Brother Sherman Washington Jr. was the guiding light in the world of New Orleans gospel music. New Orleans' longest running gospel group is the Zion Harmonizers, and he led the group from the 1940s until his death in 2011.
Washington also held down the duties of a weekly Sunday gospel show on WYLD-AM, but that was only a part of his work.
The Zion Harmonizers performed at the very first Jazz Fest in 1970, and eventually Washington came to oversee the entire Gospel Tent, growing it from a side attraction to major billing at the fest.
"He became the coordinator of our Gospel Tent. Back in the day jazz festivals had blues. They didn't have gospel. Working with Sherman, he brought it out here, and he really is the creator of our entire gospel tent. Through Sherman and our gospel tent, we have exposed real in the church gospel to more people in the world than anything," recalled Jazz Fest co-founder Quint Davis.
Washington's connections in the gospel community, both locally and nationally, helped to bring a diverse booking schedule to the tent, but everyone we spoke to agreed: he ran things with integrity, often agonizing over trying to give every artists a piece of the spotlight in the finite amount of slots available.
Radio Broadcaster Cap' N Kris McCoy says, "Just to see him live, and to see him work his magic on those fingers, and to conduct a group, and handle his own vocals all at the same time, brother was bad! Gone too soon."
For his resourcefulness, attention to details of every booking, and his contributions to the gospel community as an artist, announcer, and organizer, Sherman Washington is a Giant of the Fest.