Music

Poncho Sanchez is one of the world's greatest conga players — and has led his own band now for 32 years. Sanchez and his band — featuring special guest Terence Blanchard — play Jazz Fest on Friday, April 27th.

DJ Soul Sister — a.k.a. Melissa Weber — spins her enticing brand of "Rare Groove" from the Congo Square stage at Jazz Fest Saturday, April 28th.

Dianne Reeves is one of the world's finest jazz singers, and through the years she has hired a lot of New Orleans musicians for her bands — including Herlin Riley, Chris Severin, David Torkanowsky — and these days, pianist Peter Martin and bassist Reginald Veal, who will be featured in her quintet at Jazz Fest.

In his 1995 autobiography, Under a Hoodoo Moon, Dr. John writes about his tumultuous music career, a decades-long heroin addiction and the time he spent in prison on a drug-possession charge. The book is candid in a way that most of his music is not — until now. On his new album, Locked Down, Dr. John takes a more personal approach.