SALEM — After a steady diet of chowder, the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is ready to add a little gumbo this weekend.
In its fifth year, the festival will spice up its traditional lineup of mainly North Shore jazz and soul talents with a few imports from New Orleans. Organizer Gerry Ryan promises you will hear "a lot of that New Orleans funk that a lot of people like."
He's quick to add that, as always, several North Shore and Northeast talents will be ready to perform as well, from solid professionals, including Club d'Elf, to amateurs of astonishing ability, like festival regulars the Salem High School Jazz Band.
"We have some terrific acts on the North Shore," Ryan says.
The music is free once again, thanks to a long list of corporate sponsors. The show can be heard Saturday and Sunday at the Salem Willows from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Assuming good weather, and given the turnout in past years, up to 2,000 people might be expected to attend.
The event will be held at the Willows rain or shine.
"We always try to represent the North Shore as much as we can," says Andy Goldman, also an organizer. "But we want to have a mix." He sees this weekend as a turning point in the development of the festival as it brings major performers into Salem for the first time in many years.
"This year, we're going up another level," he says.
Bonerama helps kick off the show on Saturday. Ryan stresses that it's "a family-friendly event. ... It's just a fun time. We hope this brings that New Orleans spirit."
"They're all from New Orleans," Goldman says of Bonerama. "A couple of the guys used to play with Harry Connick Jr.'s group."
And you'll hear the difference he promises. Local jazz might inspire introspection, people sitting and listening. Big Easy jazz, by contrast, is heavy on the brass. Uplifting is a good word for it, Goldman decides. With that in mind, there's space near the stage for those who must dance to this music.
Also included in Saturday's lineup will be the Charles Neville & Harvey Diamond Quartet, which mixes one of the Louisiana-based Neville Brothers (a legendary saxophone player) with a Boston jazz fixture, Diamond.
"When they play," Goldman says, "you can't sit down."
Big Sam's Funky Nation performs Sunday, and its founder, Big Sam Williams, got his start as trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. His efforts to branch out just kept getting more and more successful.
Goldman guesses that most of these musicians have been out on the streets of New Orleans at one time or another participating in one of those iconic jazz funeral parades. It's a lively way to go.
"It's going to be a dance party," festival co-founder Larry Claflin says.
"We're thrilled," Goldman says, "to bring back to the area music that the North Shore rarely gets to experience."
It could be just what's needed at present. Music matters, Ryan says. "It gets you through a lot of tough times."
Also performing on Saturday will be Nicky Egan and the Bobby Keyes Trio; on Sunday, Thaddeus Hogarth, Goldberg, Miksis & Langone (with special guest Scott Aruda), and the North Shore Jazz Project Allstars.
If you go
What: Salem Jazz and Soul Festival
When: Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Salem Willows, rain or shine
Cost: Free
More information: www.salemjazzsoul.org/
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