Dear Listener,

In New Orleans we’re still enjoying that last lingering Jazz Fest afterglow. For WWOZ, Jazz Fest is a renewal rite, much like those practiced by civilizations since the dawn of time. Our friends in the music and radio world take advantage of Jazz Fest as an excuse to pay New Orleans the visit they’ve been wanting to make anyway. We welcome these high-powered visitors that are coming in for Jazz Fest, Sync-Up and other conventions, into our hyper-local world of New Orleans music culture via the WWOZ Hospitality Tent. These friends are an important part of WWOZ’s future, as they are the most informed people on the planet keeping up with the ever increasingly disintermediated world of media and they help the WWOZ staff and volunteers stay ahead of the curve. They help us think of new ideas that may or may not take off.

So much of what you enjoy and is quintessentially 'OZ, came about as crazy bright ideas: Brass Passes, Mango Freeze, the Live Wire Music Calendar and even the Audio Stream. Way back in 1995, the President’s Council of Economic Advisors sent a representative to Louisiana. Somehow she ended up on the Fairgrounds at our (at the time) incredibly modest Hospitality Tent. It didn’t take Elizabeth Cohen long to see the possibilities, and before Jazz Fest was over, we were streaming Johnny Adams, Soul Rebels, and Davell Crawford on Real Audio 1.0 from the Howlin’ Wolf. A historic event in so many ways, WWOZ has been streaming worldwide ever since.

These things take a little while to brew, but this is how we’re building WWOZ: one idea at a time. Let me know if you’ve got one of those great ideas tucked away in your brain somewhere.

In the meantime, enjoy all the great music on WWOZ—including live performances from the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Patti Austin here in New Orleans at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts and then the Bayou Boogaloo. And you know, there’ll be more!

Yours in maypoles and jelly rolls,

David Freedman
General Manager

WWOZ will be broadcasting Patti Austin live from the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. A very special performance, supporting the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation's Heritage School of Music, it takes place on Friday, May 18th. We strongly recommend purchasing tickets to see Ms. Austin in person, before they sell out. Ms. Austin has been wow-ing crowds ever since she first stepped onto the stage of the Apollo at the age of five, and now, with a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album, you can be sure this will be a momentous night.

» Get tickets + learn more about the broadcast

"Fly me to the Apollo and let me listen to the stars..." WWOZ will be at the Apollo Theater to broadcast their eleventh annual "A Great Night in Harlem" concert on Thursday, May 17th, an event to raise money for the Jazz Musicians Emergency Fund. We'll be updating our site as we receive releases from artists, but check out the details to get an idea of the lineup. If you live in the New York area, go out and support this great event and give the fellows of Rebirth and Treme Brass Band a hug for us!

» "A Great Night in Harlem" details

For all our Mid-City buddies, and all of our friends who become Mid-Citizens during the weekend of Bayou Boogaloo, get on your dancing shoes! Check out the line-up on WWOZ.org and for more details about the food, art, fun!

» Boogie to the Boogaloo

A double-whammy of awesome festivaling, come on down to the French Quarter to enjoy some of the best things about Louisiana on the weekend of June 9th and 10th. With food galore, amazing music from the southwest of the state, and people dressed as tomatoes, what more could you want?

» Learn about the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival

» Details on the Creole Tomato Festival

Can you even remember such a rocking Jazz Fest? Or do they just get better every year? We have a bonanza of photos from Jazz Fest and we can all relive those special acts and surprise guests. A million thanks to the great volunteers and show hosts who made it such a banner festival for 'OZ.

» Jazz Fest: WWOZ's favorite holiday

This year's Piano Night was a sultry, sophisticated event for the books. Not only was it record-breaking fundraising event for the station, everyone there enjoyed an amazing night full of our favorite key-plinkers. Check out our site for photos from the event and to get that Piano Night t-shirt you were eying.

» Piano Night redux

A reliable volunteer at the station, Frank Wills quickly took a liking to recording “spots,” the announcements that we play on air at the station. Frank was also a major league baseball player, a fact that we found out only later as we got to know him (and which finally explained why he took to the spotlight so naturally). But that was his nature: unpretentious, friendly, and always willing to serve.

» Remembering our friend, Frank

Were you hanging out the WWOZ Hospitality Tent at Jazz Fest this year? Then check out our Facebook page to see if you're in our photo gallery from the Hospitality Tent and tell us who you are! Like us on Facebook for access to special ticket giveaways and contests in New Orleans and beyond. Also keep informed with news about 'OZ with up to the minute updates for our broadcasts and more.

» Like us on Facebook and tag yourself

Whether you're serving plain old chicken or making a crawfish étouffée, try fancifying the rice below your favorite main course. Or, think about substituting your favorite stuffing (crabs? turkey? pork chops?) with this rice dressing recipe. If you like the recipe, then visit Louisiana Cookin' magazine. Subscribe with the promotion code wwoz2012, and they'll donate $5 to WWOZ.

» See this month's recipe