The 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival<\/a> picks back up on Thursday, May 1, for another four-day run at the Fair Grounds.\u00a0With hundreds of performances,\u00a0it’s hard to know where to start. So Gambit has some suggestion for bands and musicians to see on the second Locals Thursday of Jazz Fest 2025.<\/p>\n Corey Henry & The Treme Funktet<\/strong><\/p>\n 12:10-1 p.m., Festival Stage<\/p>\n Pound for pound, Corey Henry<\/a> is one of the best musicians in New Orleans. Raised in Treme, he comes from a family with deep ties to the jazz and brass band worlds, including his grandfather Chester Jones and uncle Benny Jones. And his daughter, Jazz, plays with the Original Pinettes Brass Band.<\/p>\n Henry began learning music at an early age by watching the musicians in the neighborhood do their thing. He’s a phenom on the trombone, to be sure, but he\u2019s also an incredibly charismatic band leader. His weekly gig with the Treme Funktet at Vaughn\u2019s is so dimly lit you can barely see the band \u2014 but you can still feel Henry.<\/p>\n It also helps that the Treme Funktet are some the finest musicians in the city, including guitarist June Yamagishi and drummer Terry Scott Jr. It’s a tight outfit that can put out some of the best jazz and funk in New Orleans.<\/p>\n Henry and The Treme Funktet captured some of that live magic on their recently released album, \u201cLive at Vaughan\u2019s,\u201d out now. \u2014 JOHN STANTON<\/p>\n Pasatono Orquesta<\/strong><\/p>\n 12:40-1:40 p.m., Cultural Exchange Pavilion<\/p>\n 4:20-5:10 p.m., Lagniappe Stage<\/p>\n While researching the music of his family\u2019s hometown in Mexico\u2019s mountainous Mixtec region of Oaxaca in 1995, ethnomusicology student and musician Rub\u00e9n Luengas P\u00e9rez was presented with his first bajo quinto, a wide-bodied acoustic guitar with 10 metal strings and a deep, rich sound. \u201cThat day completely changed my life,\u201d Perez told NPR two decades later. It sparked his acclaimed career as a leading player, composer and revivalist of traditional Mixtec music and instruments.<\/p>\n Today, P\u00e9rez serves as musical director for the Pasatono Orquesta<\/a>. The group owes much of its \u201cchilenas swing\u201d sound to the band\u2019s study of traveling Mixtec orchestras in the 1920s that played a unique style marrying classical European and African music traditions with jazz and the traditional music of the indigenous Mixtec group. Pasatono\u2019s innovative approach builds on those bands\u2019 sounds while pushing the music of their ancestors forward in danceable form.<\/p>\n The band also plays at 12:15 p.m. Friday in the Cultural Exchange Pavilion and later will be interviewed at 2:15 p.m. by Betto Arcos on the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. \u2014 JENNIFER ODELL<\/p>\n The Nayo Jones Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n 1:35-2:35 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent<\/p>\n You can\u2019t get much of a better introduction to jazz than having your father be musician and music educator William \u201cDoc\u201d Jones. Born in Chicago, Nayo Jones<\/a> grew up listening to standards, which she performs today, and playing the flute.<\/p>\n Now based in New Orleans, Jones is a longtime performer at the iconic Carousel Lounge and at the Royal Sonesta Hotel\u2019s Jazz Playhouse, and she has toured with Kermit Ruffins and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Last September, she released her EP \u201cWith Love Nayo Jones\u201d featuring songs like Billie Holiday\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Explain\u201d and Nina Simone\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Smoke in Bed,\u201d as well as the up-tempo original \u201cAsk Me Tenderly.\u201d \u2014 KAYLEE POCHE<\/p>\n David Shaw<\/strong><\/p>\n 2:45-3:40 p.m., Gentilly Stage<\/p>\n Vocalist David Shaw<\/a> played a Jazz Fest set with his band The Revivalists on the festival\u2019s first Sunday, but this set will give him a chance to play his more stripped-back solo music. He told the publication Afterglow he\u2019s leaning into \u201ca different side of the artistry, a different side of my voice\u201d with his solo material.<\/p>\n As it so often goes, Shaw had written some songs that he felt weren’t a good fit for The Revivalists, so he released his first solo album in 2021, followed by last October\u2019s \u201cTake a Look Inside.\u201d That album covers a lot of personal ground, including from the highs of his relationship with his wife on \u201cGuru\u201d to the tough times on \u201cWhen You Love Somebody.\u201d It also includes an acoustic cover of The Revivalists\u2019 breakout 2012 track \u201cSoulfight,\u201d a nod to where it all began. \u2014 KAYLEE POCHE<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nayo Jones of The Nayo Jones Experience<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Peter Harris presents: Firm Roots<\/strong><\/p>\n 2:55-3:55 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent<\/p>\n New Orleans bassist and music educator Peter Harris<\/a> has become a keystone of the city\u2019s modern jazz scene, thanks to leadership of Firm Roots and other combos at the Bayou Bar, a post that earned him 2024\u2019s New Orleans Jazz Hero Award from the Jazz Journalists Association. Harris launched the all-ages performance series at a time when New Orleans badly needed a venue where music students, masters and fans could convene for serious listening and real conversations about what they were hearing.<\/p>\n Firm Roots features Harris with Herlin Riley on drums, saxophonist Derek Douget and Dwight Fitch Jr. on piano. Expect deep grooves, thoughtful improvisation from this all-star ensemble and a chance to learn something new about New Orleans\u2019 modern jazz composition masters like Ellis Marsalis, James Black and Harold Battiste. \u2014 JENNIFER ODELL<\/p>\n Banu Gibson feat. Bria Skonberg<\/strong><\/p>\n 3:05-4:05 p.m., Economy Hall Tent<\/p>\n Banu Gibson<\/a> started performing in the 1960s as a teenager before moving in 1973 to New Orleans, where she has had a successful career as an entertainer and longtime bandleader of the New Orleans Hot Jazz Orchestra.<\/p>\n Her spunky, vivacious stage presence and talents as a singer, guitarist and banjoist have earned her a regular spot at Jazz Fest since the 1980s. Her sets often include swinging jazz numbers from the 1920s, \u201930s and \u201940s, and on Thursday, she will be joined by Canadian trumpeter and singer Bria Skonberg<\/a>, who cites Louis Armstrong as one of her biggest influences. \u2014 SARAH RAVITS<\/p>\n George Wein Centennial feat. Randy Brecker<\/strong><\/p>\n 4:20-5:20 p.m., WWOZ Jazz Tent<\/p>\n After his successes with the Newport Jazz and Newport Folk Festivals, pioneering festival producer George Wein got a call in the early \u201960s from New Orleans asking if he\u2019d want to produce a jazz festival in the city. It took nearly 10 years \u2014 first because of Jim Crow segregation and then worries over continued discrimination against Black musicians \u2014 but in April 1970, Wein established the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (originally called the Louisiana Heritage Fair). He continued to be a steady presence at the festival until his death in 2021 at the age of 95.<\/p>\n Wein was a notable pianist and performed at the festival. He would have turned 100 later this year, so Grammy-winning trumpeter and flugelhornist Randy Brecker<\/a>, who has played with Bruce Springsteen, Art Blakey\u2019s Jazz Messengers and others, will join a band of New Orleans musicians for a set honoring the Jazz Fest founder. \u2014 JAKE CLAPP<\/p>\n Alejandro Escovedo<\/strong><\/p>\n 4:30-5:35 p.m., Fais Do-Do Stage<\/p>\n Texas-born, Mexican American singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo<\/a> comes from a famous musical family. His niece Sheila E. Escovedo is a first-wave punk scene veteran who played with San Francisco\u2019s The Nuns in the late \u201970s before he co-founded The True Believers with his brother Javier in a mix of punk grit with heartland rock and country.<\/p>\n Over time, Escovedo has woven Chicano rock, Mexican folk and indie textures into a sound that\u2019s continuously experimental. His lyrics often explore identity and resilience, delivered in a voice that recalls Elvis Costello \u2014 sharp, expressive, and emotionally grounded.<\/p>\n Escovedo\u2019s 2024 album \u201cEcho Dancing\u201d reimagines older songs with synths, drum machines, and ambient production, offering a fresh take on a deep and varied catalog. Escovedo also will be interviewed by Michael Tisserand at 1:15 p.m. Thursday on the Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage. \u2014 LIAM PIERCE<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Drawing a line through 100 years of New Orleans music and traditions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n IamaSound feat. PhaZe<\/strong><\/p>\n 5:10-5:55 p.m., Gospel Tent<\/p>\n Vacherie native Zack Landry, aka IamaSound<\/a>, has been singing since he was 7 years old and started playing piano at 14. These days the millennial artist wears many hats as a performer, composer and actor, showing that gospel music can be for all generations and can expand into different genres of music and media.<\/p>\n Landry frequently posts behind-the-scenes clips of himself in the recording studio or just singing in the car, often accompanied by inspirational messages about the importance of faith. He\u2019ll be joined by his backing group, PhaZe. \u2014 SARAH RAVITS<\/p>\n Santana<\/strong><\/p>\n 5:25-7 p.m., Festival Stage<\/p>\n Guitar legend Carlos Santana<\/a> has lent his genre-defining sound to jazz, Latin music and psychedelic rock and beyond. Now, he\u2019s expanding his message to using music to champion the universal importance of human connection and mutual care, a message that feels even more poignant given the festival\u2019s focus on Mexico in these divisive times.<\/p>\n A Jazz Fest regular \u2014 he\u2019s performed at the fest at least 12 times since 1989 \u2014 Santana\u2019s had to delay some live shows due to health issues. But he\u2019s back in action and fiery as ever, according to reviews. Recent sets have included a mix of hits like \u201cOye Como Va\u201d and the anthemic “Black Magic Woman,” along with deeper-cut tunes he revisited or reworked on his latest album, \u201cSentient,\u201d like his Smokey Robinson collaboration, \u201cLet the Guitar Play, Please Don’t Take Your Love.\u201d \u2014 JENNIFER ODELL<\/p>\n Cage the Elephant<\/strong><\/p>\n 5:35-7 p.m., Gentilly Stage<\/p>\n
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