Photo Highlights of the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest

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Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on April 22.

(Photo: Adam McCullough)

Traditionally taking place over two weekends in late April and early May, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is an occasion for music lovers from around the world to gather in the birthplace of jazz and celebrate the art form’s rich past and promising future.

During the first weekend of this year’s edition, the festival lineup featured an exceptionally broad range of artists and groups. Zydeco artists and brass bands shared the stage with blues guitarists and Latin ensembles, and jazz fixtures like Brian Blade, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter rubbed shoulders with pop acts like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, J. Cole and Nick Jonas.

In the slideshow below, DownBeat presents a selection of photos from the festival’s rousing first half, captured in striking detail by photographer Adam McCullough. We’ll have even more photos and a critical recap later this week.

—Brian Zimmerman



  • 23_Brad_Mehldau_by_Elena_Olivo.jpg

    ​“Perhaps that’s a key to what makes me tick — a very strong curiosity, which makes me a perpetual fanboy of whatever I’m discovering,” Mehldau says.

  • Ahmad_Jamal_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    ​Ahmad Jamal (1930–2023) with his trio at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago.

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  • Wayne_shorter_by_Michael_Jackson.jpg

    “Remember to be a warrior, not a worrier,” Shorter said, 10 days prior to his passing on March 2.

  • Eric_Reed_IMG_by_Keith_Wilson.jpg

    “When I first emerged on the scene, I was dealing with working with a certain trumpet player who shall remain nameless,” Reed said. “It was very much an indoctrinating, dogmatic point of view, but it was all I knew.”

  • 23_Dave_Liebman_by_William_Brown.jpg

    ​“When you play blues-type stuff, the material is pretty obvious; it’s how you do a lot with a little,” Liebman said.


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