'Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story': Documentary gives viewers a front-row seat to the show

When you think of New Orleans, you instinctively conjure thoughts of saucy music and even spicier cuisine. Forever entwined, the two are to NOLA what chowdah and baked beans are to Boston. So, it was inevitable they’d meld into The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Founded 52 years ago by Newport Jazz Fest creator George Wein, the irresistible combination of crawdads and chords has grown into a certified happening, attracting performers and fans from around the world. And now, it has its own movie in “Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story.”

Directed by Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern, the noteworthy film aspires to be this season’s “Summer of Soul,” serving up a mix of history, culture and musicians considered among the all-time greats. That is both its chief asset and its albatross, as it proves that a host of excellent performances don’t necessarily add up to a movie as fine as last year’s Oscar winner. Still, there’s much to enjoy, provided you don’t mind your tunes and grub ladled in propaganda.

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In “Jazz Fest,” everything is grand. And how can it not be when one of the most prominent talking heads is Quint Davis, serving as both executive producer of the film and longtime director of the festival? Toss in an ardent advocate like Jimmy Buffet, also an executive producer, and it begins to wear on the genuineness. It’s also a bit sloppy, with Marshall and Suffern making an errant claim that the fest began in 1971. It was actually 1970. You’d think they’d notice that faux pas considering they were filming the 50th installment -- in 2019!

Their lack of math skills isn’t nearly as distracting as the film’s jumbled, overreaching structure. They introduce issues of race, appropriation and Hurricane Katrina, but detail none of them, all in the name of expediency. At 95 minutes, the movie leaves no room to breathe, nor does it allow us to fully digest the many nuances in the reminiscences of legends like the late Ellis Marsalis Jr. and his four famous sons. There’s such a dash to the finish, the performances are often cut short. And why squander so much time on insights by individuals as secondary as Pitbull or Tom Jones, who doesn’t even sing a note?

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What Marshall and Suffern effectively illustrate is the multiplicity of genres that have become the festival’s trademark. We’re treated to blues, funk, soul, gospel, hip-hop, rock and, occasionally, jazz. It’s the same with the food, as we’re presented with an array ranging from powdered beignets to alligator sausage, all looking scrumptious.

Even tastier are the musical performances. Some are from the fest’s early years, featuring Louis Armstrong and B.B. King, but most are from 2019, highlighting the likes of Buffett, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gary Clark Jr. and perennial favorites Irma Thomas and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. An exception is the 2006 fest, personified by Bruce Springsteen performing a poignant and timely version of “My City in Ruins” in the aftermath of Katrina, rallying a populace in which many lost everything.

The crescendo for me, though, was the five Marsalis greats – Ellis, Wynton, Branford, Jason and Delfeayo – jamming together for what likely was the final time before Ellis’ passing in 2020. One can only imagine how magical it must have been living in a household of musical geniuses. Yet, like everything in “Jazz Fest,” the filmmakers rush us through that contemplation, not even allowing us to hear the family’s entire performance.

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But even a mere snippet is something special in what has evolved into an extraordinarily unique festival, which returned last month after an unprecedented two-year hiatus due to COVID. Too bad Marshall and Suffern didn’t delay the release of “Jazz Fest” to 2023 so they could capture what must have been an inspiring 2022 jamboree in which normalcy returned to a region hit abnormally hard by the pandemic. What could be more fitting than witnessing a city pull together yet again at an event born in the wake of Jim Crow? To hear the organizers tell it, the fest has always been about celebrating diversity, and in that spirit, it could not sing a sweeter song.

'Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story'

Rated: PG-13 for brief language and some suggestive material.

Featuring: Jimmy Buffett, George Wein, Quint Davis, Bruce Springsteen, Earth Wind & Fire, Ellis Marsalis, Pitbull and Irma Thomas.

Writer-directors: Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern

Runtime: 95 minutes

Where: Showing on the South Shore at Regal Independence Mall, Kingston 

Grade: B- 

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Springsteen, Buffett and more spotlighted in 'Jazz Fest' documentary