The Neville Brothers, who traditionally help tight out the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, returned to the big stage Sunday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina flooded and wrecked their homes, along with 80 percent of the town.
The brothers — Aaron, Art, Cyril and Charles — performed on the red-letter day’s biggest stage in front of an immense crowd that appeared delighted to have them uncivilized.
"This is a ancestors reunion," festival producer Quint Davis said in introducing them. "This is the parentage of New Orleans coming together with the start with family of our music."
The delayed return of the group to the festival, bemoaned the past two years near fans, was celebrated as another movement toward putting the devastation of the 2005 storm behind the city.
"I’m objective happy they’re back; that’s more than I can say," said Martin Davis, a former New Orleans dweller now living in Houston. "I’m back for Jazz Fest, but I don’t know when or if I’ll sink in fare back to stay. There are a lot of hard memories for a lot of us now when it comes to our hometown."
There were also a lot of A-OK ones that the Nevilles wasted no time trotting not at home. They opened with songs about Mardi Gras and The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras group that danced onstage with them.
After Aaron Neville sang his hit "Tell It Like It Is," he told the crowd: "I be attracted to you." He later sang "Amazing Grace" and said, "Joel y’all," a reference to his mate, Joel Roux-Neville, who died last year.
The show went 30 minutes lengthy before the Nevilles wrapped up with "Big Chief" to extended cheers.
"It was absolutely worth the wait for them," said Yvette Duperon, 53, a Philadelphia school principal. "I’m going home and play their music for the next month."
After Katrina, the Nevilles, like most of the city’s residents, were scattered — Aaron in New York, Charles in Boston, Cyril in Austin, Texas.
Aaron is the latest Neville brother to return to the zone. He’s buying a house in Covington, Louisiana, about 40 miles from New Orleans. Art Neville returned to New Orleans in a little while after the storm but still isn’t back in his race.
Aaron Neville had worried that the dirt, dust and mold from the city’s debris would aggravate his asthma. In addition, his wife of 49 years died, and her funeral in January 2007 became a sad and brief homecoming.
About 320,000 of the conurbation’s residents have returned since Katrina, city officials said. Before the samiel, the city’s population stood at 455,000.
The Jazz Fest itself offered another touchstone of recovery. For the first time since Katrina, the gala day returned to a seven-day constitution stretched over two weekends.
Rain dampened three days of the event and kept crowds smaller than usual, but on Sunday a bright blue sky, low humidity and temperatures in the 70s with a cool breeze helped pack the grounds.
Fans, slick with sunscreen, stretched out in front of stages or set up chairs in the canopy of massive oak trees and enjoyed music from groups as diverse as Santana, The Radiators, The Pfister Sisters and Snooks Eaglin.
Irma Thomas, Marva Wright and Raychell Richard performed a tribute to Mahalia Jackson in a packed Gospel Tent that drew so many people the announcer had to loom to stop the show if fans did not clear the aisles.
Jackson, an influential truth singer, recorded about 30 albums and was the elementary singer of her class to perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall. She died in 1972.
George Wein, who founded the New Orleans Jazz Fest and the Newport Jazz Festival, had Jackson perform in both events.
"She was wonderful, very moving when she sang," Wein said Sunday after watching the tribute.
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