• On Saturday, May 3, 2014, a group of esteemed musicians and friends joined together for “The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music” a special concert event taping that honored this musical icon. The star-studded concert took place at New Orleans’ Saenger Theatre, with Dr. John joined by a stunningly diverse assortment of notable guest artists, who perform 22 songs written, recorded and/or popularized by Dr. John during his prolific six-decade career, honoring his large and still-growing musical legacy. “It was very moving to have all these people paying tribute to me, but I just treated it like it was another show,” Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and six-time GRAMMY®-winner Dr. John says of The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: A Celebration of Mac & His Music.
The performers include Bruce Springsteen, who duets with Dr. John on the 1973 smash “Right Place Wrong Time”; Jason Isbell, who delivers a heartfelt “Blow Wind Blow”; John Fogerty, who performs the raucous Crescent City anthem “New Orleans”; Mavis Staples, who brings gospel fervor to “Lay My Burden Down”; Widespread Panic, who lend musical muscle to “Familiar Reality”; and Ryan Bingham, who delivers a haunting “Back by the River.”
Fittingly, The Musical Mojo of Dr. John also features memorable performances by several New Orleans legends, including Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Terence Blanchard, John Boutte, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, George Porter Jr. and Zigaboo Modeliste of the Meters, and Aaron, Charles and Cyril Neville. Bassist Don Was served as the project’s musical director, leading an all-star house band that also included Allman Brothers Band/Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, renowned NOLA pianist John Gros, Funky Meters guitarist Brian Stoltz and journeyman drummer Kenny Aronoff, as well as Dr. John’s longstanding musical compatriot, trombonist Sarah Morrow.

• As one of the leading lights of New Orleans music, Dr. John deserves a splashy, star-studded celebration -- which is precisely what producer Don Was assembled on May 3, 2014 at New Orleans' Saenger Theatre. Was led a house band featuring drummer Kenny Aronoff, trombonist Sarah Morrow, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, guitarist Brian Stoltz, and pianist John Gros, then invited a host of rockers, blues musicians, and Big Easy legends to the party. Concord released the whole shebang in October 2016 as The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac & His Music, a double-disc live album accompanied by a live concert movie, and in either incarnation, it's a blast. Granted, it's the kind of party that's relatively low-key, appropriate for the easy roll behind so much of Dr. John's music, but the neat thing about Musical Mojo is how it shows the breadth of Mac's musical diversity. Naturally, there's plenty of room for such fellow New Orleans legends as Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, and the Neville Brothers, but straight blues players like Tab Benoit are here alongside a jazzman like Terence Blanchard, not to mention Americana all-star Jason Isbell, jam band stalwarts Widespread Panic and Warren Hayes, plus classic rockers Bruce Springsteen and John Fogerty. Throughout it all, Dr. John remains at the center, occupying attention even when he's offstage because it's clear that this blend of jazz, soul, R&B, rock, and pop is distinctly his.