2012 Jazz & Heritage Festival

Some of Louisiana's best known musicians have joined forces in an ongoing effort to help save Louisiana's coast and at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival fans will reap the benefits of the homegrown collaboration.

On Saturday, Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars featuring Tab Benoit, Dr. John, Cyril Neville, Anders Osbourne, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Vidacovich, Johnny Sansone and Waylon Thibodeaux hit the Acura Stage — the festival's largest — just before another headliner: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

On this week's episode we'll take a look at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival from several different points of view. Plus Eve Abrams investigates Shell Beach, Louisiana during the second anniversary of the BP oil spill.

Larry Sieberth is one of New Orleans' most versatile and accomplished pianists and a top-notch arranger and composer – which may account for him landing 7 gigs at this year's fest – including Saturday, April 28th, with The Gospel According to Jazz, and Thursday, May 3rd, with the Joint's Jumpin'.

In conjunction with Jazzfest, the 5th annual free entertainment industry conference called Sync-Up kicks off today.

What happens when your top Jazz Fest picks are on the plate instead of on stage? One hungry fest fan finds out.

Great New Orleans bassist George Porter, Jr. plays Jazz Fest with his longtime Runnin' Pardners Thursday, May 3, and with the funky METERS Sunday, May 6.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jazz horns, Cajun fiddles, zydeco washboards and rock guitars — they'll all be heard at the same place when the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival kicks off tomorrow. Performances by soul singer Irma Thomas, the Beach Boys, the rock band Zebra, jazz clarinetist Tim Laughlin, Buckwheat Zydeco and others open this year's event. 

The 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, presented by Shell, kicks off Friday at the Fair Grounds.  We go Inside the Arts for conversation with jazz vocalist and native daughter Stephanie Jordan, who will pay homage to the legendary Lena Horne. 

The Stephanie Jordan Big Band performs April 27th at 4:00 p.m., at the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

New Orleans trombonist Mark Mullins, and his slidework colleague Craig Klein, formed Bonerama nearly 15 years ago to put the trombone front and center in a contemporary music ensemble – a notion Mullins began nurturing from his earliest days playing trombone.  Mark Mullins and Bonerama play Jazz Fest Friday, May 4th.