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New Orleans, Louisiana

"Program Change: Earth, Wind and Fire will perform today, ARETHA FRANKLIN WILL NOT APPEAR"

Yeah. Annoying.
     Still, Iman, Ellie and I saw reams of brilliant musicians at JazzFest this year, both inside and outside the festival grounds. The calibre of the average busker is incredible in the Big Easy, as is that of the bands playing the clubs in town- often an artist will play to the JazzFest audience, who've payed up to $60 apiece for a day's ticket, then head to Bourbon Street and play to people who got in for five dollars, or even for free.
     Trombone Shorty did it the other way around- on Saturday night he and his band Orleans Avenue played Tipitina's Uptown, finished at about five in the morning, had breakfast, then headed into the racecourse and did it all over again.
     The man does not have a single bad review. Everyone and anyone you talk to about Trombone Shorty will say how great he is, how fun the show is, and sometimes how they're personally linked to him. Raheem, our CouchSurfing Host's brother, told us to go see him in the bar, whatever the cost, whatever the stupid time of night, because we'd get a real intimate experience from it.
      After seeing him on the stage for an hour, we all regretted not having the intimate experience. A smooth voice, a sweet sound from the trombone, the trumpet and the piano, a love of his band and a collection of classic sounds formed into fresh songs make for a brilliant gig, and the pure talent of the ensemble is captivating.
     The bassist absolutely blew me away- here he is starting out his solo --

          Then, as he gets more into it, his band starts egging him on

               And finally pure jazztastic noise pours from the stage, and the guy is lying on the ground kicking his feet in the air

And I started thinking this is how music is meant to be.
     As you leave a bar on Frenchman street you're greeted by a brass or funk band, as you walk towards the festival people are jamming on up-turned icecream tubs and leading the passing crowds in singing.
     So yeah, it would've been nice to see Aretha.
          But New Orleans has so much more to offer the world than big names and bright lights

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