Walter “Wolfman” Washington at Jazz Fest 2018

In celebration of the 50th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this spring, Smithsonian Folkways will release an expansive, five-disc retrospective box set featuring live recordings from the legendary festival spanning the years 1974 through 2016.

Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival comprises 53 tracks that focus on the festival’s local staples throughout the years. Included in the collection are previously unreleased recordings featuring the likes of Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, Trombone Shorty, The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint (including a duet with Bonnie Raitt), Dr. John, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Big Freedia, the funky Meters Kermit Ruffins, Terence Blanchard, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Champion Jack Dupree, Buckwheat Zydeco, Earl King and many more.

Along with the music, the box set will also include a 135-page book featuring photographs from the festival’s archives, historical essays, extensive notes and more. The five discs are generally dedicated to different genres represented at Jazz Fest, everything from jazz, blues, soul, R&B and gospel to Cajun, Zydeco, funk and hip-hop.

Below, listen to a preview of the collection, a 2010 recording of Trombone Shorty playing his song “One Night Only (The March).” Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival will be available May 10 and can be pre-ordered here.