Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers Welcome Branford Marsalis During New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Set
Photo: Harrison Ezratty
On April 25, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers delivered their highly anticipated New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival set. The ensemble’s latest appearance arrived amid an undertaking of live performances in support of the bandleader’s latest studio project, Indigo Park, released on April 3. During Saturday’s frame at the Fair Grounds, an old connection was reignited when Hornsby brought out Branford Marsalis and nodded to their crossover with the Grateful Dead as well as their subsequent collaborations.
Before Hornsby’s tenure, Marsalis joined the Grateful Dead for the first time on March 29, 1990, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The performance included one of the most beloved renditions of “Eyes of the World,” later included on the live compilation LP, Without a Net. That summer, Brent Mydland played his last show with the Dead on July 23, 1990, and passed away three days later. The massive loss pressed the group to fill the lineup gap, resulting in Hornsby’s entry into the fold along with fellow keyboard player Vince Welnick in September 1990.
Before capping off the year, the Grateful Dead and their two-keyboard tandem of Welnick and Hornsby participated in the annual New Year’s Eve tradition of putting on a live spectacle, this time on Dec. 31, 1990, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The performance represented Hornsby and Marsalis’ initial on-stage meeting, as facilitated by the Dead.
Marsalis appeared on Hornsby’s fourth album, Harbor Lights, adding more layers to their storied history on tunes like “Talk of the Town,” “Long Tall Cool One,” and “Rainbow’s Cadillac.” Their history continued over the next decades, illuminated by an array of musical meetups like the MLB-fledged National Anthem in 1995, Gathering of the Vibes’ conjuring of “King of the Hill” into “Big Boss Man” in addition to All Good Festivals’ 2012 “Hell in the Bucket” delivery, which also included Weir – just to name a few.
During Hornsby & The Noisemakers’ [J.V. Collier, Chad Wright, John Mailander, Gibb Droll, J.T. Thomas] festival set in the Big Easy on Saturday, Marsalis joined the group on the Fais Do-Do Stage to add to Hornsby’s Don Henley co-write “The End of Innocence,” “Prairie Dog Town,” and “Way It Is,” [See an additional show note below]. The jazz legend and group of premier players conjured layers of keys and strings that elicited one-of-a-kind sonic designs like those on a tightly woven Persian rug, impressing with the saxophone player’s prominence – distinguishable blows like floral accents that would otherwise be regarded as a solo.
Marsalis wasn’t the group’s only guest. Hornsby also brought out Matt Perrine (tuba) and Craig Klein (trombone) from the New Orleans Nightcrawlers to help on features off the new record, his final collaboration with the late Bobby Weir, “Might As Well Be Me, Florinda,” in addition to “Way It Is.”
