CCVolumeOO22 No. 3CCSummeOOr 2006 NNUUTT TTEELLEEGGRRAAPPHH www.margaritaville.com Photo: Gr eg Dumas NewNew Orleans Orleans JazzJazz && HeritageHeritage FestivalFestival 20062006 The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was envisioned as a cultural event thatwould have popularappeal in and out ofThe Crescent City.It called fora large daytime fairwith multiple performers from varied musical backgrounds,food booths ofLouisiana cuisine,and arts and crafts booths,along with an evening concert series.Less than 400 people attended the firstJazz Fest in April of1970,and theywere entertained byMahalia Jackson,Duke Ellington,Pete Fountain,Al Hirt,The Preservation Hall Band,and manyothers. Jazz impresario George Wein opened the festival noting that,“The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival repre- sents a new and exciting idea in festival presentation.This festival could onlybe held in New Orleans because here and here alone is the richest musical heritage in America.”In 2001,the Festival celebrated Louis Armstrong’s centennial,and the total attendance eclipsed 650,000,shattering records forvirtuallyeveryday ofthe Heritage Fair,including the all-time single-dayattendance record of160,000.Wein’s prediction that New Orleans would become the first cityofjazz festivals had clearlycome true. Jimmyhas appeared atJazz Fest manytimes overthe years,joining ZacharyRichard,LennyKravitz,the Neville Brothers,Lyle Lovett and countless others in scheduled and impromptu appearances.In an A&E In Concert Series,Jimmynoted that,“I came here in 1966 the first time and have continued to playmusic here eversince.But a lot ofpeople don't know that I spent about fouryears working around here on Bourbon Street - everything from a barkerto a musician.Most ofthe people I knew went to Memphis,orAtlanta,orNewYork, got straightjobs.But I neverhad anydoubt in mymind that I wanted to run awayto New Orleans and do something weird.” The Margaritaville Store and Café are in the same neighborhood where he spent these formative fouryears, and I can not imagine howJimmy,a right-brained balladeer,must feel prowling his old haunts;hazydays and mistynights long before he blew out his flip flop.And while New Orleans is a sprawling metropolitan area, manyequate it onlywith the French Quarter,and it is the Quarterthat holds the magic,the history,la joi de vie, cleanup in and around New Orleans.Jimmytold the Times Picayune.“I thought itwas ourcontribution to the that capture yourheart and soul.Aweekend spentwandering the streets,exploring the historyatJackson cityto come backand get that restaurant open.People thatworkat otherlocations did an incredible job of Square,virtuallyabsorbing the sights,smells and sounds will demonstrate its ethnic and cultural diversity. helping out theirfellow workers in New Orleans.Theyput togethera rescue and support system that I had very Spanish and French influences,the colorful mélange offood,music,climate and characterall combine to cre- little to do with,otherthan endorsing it and saying how proud I was ofthem.We paid everybody,and tooka ate the obligatorygumbo reference. big loss.But we're in forthe long haul.We do verywell everywhere else,and itwas the least we could do.” But would there be a Jazz Fest in 2006?A festival afterone ofthe worstweathercatastrophes on U.S.soil?A cel- The Fairgrounds are a shortcab ride from the French Quarterand the streets were lined with poncho and ebration amidst all the ruin?Jimmytold Keith Spera,Music Writerforthe Times Picayune,“Quint said whether umbrella salesman riding the retail wave ofimpending thunderstorms.We made ourwaytoward the Acura it works ornot,we need to step up here.Everybodyis looking forsomething that's the first step back."Quint is Stage afterseveral stops atthe legendaryJazz Festfood booths.OysterArtichoke Soup,Crawfish Etouffée,Creole Quint Davis,president ofFestival Productions Inc.–New Orleans and the producerand directorofthe New SweetPotato Pone,Crawfish Strudel,and ofcourse some BBQ PorkRibs…a true gastronomical experience. Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. There was a scurryofactivityas Jimmyand the Coral Reefers,along with several Little Feat band members, “The firsttime I talked aboutitwas atthe "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy"benefitin NewYorkin September. arrived in theirunmarked white vans.Afteran interview with budding radio personality,Savannah Jane Itcame outofthe emotions stirred up bythatconcert.Little things like going to rehearse with Allen Toussaint's Buffett on Radio Margaritaville,Jimmyran up the backstage ramp to face the 70,000 people waiting forthis band and the guitarplayerdidn'thave a guitar,because itgotwashed away.The emotional level was,"Ofcourse performance.Jazz Fest officials claim nearly350,000 people attended this year.Bruce Springsteen gave a I'll do it."The concern was more on a practical level ofsomeone who does shows fora living.” memorable performance the first weekend,adapting his Asbury,NJ anthem “MyCityofRuins”to New Orleans’ I put out a newsletterfora living,and itwas an excellent opportunityto visit NOLA,spend some time at plight.James Taylor,Dave Mathews,Paul Simon,and an apologetic Fats Domino were there as well.But Margaritaville and witness the rebirth and revival ofthis historicallyrich city.To mygreat pleasure,Judith Saturdayafternoon belonged to Jimmy. Ranger-Smith,Executive DirectorofSinging ForChange was there as well.We caught up overan Italian dinner Flashbackto Sunday,September4.Jimmyis in Chicago forone ofthe biggest shows ofhis life,the first concert and a literofhouse red on Fridaynight priorto SonnyLandreth’s performance at the café.Myemployercalled everheld at WrigleyField.New Orleans is underwater.One ofJimmy’s dearest friends was Chicago native Steve waytoo earlyon Saturdaymorning to “request”mypresence at a sit down with Sisters Jane Remson and Blaise Goodman,and one ofSteve Goodman’s best known songs is “CityofNew Orleans.”The record setting show at Fernando.SisterJane heads the New Orleans Artists Against Hungerand Homelessness,NOAAHH,and is a fix- WrigleyField opened with a 1983 video ofmustachioed JimmyBuffett singing the national anthem,dedicating ture in the beleaguered borough’s charitable community.We accompanied these lovely,spiritual ladies on a it through an emotionallybroken voice to Steve Goodman.Jimmy’s 2005 appearance on this same field also personal tourthrough the devastated areas in and around New Orleans to visit beneficiaries ofand witness began with a dedication,“To myfriends and familyalong the GulfCoast.”The ironywas missed byno one.After the good that comes from SFC contributions.(See Judith’s report on hervisit underSFC). the second encore,Jimmyappeared deep in the right field bleachers,just he and Mac McAnally,illuminated by On ourreturn trip SisterJane reminisced about an appearance with Jimmyand Rita Coolidge at an early a single spotlight,and performed CityofNew Orleans.A private,poignant moment shared with 40,000 fans. NOAAHH Concert.“I haven’t seen Jimmyin a while,please give him mybest.”Now I’m not a big believerin divine SaturdayMay6,2006.A lightning and hailstorm bearing down on New Orleans from the west split around the intervention,and I know that ifa higherpowerexists he/she would have something more pressing to attend city.Jimmyappears on stage and,recalling his earlierconversation with SisterJane,thanks herforwhatever to than a conversation in the backofa compact,yet comfortable Honda.But what are the odds ofus pulling up influence she had in changing the weather.He then opened the show with… CityofNew Orleans.I could swear to the hotel to find Jimmypropped beside a shinySUV?“Here’s yourchance Sister,”I said.“Tell him yourself.” I heard his voice breaka bit. Jimmyspoke brieflywith the soft spoken postulants as we parted ways.Jimmywas headed forlunch with old NOLA pals and we went to Margaritaville foran employee discount lunch.The filet gumbo and salmon were InIn thethe MiddleMiddle of Hopelessness, terrific,and the New Orleans Café crew were relishing in a rare busyweekend.Margaritaville was one ofthe first businesses to reopen afterHurricane Katrina serving mainlyreliefworkers and others tackling the thethe oneone thingthing we have to cling to is Music. Photos: Greg Dumas Marshall Chapman Mellowicious! Marshall Chapman was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. To date she has released ten critically acclaimed albums, and her songs have been recorded by a variety of artists including Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Wynonna, Joe Cocker, and Jimmy Buffett. She has toured extensively on her own and opened shows for everybody from John Prine and Jimmy Buffett to Jerry Lee Lewis and The Ramones. In 1998, Marshall began exploring new outlets for her creativity. One was theater. She and songwriting pal Matraca Berg contributed fourteen songs to Good Ol' Girls, a country musi- cal based on the stories of Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle. The New York Times called it a "feminist literary country music review." In fall 2003, Good Ol' Girls played theaters through- out the South. Marshall's first book, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller (St. Martin's Press), was published in September 2003. Simultaneously, a companion CD was released. The book was a 2004 SEBA Book Award finalist, and one of three finalists for the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. A RADIO MARGARITAVILLE: soft cover edition was released in September 2004. ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND In the past year, Marshall has performed from San Francisco to New York, from Blytheville, Arkansas, to Loachapoka, Alabama, developing a one-woman