NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival turns 40 this year, causing many to pause and reflect on how far event has come in four decades.
At the first Jazz Fest in 1970, only 350 people attended — and that number included the musicians who performed. Today the event draws some hundreds of thousands of fans from all over the world for musical acts in almost every genre — jazz, blues, country, Cajun, rap and rock.
About a dozen musicians who performed that inaugural year will do so this year as well. Among them are trumpeter Lionel Ferbos, clarinetist Pete Fountain, drummer Johnny Vidacovich, pianist Henry Butler, jazz singer Germaine Bazzle and singer-pianist Ellis Marsalis.
The festival kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday and April 30 through May 3.—-Contact The Daily Reveille news staff at [email protected]