New Orleans sings praise as Neville Brothers finally reunite

The brothers Aaron, Art, Cyril and Charles performed on the festival's biggest stage in front of an immense crowd that appeared delighted to have them back.

"This is a family reunion," festival producer Quint Davis said in introducing them. "This is the family of New Orleans coming together with the first family of our music."

The delayed return of the group to the festival, bemoaned the past two years by fans, was celebrated as another step toward putting the devastation of the 2005 storm behind the city.

"I'm just happy they're back; that's more than I can say," said Martin Davis, a former New Orleans resident now living in Houston. "I'm back for Jazz Fest, but I don't know when or if I'll come back to stay. There are a lot of hard memories for a lot of us now when it comes to our hometown."

There were also a lot of good ones that the Nevilles wasted no time trotting out. They opened with songs about Mardi Gras and The Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras group that danced onstage with them.

After Katrina, the Nevilles, like most of the city's residents, were scattered Aaron in New York, Charles in Boston, Cyril in Austin, Texas.

Aaron is the latest Neville brother to return to the area. He's buying a house in Covington, La., about 40 miles from New Orleans. Art Neville returned to New Orleans soon after the storm but still isn't back in his house.

Aaron Neville had worried that the dirt, dust and mold from the city's debris would aggravate his asthma. In addition, his wife of 49 years died, and her funeral in January 2007 became a sad and brief homecoming.

About 320,000 of the city's residents have returned since Katrina, city officials said. Before the storm, the city's population stood at 455,000.