Most of us, when we
think of jazz, connect it with New Orleans street corners and cafes. In
Natchitoches jazz and the Cane swing together. Today they danced at
the annual jazz festival, before an overflowing crowd.
It’s April; it's spring, and Natchitoches celebrates the season with
something special. The annual jazz festival brings visitors from all
over the parish, and from places far beyond. It ushers in the start of a
season of festivals, but none so anticipated as the jazz festival,
rivaling the Natchitoches Christmas festival, well known for its
spectacular displays.
Slow and easy musical strains, upbeat notes and sophisticated rhythms
flowed from two stages along the riverbank. Those with homes near the
main section of downtown said it was impossible to sleep before midnight
as the music bounced off those riverbanks on either side, reverberating
into the surrounding neighborhoods. Folks could choose to sit on back
porches and be happily entertained or join the throngs downtown.
This is the annual jazz
festival in Louisiana, this one in Natchitoches where the crowds were
large this year.
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A journalist joined that crowd, enticed by sounds and songs so familiar
and yet so new again.
For those who revel in music, R & B, a bit of country and a whole
lot of very good jazz, the festival is the time of year that brings the
music man folks embrace with vigor. Today Natchitoches celebrated that
jazz, even as New Orleans crowds reveled in the city several hours away.
Jazz is part of the culture, the lifestyle and the lifeblood of
Louisiana, and jazz festivals celebrated it from New Orleans to
Shreveport and Natchitoches in between. .
Del Forsloff
New Orleans jazz
festival crowd. Picture by Del Forsloff
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On festival weekend folks sat in the sunshine midday as the warm, soft
air and river breeze brought new comforts from months of cold winter.
Today jazz was King, and those in the crowd, its subjects, seemed
royally amazed.
Del Forsloff
Here's the crowd all
having fun at the Natchitoches jazz festival.
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As far as the eye could see on Front Street facing the river, musical
groups brought the happy crowd to joyous claps and dancing with the
rhythms they so loved.
Del Forsloff
Johnny Earthquake and
the Moondogs are one of the best known groups in Natchitoches.
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Jazz brings people together from across Louisiana. Some choose the city
and others Little New Orleans, or Natchitoches, complete with the
river, the crowd and the fun. It brought musicians from across the
state and as far away as California to entertain the crowd.
These twins call
themselves Day and Night and are R & B singers from California who
came to entertain at the Natchitoches Jazz Festival.
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Natchitoches prides itself on turning on its charm during jazz festival
weekend, as folks flocked in from everywhere to play in the afternoon
sun. It included those who sat on folding chairs and those in the boats
that sailed on the lake, listening to the music while the water lapped
around..
Del Forsloff
The boats took people
along Cane River Lake as jazz flooded the town.
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Friends and lovers strolled along the river. People danced in the crowd
to the music that made toe-tapping and swaying something extra fun.
Del Forsloff
Friends and lovers
alike enjoyed the sunshine and the jazz. Here a couple are getting
their picture taken by DJ Carol Forsloff.
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The evening brought a crescendo, as the crowds grew larger, the music
louder, the aromas and sounds of crawfish boiling, catfish sizzling, and
beer cans popping, that make one hope, like any good thing, the day
might never end.
So folks declared as they walked away, enjoying again what Louisiana is
known for worldwide, the music it calls jazz.
People wandered along
the river, coming and going in large and small groups from the crowd at
the jazz festival.
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