Music / funk
Dr John
(Bristol International Jazz & Blues Festival, Colston Hall, Sunday March 8)
In the 60s Mac Rebennack invented swamp-hoodoo guru Dr John the Night Tripper, a psychedelic distillation of the weird magical culture of New Orleans that gained him international recognition. But Rebennack was a serious musician steeped in the musical traditions of his home town, especially the distinctive rolling piano style of Professor Longhair. So, dumping the razzamatazz, he teamed up with The Meters and Alan Toussaint to teach the world about New Orleans funk and hits like Right Place, Wrong Time cemented his status as official provider of Louisiana flavours to the musical world. Forty years on he can count collaborations with Dylan, Stones, Springsteen, Ringo and Van The Man among countless credits but, more importantly, his spicy gumbo of R’n’B, boogie woogie, blues and jazz is still the true flavour of his New Orleans heritage.
Festival programmer Denny Ilett says: “Celebrating New Orleans in 2015 with a real living legend? Talk about right place, right time!”
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