New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Saturday, May 3rd
Approximate times for WWOZ’s Saturday Jazz Fest Live Broadcast:
9:15a-10:05p Doyle Cooper (Recorded Thur May 1 at the Economy Hall Tent)
10:20-11:10 Charmaine Neville, live from the Blues Tent
11:35-12:30 Jason Marsalis, live from the WWOZ Jazz Tent
12:55-1:55 Victor Campbell, live from the WWOZ Jazz Tent
2:05-3:00 Eric Lindell, live from the Blues Tent
4:00-4:55 Corey Ledet Zydeco & Black Magic (Recorded Sunday April 27 at the Fais Do-Do Stage)
All start times are approximate, as these performances are live. Start times have been delayed by as much as 5 minutes sometimes
9:15a-10:05p
(Recorded Thur May 1 at Economy Hall Tent)
Doyle Cooper
• Doyle (from New Olreans) began playing trumpet at age 10, following in the
footsteps of his grandfather and mother (Leslie Cooper!), both seasoned
traditional jazz performers
• In 2017, the Doyle Cooper Jazz Band made its debut at the iconic Economy
Hall tent at Jazz Fest, he opened up the Economy Hall Tent stage this morning
(May 1st 2025)
• Had Leslie up to sing a song, and had his wife, Amber, up to sing the duet
“Cheek to Cheek” with him
• Also a fantastic singer and front man
• By the age of 30, Doyle had performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage
Festival nearly 50 times (info pulled from WWOZ artist bio by Missy)
• Doyle is actively involved in music education, teaching trumpet at the New
Orleans Traditional Jazz Camp and mentoring young musicians through various
programs
• In addition to his own band, Doyle leads the Red Hot Brass Band, a group of
young musicians dedicated to preserving and performing traditional New
Orleans brass band music. He is also an in demand sideman for several other
bands
10:20-11:10
Blues Tent
Charmaine Neville Band
• Vocalist with a rich voice and warm personality
• She has put her own stamp on the rich traditions of New Orleans music
with expressive vocal interpretations of jazz tunes, R&B, blues, and
standards
• Born in 1956 in New Orleans, the daughter of Charles Neville
• Young Charmaine came of age singing with The Neville Brothers
• She eventually formed her own group and began performing locally and
abroad, with gigs ranging from the local Children’s Hospital and Angola
Penitentiary to Zurich and Berlin
• She has performed with Dr. John, Bobby McFerrin, Harry Connick, Jr.,
and Linda Ronstadt, among others
• “Neville’s band is led by the talented and debonair pianist Amasa Miller,
who lends a light touch on the keyboards in counterpoint to Neville’s
feisty approach, and the steady and inspiring guitar chops of the great
Detroit Brooks, himself a member of a talented New Orleans musical
family” – Charmaine’s WWOZ bio written byMissy Bowen (so nicely put I
didn’t want to take a word out)
11:35-12:30
WWOZ Jazz Tent
Jason Marsalis
• Youngest sibling of jazz luminaries Wynton, Branford, and Delfeayo
Marsalis, and son of father, Ellis Marsalis
• At 3 years old, Jason’s parents, Ellis and Dolores, fostered his interest in
music by introducing him to a toy drum set. This early fascination evolved
into a love for performing, with Jason relishing the imaginary concerts his
parents would host for him
• By 6 years old, he had acquired his first real drum set and began taking
lessons from the renowned New Orleans drummer James Black.
• Jason played with his father’s jazz group and, at 7 years old, he joined
forces with his trombonist brother, Delfeayo.
• A discovery in a junior youth orchestra in Richmond, VA, sparked his
interest in percussion, prompting him to abandon the violin and focus
solely on percussion
• In 1991, he gained admission to the prestigious New Orleans Center for
the Creative Arts High School (NOCCA)
– His high school years were marked by honing his skills through
collaborations with his father and brothers and studying orchestral
percussion techniques at the Eastern Music Festival.
– After graduating from NOCCA in 1995, Jason assumed the drum
throne in a new group led by virtuoso pianist Marcus Roberts.
– While maintaining a demanding touring schedule with Roberts, he
pursued further education at Loyola University in New Orleans and
delved into composition under the guidance of notable classical
composer Roger Dickerson
• Collaborates with diverse bands and musicians, from Brazilian-inspired
Casa Samba to jazz fusion group Neslort
• In 1998, he co-founded the Latin-jazz ensemble Los Hombres Calientes
and produced albums both with the group and under his own name
• In 2000, Jason transitioned to focus more on the Marcus Roberts trio,
expanding his repertoire to include the vibraphone.
– This marked a pivotal juncture in his career, leading to
collaborations with renowned artists like clarinetist Tim Laughlin.
• Hurricane Katrina disrupted his trajectory, but Jason returned to New
Orleans in 2007, revitalizing his involvement in the local music scene
• In the years that followed, Jason’s musical diversity expanded, and he
embarked on teaching roles at NOCCA while performing with traditional
jazz musicians at iconic venues like Preservation Hall and Palm Court
Jazz Cafe.
• His mastery of the vibraphone garnered him opportunities with the
legendary Lionel Hampton Orchestra.
• Jason’s career continued to evolve with projects like the Native Jazz
Quartet, fusing folk songs into jazz, and collaborations with the Marcus
Roberts Trio, including an album with banjoist Bela Fleck
• His 2013 release “In a World of Mallets” on vibes achieved critical
acclaim and recognition, topping the JazzWeek Radio Charts and earning
an Offbeat Magazine award
• In 2014, he further pushed the boundaries of modern jazz with The 21st
Century Trad Band, solidifying his status among mallet instrument greats.
Jason Marsalis’s music remained fresh and innovative, with his quartet’s
2018 release, “Melody Reimagined: book 1,” and a live project in 2020
titled “Jason Marsalis Live.”
12:55-1:55
WWOZ Jazz Tent
Victor Campbell
• A prodigious piano player hailing from Camagüey, Cuba
• His compelling style combines virtuosity, whimsy, charisma and
technical prowess
• Victor began playing piano at 5 years old and went on to train at
Cuba’s National School of the Arts
• Victor first visited New Orleans in 2012 as part of an exchange
program with the Louis Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp
• That visit changed his life and in 2019 Victor decided to move to
New Orleans
• He has been feverishly studying all styles of New Orleans music
ever since and incorporating it into his own musical language
• He can effortlessly transition from a blues solo, to a Cuban
timba montuno, and then right into a classical piano selection.
• In a 2019 interview the great Chucho Valdés predicted that
Victor will revolutionize Cuban jazz piano.
2:05-3:00
Blues Tent
Eric Lindell
• Grew up and lives in the Bay Area, California [and honorary New
Orleanian (came here in 1999)]
• Raspy, soulful voice and instantly memorable original songs, roots-
rocking multi-instrumentalist
• Mixing West Coast rock and swampy Gulf Coast R&B with honky tonk
country and Memphis soul, Lindell creates American roots music that is
both surprisingly fresh and sweetly familiar
• Among his early musical influences were Fishbone and Black Flag
• Artists including Branford Marsalis and The Neville Brothers began
showing up at his gigs in New Orleans, and some of New Orleans’ finest
players, including keyboardist Ivan Neville, often joined him on stage.
• Since 2003, in addition to his own gigs, Lindell regularly joins forces with
Ivan Neville, Stanton Moore and Robert Mercurio to perform as Dragon
Smoke (performed at Jazz fest 2025 on Thursday May 1st on the Festival
Stage)
• He’s recorded and performed with the likes of Stanton Moore of Galactic,
Ivan Neville, Harold Brown (of War), bassist Cas Faulconer, and the late
keyboardist Marc Adams.
• Noted singles include “Lay Back Down,” which was used in the TV shows
“True Blood” and “Friday Night Lights,” “If Love Can’t Find a Way,” and
the Gulf South anthem, “Queen of Louisiana.”
4:00-4:55
(Recorded Sunday April 27 at the Fais Do-Do Stage)
Corey Ledet Zydeco & Black Magic
• Corey Ledet was born in Houston but has deep roots in Louisiana’s St.
Martin Parish
• His musical family includes his great-grandfather Gabriel, who played
professionally with jazz pioneer Bunk Johnson, and grandfather
Buchanan, who helped develop the distinctive zydeco rhythms as
drummer with Clifton Chenier and Rockin’ Dopsie
• Young Corey took up the drums at age 10 before moving to the
accordion, and he has been a mainstay on the Louisiana-Texas dance
scene ever since
• His 2021 album Corey Ledet Zydeco earned a Grammy nomination, and
included a few songs sung in Kouri-Vini, a distinctive Louisiana Creole
dialect that Ledet first learned as a child from his elder relatives
– His adult interest in the language has grown, and Ledet has become
an impassioned supporter of its regeneration, so much so that he
wrote his entire 2023 album Médikamen in Kouri-Vini, and currently
uses it often in his live shows, regarding it as an important
connection to his authentic heritage as zydeco
• Has performed at festivals such as Big Island Jazz & Blues Festival
(Hawaii), Festival d’été de Québec, Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival, and
Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, and Rhythm & Roots Festival (Rhode
Island)
