George Porter Jr., John “Papa” Gros, Eddie Reoberts and Terrence Houston kicked off the NOLAFunk JazzFest series last night at The Republic in New Orleans. The quartet played together as a group for the first time following opening performances by the Marco Benevento Trio and the Soul Rebels Brass Band. The group was joined by Arleigh Kincheloe (aka Sister Sparrow) of Sister Sparrow and the Dirty at one point in the night. The singer took the stage to contribute her voice to renditions of Bill Withers’ “Use Me” and Rufus and Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good.” Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville and Nikki Glaspie also came out for a take on The Meters classic “Ain’t No Use” while Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch sat in on a few songs.