, has evolved over the last 20 years from its original format of celebrating the music culture of New Orleans and Louisiana to what now feels more like a major rock festival, with a number of specialist genres –jazz, blues, cajun, zydeco and gospel – on the side.
Its ambition and scale – 650 acts on 14 stages over eight days – lends itself towards being thought of as a series of genre-specific mini-festivals, sitting alongside headline acts; this year Pearl Jam, last year the Rolling Stones. The converted racecourse venue is rounded out with restaurant-quality food stalls, craft and artisan exhibitions, and two or three brass band or Mardi Gras Indian parades snaking around the infield each day.
Marquee headliners were introduced after unprecedented losses in 2004. The festival producers partnered with AEG Live, the second largest concert promoter in the world, to present acts like Simon and Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and the Foo Fighters.
Commercially, the strategy has succeeded. Jazz Fest adds over $US 400 million to the local economy each year, and the foundation which owns the festival receives around $US 3 million each year to distribute to community and cultural programs.
This investment in schools and community programmes helps keep the musical traditions alive while collaborations between local and visiting artists fills clubs and concert halls, helping to shape the evolution of the New Orleans sound, particularly in the cross-over between New Orleans funk and rock.
Total attendance this year was a healthy 460,000, slightly down from previous years. Anecdotally, this is attributed to a mix of a general downturn in festival attendance, the “Trump effect” dissuading both local and international visitors, and possibly also lingering fears following a terrorist attack killing 14 people on Bourbon Street during early morning New Year celebrations.
While an impressive 85% of the 650 musical acts hail from New Orleans or Louisiana, it is hard to estimate how many fans attracted to the three larger outdoor stages – offering rock, funk, soul, reggae, hip-hop and African music – spill over the more niche stages for jazz, traditional jazz, cajun, zydeco and gospel music.
Hard-driving New Orleans funk has, over the last 10 years, reached new levels of popularity and showmanship. Ivan Neville, son of vocalist Aaron Neville, bridges the generations from the seminal Meters and Neville Brothers to this new generation of New Orleans funk and soul, including Ivan’s band, Dumpstaphunk and next generation band leaders like Trombone Shorty and Big Sam.
Traditional New Orleans jazz continues to be played with extraordinary skill and dedication, but there are no obvious signs of renewal or breakout from its niche status. Similarly, zydeco and cajun remain steadfastly regional. Brass bands continue to be mainstays of local culture and parades, with new directions including forays into soul, funk and hip hop. The all-women Original Pinettes Brass Band are pioneers for breaking down gender and genre barriers.
In contemporary and modern jazz, mid-career New Orleans artists are stepping up to fill the gaping hole left by the loss of missing jazz icons. The jazz stage at Jazz Fest, in the city that gave birth to jazz, has inspired many memorable performances over the years from artists no longer alive or performing: Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Pharoah Sanders, Ramsey Lewis, David Sanborn, Les McCann, Eddie Harris, Roy Haynes, Ellis Marsalis and Sony Rollins – to name just a few.
This year, the surprise on the first day was Stanton Moore, demonstrating his roots and versatility as a jazz drummer to a younger audience, probably attracted by his anchor role with popular rock and jam band, Galactic. This was a joyous and uplifting performance featuring half of the longstanding local quartet, Astral Project. John Singleton was inspiring and dependable on double bass while David Torkanowski on piano swapped a certain reticence for his usual flamboyance.
Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Orchestra planted the first flag for the Marsalis family, mixing technical skill with an upbeat collection of New Orleans jazz and grooves. Dee Dee Bridgewater appeared below par with what appeared to be a bad head-cold while on one of the larger infield stages – the Congo Stage – Karl Denson fused jazz, funk and soul with a virtuoso display on saxophone.
Seun Kuti, backed by the original Egypt 80 band, provided a faithful rendition of a selection of his father Fela’s songs, before segueing into his own Afrobeat explorations. At the traditional jazz stage, Leroy Jones confirmed his status and technical mastery on trumpet with a powerful and rousing performance as band leader.
On day two, Youssou N’Dour continued the African focus on the Congo stage with sublime vocals and rolling rhythms. At the jazz stage, local drummer Herlin Riley spearheaded the New Orleans Groovemasters, featuring Jason Marsalis on vibes and Weedie Braimah on percussion. This set was an unofficial tribute to drummer Shannon Powell, known locally as the “King of Treme”. Powell is much loved and revered, but was clearly affected by his recovery from a stroke and heart attack that threatened to end his life last August.
Stanley Clarke closed the jazz stage with a virtuoso set in the role of jazz elder to a new generation of extraordinarily gifted young jazz musicians – Jeremiah Collier on drums, Emilio Modeste on saxophone, Cameron Graves on piano and Colin Cook on guitar – clearly relishing their opportunity to play with one of the greatest living bass players.
Day three, the first Saturday of Jazz Fest, featured the Treme Brass Band sparking second-line dancing in the traditional jazz tent while the mellifluous voice of local favourite John Boutte carried the jazz tent towards a highly anticipated closing set from Diana Krall, her first performance at the festival since 2008. Unfortunately for Krall, this first Saturday was also a huge day for local artists.
Irma Thomas and Harry Connick Jr performed at the second of the outdoor stages, while the main outdoor stage, the closest to the jazz stage, was heaving all day with sets from local favourites, starting with Big Freedia – the New Orleans bounce queen – and Tank and the Bangas, the Grammy-winning soul and groove outfit. Lil Wayne and the Roots took to the main stage shortly before Krall. The uniquely New Orleans backstory is that Lil Wayne, one of the biggest names in hip-hop in the USA, was overlooked for the Superbowl half-time show at the New Orleans Superdome in February. The bass line from this home-coming celebration spilled into the jazz tent. Krall was all but drowned out.
This was the first time in over 30 years that I can remember anything like this happening. For an outdoor event running like clockwork, turning over 80 or 90 acts each day, it is remarkable just how consistently good the sound is. If the main stage continues to showcase heavy bass lines from hip-hop and funk acts, the jazz staging will have to be moved or modified to honour the more nuanced artistry of jazz musicians, who give the festival its name.
Day Four, the final day of the first weekend, featured Nicholas Payton and Dr Michael White leading a tribute on the traditional jazz stage to mark the 100th anniversary of Louis Armstrong’s Hot 5 and Hot 7 recordings.
On the interview stage prior to the performance, Payton acknowledged his youthful discomfort with what he described as the “coonery” and “tomfoolery” of Armstrong’s public profile, but explained this view changed dramatically as he became better acquainted with Armstrong’s music. Both he and White made the case that Armstrong changed the way we understand rhythms, phrasing and the role of breaks, and therefore solos, in contemporary music. Payton put it this way: “The original king of pop, Louis Armstrong was ground zero… all American music owes a debt to Pops”.
This historical narrative, alongside the first recording of the backbeat, in 1949, by local drummer Earl Palmer on Fats Domino’s The Fat Man, helps to explain why the festival moniker of New Orleans Jazz and Heritage can stretch to embrace just about any form of contemporary music.
As if to underline this history, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation, owners and beneficiaries of Jazz Fest, announced in the week prior to this year’s Jazz Fest that it had purchased the building which housed the original J&M studio, across the street from Louis Armstrong Park, where Fats Domino and Little Richard, among many others, recorded. The site will become a community cultural centre housing and making publicly available the Foundation’s extensive archive.
Back on the jazz stage, Branford Marsalis planted the second flag for the Marsalis family with a sublime performance combining exceptional technical skill with a warmth and sensitivity to local rhythms.
The second weekend of the festival kicked off with a Shamar Allen set on the Congo Stage. Allen is a consummate trumpet player with a deep spiritual bent, but this set was a very accessible mix of modern jazz, soul and dance rhythms. He calls it “loveism”. And he introduced his teenage son, Dante, on trumpet, showcasing how New Orleans music is learned, shared and passed on.
On the jazz stage, Randy Brecker paid tribute to George Wein, one of the founders of Jazz Fest after he had established the Newport jazz and folk festivals. Brecker played with his usual strength and tonal purity, leading an exceptional pick-up band: Victor Campbell and Alexey Marti, Cuban pianist and conga player, both now living in New Orleans and both leading their own sets on the jazz stage; Stephen Walker and Trevarri Huff-Boone, trombone and trumpet with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band; Amina Scott, bass player from Oakland, now teaching at Loyola University; and Peter Vernado, sought after local drummer teaching at Tulane University. There was barely disguised mischief in Brecker’s selection of material: There’s A Mingus A Monk Us and a new tune, Dipshit, which he dedicated to President Trump.
This was one of the few mentions Trump gets throughout Jazz Fest. The unwritten consensus was that Jazz Fest was two weeks of respite from the frustrations of day-to-day politics and the very deep divisions that have been prised open in the city. New Orleans has a Democrat mayor, the state of Louisiana is staunchly Republican, and it felt like we were all holding our breath for whatever comes next.
The Friday of the second weekend showcased Big Sam on the Congo Stage – his trombone-led funk has evolved into a Vegas-style cabaret show – while in the jazz tent, the Trumpet Mafia made merry mayhem with 10 trumpets, four trombones and four saxophones. Maurice Brown and Marquise Hill joined the party with exhilarating guest solos.
Joshua Redman closed the jazz stage with his uniquely physical playing style. Joined by vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa, his band gave a high-class performance that turned the yacht rock classic, Hotel California, into something that sounded like a jazz standard.
The final weekend started with two of the stand-out jazz performances of the festival. Nicholas Payton led an unbilled trio with Esperanza Spalding on bass and Karriem Riggins on drums. This was a joyous journey through a selection of Payton compositions, book-ended by compositions and words from Detroit composer and one-time M-Base collective member, Geri Allen.
There was something very special about the way this trio worked together. It was as if the freedom of playing with Spalding assuaged Payton’s anger at the exploitation of what he calls Black American Music, or BAM. Riggins held the rhythmic structure and pacing, while Payton and Spalding explored their New Orleans and New York musical lineages. They riffed on Max Roach’s observation that “Jazz is a Four-Letter Word”, giving an irresistible and crowd-pleasing rejection of jazz as an artificial construct. They syncopated marching-band rhythms while singing “BAM is for the children”; and they channelled Geri Allen by preaching “unconditional love”. Most importantly, they were having fun. Payton may finally have found a way to prosecute his manifesto without excluding his audience. It’s a new blueprint for undermining the preciousness and artificiality of the jazz construct, by celebrating the foundational rhythms, thoughts and culture.
Then Ledisi stepped up to close the jazz stage with her tribute to Nina Simone. Ledisi is a local R&B act with a huge voice. She’s been nominated for multiple Grammys, winning Best Traditional R&B Performance in 2020. Jazz labels resisted her attempt to record Simone’s songs so she set up her own label and then sold out Carnegie Hall. The show is a tribute, not an impersonation. She interprets the songs with a vocal styling that is more resonant of classical opera and church choir than husky night club. She sets out to paint Simone as a profoundly gifted artist with an overlooked personal life. It’s nothing short of stunning.
It’s a tall order to match or better this on the closing Sunday. Up stepped Terence Blanchard. His trumpet was lithe, alive and poignant. He straddled the many mediums he has been working in – film scores, opera, modern jazz – with a powerful and confident performance that singled him out as the local jazz composer and performer who can do or achieve just about anything.
Kamasi Washington then closed the jazz stage. His was a performance of technical prowess and spiritual meandering, but the real action in closing the festival was on the main stage. Trombone Shorty has become the consummate stadium performer. His trombone attack – more like an assault – was thrilling. I’ve never heard anyone play trumpet or trombone with such intensity or power. He has rightly inherited the crown of the Neville Brothers as the personification of the New Orleans sound.
