A celebration of a city reborn

USA TODAY, April, 2007 by Edna Gundersen

New Orleans Jazz Fest

April 27-29 and May 4-6

A year ago, a combination of can-do voodoo and the Category High-Five spirit of the community helped usher in the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The feast of funky sounds and a joyous throng of 250,000 fans converged on the newly sod Fair Grounds barely eight months after Katrina drowned the city and sent many musicians fleeing.

Producer Quint Davis is heralding a second miracle as Jazz Fest's opening weekend launches today with a bill that boasts Van Morrison, Norah Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brad Paisley, Ludacris and a host of hometown heroes, from Dr. John to Rockin' Dopsie Jr. to Terence Blanchard. For itsMay 4-6 closer, headliners include John Mayer, Steely Dan, ZZ Top, John Legend, Joss Stone, New Edition and George Benson.

"We took a big leap into the unknown last year," ...