Donald Harrison, Jr. is a musician and educator with strong ties to Jazz Fest. Over twenty years ago, he also combined jazz with Afro-New Orleans traditional music on his critically acclaimed and influential albums Indian Blues in 1991 and Spirits of Congo Square in 2000. These records deepened his commitment to maintaining the offshoot rituals, call and response chants and drumming as well as his determination to keep traditional to modern jazz music alive for the next generation. In this Jazz Fest Flashback, he shares how Jazz Fest is different from other festivals, and how the creative freedom he was given on the Jazz Fest stage has affected his career.

JF 50 Flashback: Donald Harrison from WWOZ New Orleans on Vimeo.