I'm following the New Orleans Jazz Festival on Twitter so I got the tweet about this year's line-up for the festival scheduled for dates in April and May of this year. Some of the names surprised me. I had no idea that anyone would consider Bon Jovi's music jazz. Or Jimmy Buffet's. Although Buffet really isn't a surprise since he embraces everything that is sun and surf and sea and sand, and you have to embrace those things if you're living along the Gulf Coast.
Some of the names in this year's line-up are familiar to me. Some aren't. Kid Rock is in Column A. Mighty Clouds of Joy in Column B. By the time the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is over, I'd like to move a whole lot of names from column B to Column A.
Cyndy Lauper is a surprise to me. Maybe not to anyone else, but I'm as new to the world of jazz music as I am to life near water. I spent the first few decades of my life landlocked. In Montana, we at least had respectable rivers. In Utah, the things we called rivers barely qualify as a forgotten trickle of water in these parts. I'm learning about life on the coast along with Rita Lucero, the main character in my mystery series. Rita comes to New Orleans from New Mexico. Her reasons for staying are a little different from mine, but she's as fascinated by this area of the world as I am.
For those of you who know the world of jazz, who are your favorite jazz musicians? Who would you suggest Rita include on her playlist?
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