With his left hand, Aurélien Barnes carved a beat on the cowbell. With his right, he readied his trumpet and blew a funky riff. He turned back to the cowbell, then — drumstick still in hand — played another riff.
Trumpet, cowbell, trumpet.
By that point, performing in a sweaty Rick James cover band, Barnes was skilled at a switchover. The 30-year-old was six days and a dozen gigs into a Jazz Fest-fueled sprint. Over 11 days, the multi-hyphenate musician was set to play 26 shows. Each day of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and every day in between…