Two Mardi Gras Indians performing at the Jazz and Heritage Festival of New Orleans, or “Jazz Fest”. Photo by Salin1 via Flickr with permission under the Creative Commons.
The Jazz and Heritage Festival of New Orleans began in August 22-26, 1970. Today, the “Jazz Fest” still offers the sounds of New Orleans and many musical acts from around the world.
The yearly festival was founded by the New Orleans Hotel Motel Association via the Jazz and Heritage Foundation. They contracted George Wein’s Festival Productions to produce the festival. The festival, which was originally held at the Municipal Auditorium, was intended to be a non-profit event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of New Orleans.
Producer George Wein put together a key group of artistic advisers, among them Ellis Marsalis and Richard B. Wein, who said the festival was designed to bring all elements of New Orleans and Southern Louisiana’s rich tradition together, a setting that could only exist in New Orleans where the rich heritage of the Creole, Cajuns, Irish, Negroes Italians, Germans, Slavians and every other group hit the Queen City of the South before the turn of the century came to a focal point (Vieux Carre Courier Extra. Vol 6. No 60. April 17, 1970. Page 6). Wein said this type of festival could only be held in New Orleans, which will “reach down into the guts of the community.” Jazz Fest brings together many different cultures and types of music from Louisiana, including jazz, zydeco, Cajun and Creole. In the San Antonio Paper of February 22nd, 1968, Thomas Griffin describes it as “A window on the heritage to Louisiana
(Griffin, Thomas. San Antonio Paper. February 22, 1968).
According to Sperier C. Phillip of The Times Pikayune, some of the most famous musicians at the first Jazz Fest were Pete Fountain, Duke Ellington, Mahalia Jackson, Preservation Hall Band with Billie and Dede Pierce, Willie Humphrey, and Ellis Marsalis. Duke Ellington closed down the festival on August 26, 1970 with his “Sacred Music Concert” with many favorites and renditions of his old work (Sperier C. Phillip. The Times Picayune. Sunday May 5, 1968. “Jazz Fest ’68” p. 2).
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival did a highlight on Haitian music in 1994 due to all that Haiti has contributed to New Orleans culture. After the earthquake, they decided that the 2011 festival would once again focus on Haitian music and culture, with a six figure budget devoted only to all things Haitian. In an interview with Steve Hochman of Spinner.com, CEO Quint Davis was asked about the situation in Haiti, he remarked, “We’re not the builders of roads…We’re the culture — the music, the art, the food. So we brought Jazz Fest back that first year [after Hurricane Katrina], our opportunity to shine a light in the darkness from a cultural view to show this is what we are and why it’s worth fighting for. That applied perfectly to Haiti”(Hochman, Steve. “Jazz Fest to honor Haiti’s Musical and Tragic Relationship with New Orleans.” Spinner.com. 30 Mar. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2011).
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