Jazz Fest Shabbat 2010

Holding his special top coat is Allen Toussaint, right, with Alan Smason, left.

It's not all that often that the star performer at the annual Touro Synagogue Jazz Fest Shabbat is someone that I know personally, but last night's 19th annual such event proved to be one such event. In one of the most impressive lineups ever, Allen Toussaint, the most well-known New Orleans arranger, producer and songwriter took to the bimah, the raised platform from which Torah scrolls are read and sermons are regularly delivered, and proceeded to blow away the full house in the main sanctuary there. It was a night to revel in the music that came out of New Orleans including jazz and funk, but there was also time for prayer in which the entire congregation came together to observe the Sabbath with traditional Friday evening ritual prayers, albeit with a fresh approach in terms of music accompaniment. In a 6:00 p.m. private concert for patrons prior to the show open to the public, Toussaint played many of his well-known hits like "A Certain Girl" and "Mother-in-Law." But in the later concert he chose to play several surprising choices for his repertoire: songs by Jewish composers that were especially poignant, given the unusual venue. These included Paul Simon's "American Tune" and the late Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans," to which audience members eagerly sung along. Joined by special guest "The Late Show with David Letterman" bandleader Paul Shaffer, Toussaint did a marvelous job juxtaposing the incredible George Gershwin's "Summertime" with Shaffer on a second piano. Shaffer, who wore a special black yarmulka for the occasion, more than rose to the task.

Paul Shaffer swinging in the synagogue.

Joining the two superstars were the Panorama Jazz Band and other ensemble members gathered together by musical director Terry Maddox. After the concert was over, Touro Synagogue made a special presentation of an elaborately designed white tails top coat decorated with symbols associated with Toussaint's historic career. It was a wonderful night for Cantor Billy Tiep, Rabbi Alexis Berk and other lay leaders, who served on the planning committee. The evening started with the Sophie B. Wright Marching Band coming into all sides of the sanctuary and ended with the Hebrew song "Adon Olom" played as an ecnore by Toussaint, Shaffer and others to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In." What a great night for prayer! What a great night for jazz! What a great night for New Orleans!

Wet Jazz Fest

Yesterday's opening of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was a splendid day for sun and fun, but today's performances were dampened by the heavy rains that poured throughout the latter portion of the day. With the ground already soaked and mud in abundance on the infield, tomorrow's expected heavy rains suggest, perhaps, alternative plans should be made. For the diehard Jazz Fest enthusiasts, no amount of drizzle, downpour, inundation, thunderstorm, squall, or cyclonic disturbance will prevent them from attending. And the same could be said for the performers. One of the highest paid professionals was Billy Joel, whose rain-soaked and thunderstorm-filled set was cut short by a half hour due to the floodgates that had opened up in the skies. Joel was quoted as having shouted out at the sky "Is that the best you got? C'mon, bring it on!" While this is all in keeping with the spirit of the Jazz Fest that emphasizes fun, great music, delicious food, creative crafts and pride in the local culture, to experience the festival in the rain takes a lot of stamina and mind over matter. As Satchel Paige once said, "If you don't mind, it don't matter." I recall going to one of the early Jazz Festivals with none other than Leigh Harris, known to her fans as L'il Queenie. The downpour was so bad and the mud was so thick that the half boots I wore were caked with mud through and through. After the Fest was over, I remember walking over to a nearby home and using their water hose to hose off most of the mud. The shoes had been worn only a few times before and had been soft and pliant. After the festival, they changed colors and were stiff as a board. No amount of saddle soap or store bought treatment could save them from the garbage heap. In the end the performances and the time were reckoned easily worth the price of one pair of shoes. However, with today's walk-up $50 price tag to see the Jazz Fest and the cost of good shoes up at least 200% from what they were 29 years ago, one may question if it's all worth the trip. My favorite way to see the festival is to ride a bicycle into the front gate. You dispense with the cost of parking and the time involved in finding a safe spot and pretty much can leave whenever you want, squirting through tight spaces and blasting past the worst of the traffic. However, there is nothing more dangerous than riding a bicycle on the rain slick streets of this city when Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras or some other celebration is ongoing. It is an accident waiting to happen and I loathe pedaling in the rain. Of course sitting and sloshing through the mud is not all that enticing either. Frankly, I will miss not seeing my hero Elvis Costello as he sings with our great performer Allen Toussaint, but the opportunity to stay warm, dry and mud free is too enticing for me to pass up. Lastly, I console myself with the knowledge that there still is another weekend of Jazz Fest upcoming. As Billy Joel sang yesterday, that's why I'll be "Keeping the Faith."