New Orleans (The City that Care forgot)

New Orleans has long been a significant center for roots music, as it is constantly showcasing it’s European, Latin American and African cultures. The City’s musical heritage was born in the early thirties and forties. The music of New Orleans actually evolved from the blending of American, African and Latin American cultures.

New Orleans was the only North American City that allowed slaves to gather in public, while showcasing the talents of their motherland. The oddity is that many of the slaves were likely to be sold in that same spot. This started in a place called ”Congo Square”. Congo Square was essentially an outdoor ”slave market”. It’s been rumored that most other forms of New Orleans’ music(Jazz, gospel and Brass Bands) could have started there too. This site is now known as The Louis Armstrong Park.

New Orleans’ unique musical heritage is also noted through the city’s traditional funerals. A typical New Orleans funeral may well showcase, Blues, Gospel, Jazz and even a brass band or two, all in a single procession. Even though the processions may contain several genres of music, the funerals continued to be called ”a Jazz Funeral”.