Tagged: music

Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti's youngest son – saxophonist and singer Seun Kuti – was just 15 when he took over the Egypt 80 band after his father's death in 1997.  After struggling for a few years Seun Kuti and Egypt 80 are again touring the world, performing at important festivals and major venues.  They play Jazz Fest Friday, April 27th.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cosimo Matassa, the recording producer whose New Orleans studio was where Fats Domino recorded his first album "The Fat Man" in 1949, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Matassa was honored over the weekend in Cleveland for his contributions to the evolution of rock and roll.

Other 2012 Hall of Fame inductees included the Beastie Boys, Guns 'n' Roses, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chicago blues guitarist Freddie King.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The French Quarter Festival, a free four-day music festival centered in this city's historic center, is seeing what some long-time performers say are the largest crowds ever for a festival that's been around since the 1980s.

"This is the biggest I've seen it," jazz trumpeter Leroy Jones told the Times-Picayune after a midday set with one of his bands, New Orleans' Finest.

Throngs of people packed the French Quarter and listened to music on 22 stages around the old city center.

Carolina Chocolate Drops singer and banjoist Rhiannon Giddens was preparing for a career in opera when she discovered the rich tradition of African-American string band music and performance in the Piedmont region. She completely changed directions, and co-founded the now Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops. The Carolina Chocolate Drops play Jazz Fest Saturday, April 28th.