Matt Abts and Warren Haynes welcomed more than a dozen bass players to the stage for its ‘Deepest End’ show at New Orleans’ Saenger Theater on Saturday. The night which has been billed as a the culmination of two years of touring in support of the Deep End discs featured many of the bassists who appear on the disc. The evening was a true New Orleans throw-down with two sets of music, a six song encore and more than twenty guest musicians. Bass players (in order of appearance) were Greg Rzab, Dave Schools, Victor Wooten, Rob Wassermann, Paul Jackson, George Porter Jr., Will Lee, Mike Gordon, Roger Glover, Jack Casady, Conrad Lazano, Jason Newsted and Les Claypool. Other musicians to join the band included Bela Fleck, Bernie Worrell, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band horns, Fred Wesley, Sonny Landreth, Ivan Neville and David Hildago. The evening was recorded for a live album and DVD.
Jeff Waful’s account of the event will appear later today as part of his Jazz Fest Diary. Photos can be found on the Jazz Fest Photo Page.