Gambit Picks for Thursday

from Gambit's Jazz Fest Guide 2022

The Legendary Leo Nocentelli

PAGE 21 05 05 May T H U R S D AY

TheRumble

1:55 P.M.-2:45 P.M. JAZZ & HERITAGE STAGE

The Rumble came out swinging when the band debuted at the Maple Leaf early this year. The band’s name alludes to the rolling wall of sound of tambourines, cowbells, glass bottles and singing you’ll hear following the Big Chief coming down the street on Mardi Gras Day — and it’s a good name for the group’s muscley, energetic, brass-fueled Mardi Gras Indian funk. The Rumble features former Cha Wa members Second Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. of the Golden Eagles, trumpeter Aurélien Barnes, trombonist José Maize Jr., bassist TJ Norris, saxophonist Gladney, guitarist Ari Teitel and keyboardist and percussionist Andriu Yanovski.

LeoNocentelli presents‘AnotherSide’

2:10 P.M.-3:10 P.M. SHELL GENTILLY STAGE

Everyone knows Leo Nocentelli as the guitarist of New Orleans’ masters of funk, The Meters. But this set is focused on a lost project — an album he recorded in the 1970s that wasn’t released until 2021. Inspired by the likes of James Taylor, it featured his take on country and Western music (see pg. 17). Nocentelli also has a set not primarily focused on this album at 12:25 p.m. Friday on the main Festival Stage.

CoreyLedetZydeco

3:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M. SHERATON NEW ORLEANS FAIS DO-DO STAGE

Accordionist and singer Corey Ledet hails from a family with generations of musicians, who performed with everyone from Bunk Johnson to zydeco pioneers Clifton Chenier and Rockin’ Dopsie Sr. In recent years, Ledet has worked with Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers in bands playing the music of Acadiana. Michot helped produce Ledet’s 2021 album “Corey Ledet Zydeco,” which stretches from polished zydeco to an Acadian waltz to a cover of the rocking blues classic “Flip Flop and Fly.”

DirtyDozenTribute toDaveBartholomew

3:35 P.M.-4:50 P.M. SHELL GENTILLY STAGE

Dave Bartholomew was a trumpeter before he went to work for Imperial Records and crafted his big beat sound, shaping R&B and rock ’n’ roll. He wrote numerous hits with Fats Domino and is one of New Orleans’ legendary composers and producers. He also worked with Lloyd Price (“Lawdy Miss Clawdy”), Smiley Lewis (“I Hear You Knocking”) and many others. He died in 2019 at the age of 100. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band offers this tribute to Bartholomew and his music, with guest appearances by Elvis Costello and Al “Lil Fats” Jackson, who is best known for his tributes to Domino.

LibbyRaeWatson andtheHooDooMen

3:55 P.M.-4:55 P.M. LAGNIAPPE STAGE

A native of Pascagoula, guitarist Libby Rae Watson took up the mantle of Mississippi’s traditional blues styles of Son House and Mississippi John Hurt. She often performs solo, but for this set she’s backed by long-time collaborators Bill Steber, Sammy Baker and Sam Rorex as the HooDoo Men.

Le’AndriaJohnson

4:05 P.M.-5:05 P.M. GOSPEL TENT

Le’Andria Johnson has one of the more powerful voices in contemporary gospel and it has helped propel her popular appeal. She won a Grammy for Best Gospel/ Contemporary Christian Music Performance, won the BET network’s gospel singing competition “Sunday Best” and two of her albums topped the Billboard gospel charts, most recently in 2017 with “Bigger Than Me.”

RankyTanky

4:25 P.M.-5:35 P.M. SHERATON NEW ORLEANS FAIS DO-DO STAGE

Ranky Tanky takes its name and inspiration from the Gullah culture of African descendants in coastal South Carolina and Georgia. The group combines Gullah musical traditions, spirituals and roots music sounds, all driven by the singing of Quiana Parler. Some of its more joyful, up-tempo, R&B stylings are infused with jazzy horn riffs from Charlton Singleton.

BillyStrings

5:30 P.M.-7:00 P.M. SHELL GENTILLY STAGE

Billy Strings won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album for his 2019 release “Home,” and last year’s follow-up, “Renewal,” also went to the top of the Bluegrass charts. He grew up in Kentucky and Michigan playing bluegrass, like his father, who was not a professional musician. But his virtuoso guitar talents have made him a phenomenal performer whether he’s nimbly picking his way through a traditional bluegrass tune, playing acoustic folk and country or remaking psychedelic rock, Grateful Dead jams, metal or other songs.

BettyeLaVette

5:45 P.M.-7:00 P.M. BLUES TENT

Bettye LaVette’s vocal talents were recognized at an early age, and she recorded her first hit as a teenager with “My Man — He’s a Lovin’ Man.” In her career, she’s ranged from soul and R&B, releasing an album for Motown, and rendering her own interpretations of British invasion rock classics. Following a string of releases for ANTI-, she’s focused more on blues in recent years. Her 2020 album “Blackbirds,” released on Verve, includes a cover of Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” and a slow, emotional take on The Beatles’ “Blackbird.”

AntonioSanchez &BadHombre

5:45 P.M.-7:00 P.M. WWOZ JAZZ TENT

Married couple Antonio Sanchez and Thana Alexa are the core of this sound exploration in contemporary jazz. A native of Mexico City, Sanchez is a drummer and composer who spent years recording and touring with Pat Metheny before embarking on a solo career more in a progressive jazz vein. He also has scored films such as “Birdman,” which won him an Oscar. Though born in New York, Alexa focused on jazz singing while living in her mother’s native Croatia before returning to the U.S. They’re joined by Japanese keyboardist BIGYUKI and bassist Lex Sadler.