Jackson Hole Underground

(The Neville Brothers were in Jackson last night to play a concert at Center for the Arts. Last summer, before their performance at Targhee Fest, I sat down with the venerable keyboardist Art Neville, aka Poppa Funk, for an interview, in which we discussed the fate of The Meters, the state of New Orleans, football and the Iraq War.)

It was late in the afternoon, and golden light bathed the Targhee basin. A black SUV pulled up behind the stage, and out stepped one of my musical idols, Art Neville.

A crew member helped him from the vehicle, and he walked slowly with a cane. I set up two folding chairs. There was a break in the festival, and it was quiet.

I asked him how he was feeling, having heard that the band was struggling with the altitude at 8,000 feet. “I feel pretty good,” he said, “as long as you don’t have any wild animals running around.”

This was his first visit to the Teton Range. I asked him what he thought of Wyoming. “Good people,” he said. “I can see that already.”

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The 39th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival closed Sunday with a homecoming, as the Neville Brothers, the city’s first family of funk, returned to perform together for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

Sunday was also “family day,” as the preceding acts on the main stage were bands fronted by Carlos Santana and his son, Salvador, and Ivan Neville, son of the gospel brother Aaron Neville.

Jazz Fest is all about moments, and together these musicians produced an historic one, as the Neville Brothers were joined by the Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, younger generations of the family and a host of friends and former band members. One of those friends was Carlos Santana, who joined the brothers for “My Blood” and “Ain’t No Use.” Fiery licks erupted from his guitar as he moved like a cat on stage.

It was a joyous finish to a festival that left me, well, overjoyed. Here are a few of the other peak moments, in words and in photos, from the second weekend, as well as scenes from around the city. Click on any image to enlarge and begin the slide show, and navigate using the arrow keys. (All photos © Jim Stanford)

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(Photos © Jim Stanford — click to enlarge)

It’s a good bet that at some point during Jazz Fest, you’ll find yourself listening to the most incredible music in the most unlikely of places. So it’s smart not to plan too much and instead go with the flow, freeing yourself up for moments of serendipity.

Last Friday, one of the biggest days of the festival, forced me to choose between Michael Franti and Stevie Wonder, who were playing simultaneously on different stages. Having seen Franti and promoted his movie in Jackson in March, I opted for Stevie, who I had never seen. (He busted out all his funk hits, but more on that later.)

During the afternoon, beneath the Wyoming flag, we got word that Franti and Spearhead were going to play a free concert that night in the Ninth Ward, the neighborhood most devastated by the flood. Rumors of guest jams and secret shows pop up all the time, but this one sounded like Franti’s style. He confirmed it during his performance at the Fairgrounds.

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(Photos © Jim Stanford — click on images to enlarge)

Last we left off with the New Mastersounds, at the Knotty Pine in January, the lads from Leeds had plane tickets booked for Jazz Fest but were looking to line up gigs.

Well, line up gigs they did, and the funky Brits became the de facto house band for some of the hottest late-night jams in New Orleans.

On Tuesday night in between weekends of the festival, I ventured down to Frenchmen St. to meet up with Burton and Jess and a group of their friends from Jam Cruise. Burton and Jess are two of the most devoted music fans in Jackson, and Burton had shared a tip that Karl Denson would be joining the Mastersounds at the Blue Nile.

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(Click on photos to enlarge.)

In September 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the musicians and music fans of Jackson Hole held a benefit to help victims of the storm. The event was called “Raise the Roof,” and it raised $10,000 for the Tipitina’s Foundation and the New Orleans chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Earlier this week, I got a chance to see how those seeds have grown.

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