The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazzfest) has announced its lineup for 2008. Basin Street Records artists performing at the 2008 festival include:

Theresa Andersson on Friday, April 25th;
Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen on Saturday, April 26th;
Dr. Michael White (tribute to George Lewis) on Saturday, April 26th;
Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers on Thursday, May 1st;
Jason Marsalis (with John Ellis) on Thursday, May 1st;
Henry Butler on Saturday, May 3rd;
Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra on Saturday, May 3rd;
Dr. Michael White and the Original Liberty Jazz Band on Saturday, May 3rd;
Jason Marsalis (tribute to Max Roach) on Saturday, May 3rd;

also Rebirth Brass Band on Sunday, May 4th. Included in this list because of the Kermit Ruffins’ Throwback CD that they recorded on.

and Ellis Marsalis on Friday, April 25th. Included in this list because of the upcoming Irvin Mayfield and Ellis Marsalis CD coming out on April 1st.

Headliners include: Stevie Wonder, Santana, Sheryl Crow, Robert Plant, Burning Spear, Ozomatli, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Tower of Power, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.

Basin Street Records will have artists performing at the Louisiana Music Factory on Wednesday, April 30th from 2pm-5pm.

See you at Jazzfest!

Irvin Mayfield will be interviewed Friday, January 11th at 8pm ET on Bloomberg TV’s Night Talk. It will re-air on Saturday 12th at 8pm and 10pm and again on Monday from 12am-1am. Check http://www.bloomberg.com/ for more information.

NOTE: If you missed this interview you can view part 1 HERE, part 2 HERE, and part 3 HERE.

Irvin Mayfield was named one of Bloomberg TV’s 100 most interesting people. He is an official cultural ambassador of New Orleans and Louisiana and he has recorded 10 projects for Basin Street Records. His newest CD, Love Songs, Ballads and Standards, (a collaboration with Ellis Marsalis) will be released on April 1, 2008.

New Orleans’ own, Kermit Ruffins, will perform LIVE on CNN worldwide on 12/31/07 from the New Orleans New Years’ Eve celebration from Jackson Square between 10:45pm and 10:55pm CT.

Kermit Ruffins performs on this week’s edition of American Routes radio program. This show airs on stations all over the country, and you can listen to many of these stations over the web. For a complete list of stations, click on http://www.americanroutes.org/.

Tonight’s new episode of K-Ville on Fox (airs at 8pm CT) will include what I believe will be a long performance of “Drop Me Off in New Orleans” from Kermit Ruffins’ 1533 St. Philip Street CD. Please write to Fox and tell them to renew the show next season. It is great for New Orleans. If you haven’t seen it, it is a cop drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans. It has hired a bunch of local actors and crew, and has used a lot of local music.