Tribute concerts make up a healthy portion of the Jazz Fest after-dark calendar, though amid homages to the likes of Prince, Madonna, and the Grateful Dead, notably absent is a celebration of the heavy metal forefathers of Black Sabbath. Fishbone bassist Norwood Fisher helped remedy that glaring absence late last month with his Blackened Sabbath tribute celebrating the band’s deep cuts (blackened to perfection) with help from a slew of Jazz Fest late-night regulars. The celebration seemed especially fitting since it occurred just hours after Louisiana-born, sludge metal cult favorite Acid Bath played its first show in 28 years, less than a mile away at The Fillmore New Orleans.
For his Blackened Sabbath tribute, Fisher arrived backed by Trulio Disgracias, a collective offshoot of L.A. funk-metal forebear Fishbone’s extensive “nutwork.” Fishbone veterans John Steward (drums) and Luis Oliart (guitar) formed the core backing band along with keyboardist Brian Haas (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey), guitar lynchpin Eric McFadden (Parliament-Funkadelic, Anders Osborne), and the Dumpstaphunk horn section of Alex Wasily (trombone) and Ashlin Parker (trumpet).
Related: Black Sabbath Is A Lot Funkier Than You Think
To help bring Sabbath’s catalog to life and emulate the singular Ozzy Osbourne, Blackened Sabbath enlisted a parade of special guest vocalists. With Nikki Glaspie billed on the lineup, one would naturally assume the badass Nth Power drummer would spend most of her evening behind the kit interpreting the work of Bill Ward. However, the greatest surprise—and perhaps best overall asset, next to McFadden—of the Blackened Sabbath tribute were Glaspie’s turns on lead vocals, starting with the hellish, show-opening “Black Sabbath”.
Glaspie lent headbanging authenticity whenever she stepped out on the Toulouse Theatre stage, particularly on “War Pigs”. While Glaspie’s vocals were an easily digestible highlight, Blackened Sabbath’s true treat for the seasoned Sabbath fans (those who came allured by the promise of “deep cutz”) was the band’s translations of songs into funk-fueled jams—particularly, how trombonist Wasily and ever-experimental keyboardist Haas worked in tandem to transform the instrumental prog ending of “War Pigs” into vintage funk. Similarly, the band made stoner ode “Sweet Leaf” into a bitter funk song that took on the new perspective of a jilted lover, highlighted by Wasily’s trombone solo.
While guests Angelika “Jelly” Joseph and Shira Elias (Cool Cool Cool) took on “Paranoid” and “Iron Man” respectively, Blackened Sabbath found its surest footing when exploring less popular songs. Guest vocalist Kate Vargas stole the show on the bluesy “The Wizard”, with the song’s iconic harmonica leads translating fluidly to the Dumpstaphunk horn section. Though Blackened Sabbath was a personal highlight of my Jazz Fest calendar, I couldn’t help but internally debate whether a funk tribute to Black Sabbath was truly necessary—that was until I heard horns on “The Wizard”.
Although not technically Sabbath, a slow-jam rendering of Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” was another unexpected highlight. Seguing into the cover from Rick James‘ “Mary Jane” of all things, McFadden took the spotlight on this reading that wrung every ounce of soul from Ozzy’s alienated lyrics. Slow-funk “Crazy Train” felt like a natural conclusion, but Fisher was far from finished at nearly 3:30 a.m. After running through all of the Sabbath covers, Fisher turned the last half hour into a clinic of Fishbone’s patented funk-punk. Even though this was billed as a Black Sabbath tribute, this freight train of funk finale proved to be a high point of the show, stirring up the sparse but dedicated dozens still in attendance before setting us loose on the French Quarter at 4 a.m., fried to perfection.
Check out videos from Blackened Sabbath in New Orleans and photos by Jay Strausser.
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