Previews
Thursday May 3
!Chevere! 
2:50 p.m., Congo Square Stage, Latin
Chevere is the polyrhythmic octopus brainchild of Dave Ellington, keyboardist for Leigh Harris and the Cosmic Krewe. This band plays Latin music complete with driving piano and a great rhythm section of Mark Diflorio on drums and Hector Gallardo and Michael Skinkus on percussion. Its CD Bailar Mi Ritmo was one of the better CDs released last year, but it fell under the radar.
Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie
5:50 p.m., Sheraton N.O. Fais Do-Do Stage, Zydeco
The standard-bearer for traditional zydeco, Delafose also fronts one of the most exciting dance bands in Louisiana. The son of the late musician John Delafose, Geno began beating drums for his dad at gigs like the Maple Leaf Bar, allowing New Orleans dancers to witness the young musician growing up on stage. Now, Delafose has emerged as the brightest young star of zydeco, a charismatic performer and a triple-threat on single-row, triple-row and piano-key accordions. At 2 p.m. today, he’ll join his friends Christine Balfa and Ann Savoy to discuss the musical and social relations of Cajuns and Creoles in Southwest Louisiana.
Iris May Tango
5:45 p.m., Congo Square Stage, Funk
Iris May Tango parties! Their brand of minimalist funk, avant-garde saxophone, soulful vocals and turntables always turns the crowd into a frothy, sweating, dancing mess of people. On higher-profile gigs (such as Jazz Fest), Iris May Tango usually does something special involving costumes, lights and effects. They have been recording recently, so they may play some of their new tunes, as well as old favorites like "Kind Bud."
John Rankin
2:15 p.m., Lagniappe Stage, Folk/blues
New Orleans mainstay Rankin is one of the city’s underrated guitarists, a thoughtful acoustic picker who plays the gamut from jazz and blues to Brazilian guitar. His long-running Wednesday night shows at the Columns Hotel is one of those treasured New Orleans gigs.
Lil’ Band o’ Gold
5:30 p.m., Sprint PCS/ LG Stage, Rock and Roll
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect pairing of the old guard with the new: legendary swamp-pop vocalist and drummer Warren Storm anchors this South Louisiana supergroup along with young turks Steve Riley on accordion and C.C. Adcock on guitar. A who’s-who from the likes of BeauSoleil, the Mamou Playboys, and File rounds out the band, which plays a mix of heady originals and classic Louisiana R&B, swamp pop and rock ‘n’ roll. The band’s kick-butt self-titled debut CD came out last year.
Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris
1:55 p.m., Sprint PCS/ LG Stage, Vocals
Whether it’s the gutsy growling rock ‘n’ roll of Little Queenie and the Percolators in their early-80s heyday, or the sophisticated phrasing she brings to standards and the eclectic songlist of her string band Mixed Knots, Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris’ vocal range and power never ceases to amaze. Her 1999 CD House of Secrets was nothing short of stunning, featuring superb originals mixed with inspired covers of nuggets from the Kinks and Rolling Stones catalogs. Her Jazz Fest sets always feature a who’s-who of local luminaries in the band
Lucinda Williams
3:30 p.m., Sprint PCS/ LG Stage, Folk/rock
We like to claim Lucinda Williams as a New Orleanian, since she went to high school in New Orleans at Fortier, and her classic acoustic album Happy Woman Blues features such Louisiana-inspired anthems as "Lafayette." The acclaimed singer-songwriter is still earning accolades for her 1999 breakthrough album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, but she takes a new route in June with the release of her forthcoming CD Essence. Heartbreak and loneliness never sounded so good.
Spencer Bohren
5:10 p.m., Lagniappe Stage, Blues
Blues and folk singer/songwriter and guitarist Bohren was a mainstay of the New Orleans scene in the ’80s, leading now-legendary Monday night jam sessions at Tipitina’s. He followed his wandering troubadour muse and toured and traveled the country for most of the ’90s before moving back to New Orleans a few years ago. He’s a great storyteller firmly rooted in traditional music forms, and his most recent CD, Carry the Word, was a moving album of spirituals.
Old Zion Missionary BC Choir
1:15 p.m., Rhodes Gospel Tent, Gospel
Old Zion’s large membership ensures rousing versions of traditional and contemporary gospel favorites at this set.
Quintology
1:15 p.m., BET On Jazz/WWOZ Jazz Tent, Contemporary Jazz
Quintology is a quintet formed by several former University of New Orleans Jazz Studies students. In the several years that they have been on the scene, they have fit well into the New Orleans jazz continuum that includes Astral Project, the Ellis Marsalis Quartet with Nat Perilliat and James Black, and the American Jazz Quintet. Their last CD, Blues by Five, shows them playing everything from soul jazz to exotic Eastern-tinged jazz.
Sonny Landreth
3:55 p.m., House of Blues/Old School 102.9 Stage, Rock/Blues
Guitarslinger Landreth is a bona-fide guitar hero with a whopping resume. He cut his teeth in Clifton Chenier’s band, then pioneered a fretting technique that’s given his slide playing a unique sound no one can match. He’s been a sideman for everyone from Mark Knopler to Junior Wells, and is lead guitarist for John Hiatt’s Louisiana band the Goners. Landreth’s new album is another love letter to southwest Louisiana, titled Levee Town.
Chris Thomas King
2:45 p.m., House of Blues/Old School 102.9 Stage, Blues
It’s been quite a year for King, thanks to his debut on the silver screen in the Coen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou? King plays Depression-era bluesman Tommy Johnson, and snagged lots of screen time with co-stars George Clooney and John Turturro. While King’s played everything from Hendrix and rap-blues in his career, he recently completed an acoustic blues album based on his character from the movie.
Widespread Panic
4:05 p.m., Acura Stage, Rock
Despite the usual poo-pooing that pervades Jazz Fest chatter whenever a jam band is booked, Widespread Panic is a decent southern rock band with an obvious affinity for the New Orleans music tradition. The band’s 2000 album Another Joyous Occasion, released on their own newly-founded record label, consists of live material recorded on their summer 1999 tour with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
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