Musical Space 2/21: New Orleans

Click Image to Enlarge

KMUW / Mark Foley

This Fat Tuesday on Musical Space, Mark Foley pays a visit to New Orleans.

New Orleans is the paragon of a town with a local sound. I’m guessing that this is because, for centuries, it has been the American south’s most important point of intersection for global cultural lines. Native Americans, Spanish, French, Africans, as well as refugees from Canada and Haiti all added flavors to a thick musical stew that is still now cooking.

Amazing to me is how the music of New Orleans keeps its own identity while, at the same time, it has an influence on styles around the rest of the world. This was the only American town where African slaves were allowed to sing and dance in public. These sounds and rhythms naturally crossbred into what became Ragtime, Dixieland, and the blues, the roots of jazz and rock ‘n’ roll.

American recorded music is a testament to the spirit of New Orleans, as channeled through Louis Armstrong, Sydney Bouchet, Louis Prima, Randy Newman, The Neville Brothers, The Marsalis Brothers and many others.

New Orleans funk is a case in point. Professor Longhair, Dr. John, and The Meters showed the world new ways of getting funky by injecting pop music with local flavor.

Music: “Tippi-Toes” by The Meters from Struttin’