23-April-2016
Gentilly Stage
 New Orleans, USA

NOLA
It was about halfway through the closing show at the New Orleans Jazz Fest Gentilly Stage on Saturday (April 23). Master musician and songwriter Van Morrison asked his guitarist to "give me a G." He modulated his voice to match the chord then launched into a jaunty version of "Jambalaya." Who knows, the Hank Williams tune may be a regular part of Morrison's repertoire, but the Bayou State crowd accepted it as a tailor-made gift, cheering and bobbing to the first few bars.

The ability of Morrison and his impeccable five-piece ensemble to incorporate a loping, country classic seamlessly into the jazzy, R&B flow of their set is a tribute to the team's flexibility. Flexibility is key, because, stylistically speaking, there are several Van Morrison's to accommodate. There's the pop radio Van Morrison of "Brown Eyed Girl," the Christian mystic Van Morrison, the romantic balladeer, the Ray Charles devotee, and the sultry jazz instrumentalist. All of whom shared the stage Saturday.

It would be hard to praise the 70-year-old's vocal skills enough. When Morrison sings, and particularly when he scats, his voice is as saxophone-like as his saxophone. Instead of tiring as the concert progressed, he always seemed to be able to reach down for yet more power and emotional depth in his delivery. He handled "Baby Please Don't Go," "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," "Wild Night," and "Days Like This," with muscular, mature authority. There was no mistaking that this show was crafted for adults.

Even "Gloria," Morrison's 1964 love anthem that has become the bouncy go-to crowd-pleaser of every bar band in the land, had a more serious, serrated tone in Saturday's performance that breathed life back into the old warhorse.

It was unfortunate that when the band deliberately dropped the volume on the jam that followed "Moondance," to achieve a sort of musical whispering, sound bleed from another stage -- or stages -- ruined the effect.

Despite the gorgeous weather, the notoriously deadpan Morrison appeared, as is his custom, dressed for summer in San Francisco, with a suit jacket, felt fedora, and ascot. He never frowned, nor did he crack a smile. Except, perhaps, once. As the perfectionistic Northern Irish knight began singing the comically bawdy lyrics to "Don't You Feel My Leg," he may have, just may have, guffawed with laughter.

As the last notes of the closing jam faded away, an audience member quietly opined: "Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous."

Agreed, agreed, agreed.
-Doug MacCash

OffBeat
Van Morrison Delights at Jazz Fest

Alternative rock megastars Pearl Jam weren’t enough to keep the crowds away from Van Morrison’s competing set at the Gentilly Stage on Saturday evening. Despite new rules regarding chairs and blankets, finding a solid vantage point for the singer-songwriter’s packed show was a battle for anyone that didn’t mark their territory early in the day.

The Northern Irish troubadour stepped up to his golden microphone–sax in hand–before a dense crowd of onlookers eager to revel in his classics. Almost instantly, the band jumped into a pair of appropriately jazzed up numbers in “Celtic Swing” and “Close Enough for Jazz.”

The songs kicked off a career-spanning set that was a bit heavy on covers, and a bit light on tunes from his masterful late-60s LPs Astral Weeks and Moondance. Out of the two records, only the latter’s titular track found it was into Morrison’s 90-minute performance, and even it was peppered with parts of the Rodgers and Hart jazz standard “My Funny Valentine.”

While Morrison has always incorporated elements of jazz into his material, yesterday’s show saw a few of his pop classics take a turn in that direction, as hits like “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Wild Night” were delivered with arrangements that differed from the original offerings. The songs were given new life by an impressive, yet restrained, backing band that kept the flashiness at bay until the evening’s closing “Gloria” demanded a round of extended soloing.

Though he never veered into Prince tribute territory (that job was saved for the sky writer above, who spelled out “Prince,” “1999” and the symbol that was once the artist’s name with his plane), Morrison did dive into a number of covers that he has been performing for years, including Ray Charles’ “I Believe to My Soul” and John Lee Hooker’s “Think Twice Before You Go.” His rendition of Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya,” in particular, was met with cheers from an audience that probably identifies with the lyrics more than most.

At 70 years of age, Morrison appeared to have little trouble belting out varied material. His range may not be what it once was, but his vocal style lent itself well to the choice covers and updated arrangements of his originals, which were executed to perfection by his band. Even though he left a few notable tunes on the table (this writer was itching for “And It Stoned Me” and “Into the Mystic”), it looked like most of his fans barely noticed. Smiles have a way sticking around for a while, when you’ve just sung along to “Brown Eyed Girl” with Van Morrison.
-Sam D'Arcangelo

Setlist (Thanks Steve L.)
Celtic Swing
Close Enough For Jazz
I Believe To My Soul
By His Grace
Carrying A Torch
Brown Eyed Girl
Baby Please Don't Go/Parchment Farm/Don't Stop Crying Now
In The Afternoon/Ancient Highway/No Plan B/Raincheck
Motherless child
Wild Night
Sometimes We cry
Jambalaya
Precious Time
Moondance/My Funny Valentine
Days Like This
Whenever God Shines His Light
Think Twice Before You Go
Help me
Gloria

Big Hand For The Band!
Dave Keary (Guitar)
Paul Moore (Bass)
Paul Moran (Keyboards)
Bobby Ruggiero (Drums)
Dana Masters (Vocals)