Musicians, organizers prepare for emotional Jazz Fest Associated Press Newswires April 27, 2006 By Stacey Plaisance

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - There will be one less stage, one less day of music and 100 fewer performers, but one thing this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will not lack is emotion.

The annual fete, started in 1970, will mark the return of hundreds of the city's musicians for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29, laying waste to much of the Big Easy. And with a Louisiana-heavy lineup accented with a landmark collection of giants including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen and Fats Domino, performers and organizers alike say they expect raw sentimentality from everyone involved.

"There's a lot of music we have that cuts right to the heart of what's going on there," said Springsteen, whose performance with the 17-member Seeger Sessions Band will close the festival's first weekend April 30.

"We're rehearsing, but we're also thinking, 'What do you want to say to those folks?'" he said.

Added festival producer Quint Davis: "So many people from New Orleans are going to be coming back for the first time. So many musicians are coming back for the first time. It's going to be emotional on both sides of the stage."

Though downsized a bit, the massive gathering at the Fair Grounds will feature more than 350 bands with roughly 4,000 musicians on 10 stages over two weekends -- April 28-30 and May 5-7.

Though 90 percent of this year's lineup is Louisiana performers, Davis said he doesn't recall a Jazz Fest with more major headliners each day. Joining Dylan, Simon, Springsteen and Domino are artists such as Dr. John, The Dave Matthews Band, Elvis Costello, Keith Urban, Lionel Richie and Jimmy Buffet. Simon, Richie and Domino are scheduled to close the festival May 7.

The headliners are taking a cut in pay to perform, Davis said.

"These artists understand how important it is to show support for the city right now," said Bill Taylor, director of the Tipitina's Foundation, an organization associated with the city's historic nightclub that helped local musicians find housing and new instruments after the storm.

The foundation has been using the club, Tipitina's Uptown, as the center of its relief efforts, and many Jazz Fest musicians will perform there in the evenings after the festival. Among them are New Orleans natives Ivan Neville, the band Cowboy Mouth and Dr. John, who's donating a portion of his show's proceeds to the foundation.

Dr. John, who'll open the festival April 28, admits he's "very salty" about the slow pace of the recovery in his hometown, where less than half the population has returned and large sections of the city remain uninhabitable.

He's been vocal at gigs around the country about his disappointment with the federal government's response. "It makes me angry," he said, noting the lack of available housing for musicians and other New Orleanians among his gripes.

Still, Jazz Fest, like Mardi Gras, should be good for the spirit of the entire city, he said. "These people need some kind of therapeutic outlet, some kind of reconnect with life."

New Orleans natives and Jazz Fest regulars Irma Thomas and pianist Allen Toussaint also are scheduled to perform, but Aaron Neville, who's been ill, will not, Davis said. Thomas, Toussaint and Aaron Neville all had their homes flooded as a result of the storm.

Despite Neville's expected absence, his brother Art, niece Charmaine and son Ivan are scheduled to perform with their bands. The Neville Brothers -- Art, Charles, Aaron and Cyril -- are the traditional closing act for the show.

"You can't have Jazz Fest without Nevilles," Davis said.

Fats Domino, who's been living in suburban New Orleans since his Ninth Ward home was deluged by almost 10 feet of floodwater, hasn't performed in public since being rescued from his second-floor balcony.

"He went through the same experiences other New Orleanians went through," Davis said. "His songs, `Walkin' to New Orleans,' `Jambalaya,' that's us. It's our music. I can't think of a better way to close Jazz Fest."

The Seeger Sessions Band backed Springsteen on a new album inspired by folk singer Pete Seeger. It's slated for release April 25 and features Springsteen's interpretations of 13 traditional folk songs associated for decades with Seeger, including the civil-rights anthem "We Shall Overcome."

Getting Springsteen & Co. to perform was the result of "great timing," Davis said.

"We're fortunate it came together and happened fast enough for us to do it, that they finished recording and had the live performing band put together when they did and could get here for this," he said.

Organizers have teamed with Microsoft Corp. to provide video streaming of select performances on the Internet. Advertising proceeds will benefit hurricane relief efforts.