Videos
Note: Some of these links point to Amazon. If you buy using the link
provided, I get a small referral fee. Thanks!
Videos filmed at Jazzfest
- Let
the Good Times Roll on VHS from Island Visual Arts (1992).
I've seen this listed with a variety of subtitles: "A Film About
the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival"; "A Celebration
of New Orleans Music and its Heritage Festival"; "A Film
About The Roots of American Music". In any case, it's out
of print, and the few places I've found online that have it are asking anywhere
from $50-$150 for it. It does show up occasionally on ebay at much lower prices.
This one is a Swag favorite!
- Legends
of New Orleans, produced by Image Entertainment. Includes performances
from Allen Toussaint (with guest Bonnie Raitt), Dr. John, and the Neville
Brothers from Jazzfest 2000, plus some history and interviews by Ed Bradley.
Originally aired on PBS, this video is now available for purchase on VHS
and DVD.
This is a good one.
- VH1 filmed some of the headliners at the 2000 Fest. The show aired
later that year, and has not been replayed or released.
- Trio TV aired a 10
hour special of the 2001 Festival over Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekends
2001, with a pretty solid collection of performances. They also aired
another 10 hours from first weekend 2002 over Labor Day 2002. They did
not film 2003, but hopefully this will return and become an annual thing.
Not available on video, as far as I know, but maybe someone you know taped
it.
- Reverence is a documentary film by Amy Nesbitt about Allison Miner,
the co-founder and organizer of Jazz Fest. Not available on video, but
it is sometimes screened in the Grandstand during the Fest.
Not filmed at Fest, but Also of Interest
- Dancing
to New Orleans, on DVD from New Video Group (2003). The film spotlights,
through interviews and live footage, contemporary talents like the Dirty Dozen,
Allen Toussaint, Amanda Shaw. If this doesn't get you in the mood for Fest,
nothing will.
- Make
It Funky!, on DVD from Sony (2005). Director Michael Murphy uses a Jazzfest-week
2004 concert as the centerpiece for his raucous tribute to the musical heritage
of the Crescent City. Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Lloyd
Price, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards and more.
Recordings
Compilation Recordings
- New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1976, originally on vinyl from Island
Records, re-released by Rhino, and out of print (CD/cassette). R&B from
Toussaint, K-Doe, Irma Thomas, etc.
- 10th
Anniversary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival from 1978, on the
Flying Fish label (CD/cassette). This album is mostly jazz.
- The
Best Of Jazz Fest: Live From New Orleans from 1988 on the Mardi Gras label
(CD/cassette). It includes R&B, Zydeco, and brass band jazz.
Individual Artist Recordings and Videos
- Blu
Lu Barker, Live at New Orleans Jazz Festival, recorded in 1989 with Danny
Barker. On the Orleans label (CD) This one is blues.
- Germaine
Bazzle - Standing Ovation, taken from a set at the 1991 Fest, as well
as a club show at Storyville. Released in '94 on AFO Records (CD).
This jazz vocalist has been called "New Orleans' First Lady of Jazz".
- The
Band - Live at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, DVD Video of a 1994 Jazzfest
evening concert. Released by Pioneer.
- Deacon
John - Live at the 1994 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival,
released in 1999 in Redbone Records (CD). Blues/R&B.
- Fats
Domino - Live! From the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2001,
released in 2003 on the Sony label (CD). Classic R&B.
- Funky
Meters - Live From the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2000,
released in 2005 on the Sony label (DVD).
Funk.
- Beausoliel
- Live From the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2000, released
in 2005 on the Sony label (DVD). Cajun.
- New since 2004: About
25 sets from 2004 and almost 50 each from 2005-7 were recorded and are available
for purchase, either on CD or by download. See www.jazzfestlive.com
for listings. There's also a Jazzfest Live booth at the Fairgrounds, so you
can buy while at the festival.
- Bootlegs: Some are out there, but since Jazzfest does not allow audio recording,
they may be harder to track down or lower quality than recordings from other
Fests.
Books
Books about Jazz Fest
- The
Incomplete, Year-By-Year, Selectively Quirky, Prime Facts Edition Of The History
of The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, by Jan Clifford &
Leslie Blackshear Smith
- Jazz
Fest Memories by Allison Miner, Quint Davis & Michael Peter Smith.
- New
Orleans Jazz Fest : A Pictorial History, by Michael Peter Smith &
Ben Sandmel.
- Our
Heritage In The Making: The Origins Of New Orleans' Greatest Music Festival
by Brian Federico.
- The
Mardi Gras Indians at Jazzfest, Photography by MJ Mastrogiovanni
- D.J.
and the Jazz Fest by Denise Walter McConduit (children's book, suggested
ages 4-8).
- (new) Happy JazzFest
by Cornell P. Landry (children's book, for "all ages").
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Cookbook, by Lorraine
Landry & Lee Barnes, from 1984, is out of print.
Page last updated
March 31, 2021