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The story of Congo Square and the collaborative project created in its honor.

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Ears to Hear It
By Yacub Tetteh Addy with Amina Addy

I was born in the British colony of the Gold Coast in 1931 and grew up at a time when our tradition was under attack. I was determined, despite the pressures to westernize, to keep my culture alive, and to make sure it was presented respectfully and authentically on the professional stage at the same standard as other cultures. I organized and led the first staged performances in Ghana of genuinely traditional Ghanaian music and dance, starting in the 1950s before independence. My art took me from Ghana to Europe and America, where in 1982 I created my current group Odadaa!, continuing to perform and teach traditional and traditionally-based Ghanaian music, song, and dance, and collaborating with musicians from other traditions.

My father was Okonfo Akoto, a powerful wontse, which is a combination of a priest, physician, musician, and dancer who works with the supernatural. My mother was Akua Hagan, the lead singer in my father's medicine music and dance. My brother Tetteh Coblah Addy taught me how to drum.

While I was growing up, I regularly walked from my father's neighborhood of Avenor, where the whole family was heavily involved in traditional medicine and social music, through the bush to my maternal grandmother's house in central Accra, which at that time was a small city. As a teenager, I danced with my friends on the streets of Accra to American big band jazz numbers blaring from a few record stores and small clubs. Even old people, born in the 1800s and leaning on walking sticks, loved the music and danced.
So many people joined in that we blocked the street. The colonial police came and beat us to scatter the crowd, but we always went back. In the music of Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Louis Jordan, I heard connections to our traditional rhythms.
I knew back then that one day I would put my traditional music together with jazz.

In the early 1980s when I was living in the D.C. metro area, I saw Wynton on television soloing with a symphony orchestra, and I told my wife Amina that I was going to work with him. Surprised, she asked why I chose him; and I said, "Because he can do it." In 1992, Billy Banks came to a concert by my group Odadaa! that was presented by the World Music Institute at Symphony Space in New York, and he turned Wynton on to my work. Wynton and I met in the dressing rooms when we both played President Bill Clinton's Inaugural Festival on the Washington Mall in January 1993, and later he came out to see two of our concerts at Symphony Space.

In 2003, Wynton came to my home in upstate New York to finally begin work on our first collaboration, "Africa Jazz." Just after he entered, I asked him, "Do you know the music that was played in Congo Square?" We had visited Congo Square in 1985, the first time Odadaa! played the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. It's a historic site right next to the French Quarter where African slaves performed their own music and dance on Sunday afternoons for over a hundred years, from the early 1700s to mid-1800s. Wynton looked in my face and said, "Nobody knows. But...I know." He spoke like someone who knows something with his spirit rather than knowing it as fact. I responded, "If you know, then let's put it together."

It took another three years to put it together. Just four days after Jazz at Lincoln Center announced the premiere of Congo Square in New Orleans, Katrina hit. It broke our hearts, but made us more determined. With the help of Almighty God, and many people who worked very hard, our music, Congo Square, was premiered Sunday afternoon, April 23, 2006, on an outdoor stage constructed right in Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park in New Orleans as part of a week's residency by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Odadaa!. It was our gift to the Crescent City. A couple of weeks later, after an East Coast tour, we recorded the music in late-night sessions on the stage of Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.

Wynton wanted the music to represent the people who would have been in Congo Square back when Africans were playing there, and to include two basic human conditions: peace and war. Just like anywhere in the world, there would have been children, women, men and elders there; there would have been peace, and there would have been conflict. This made sense to me, so I contributed appropriate music, both traditional and new compositions, and taught Wynton the bell patterns on which each rhythm is based, how the bell combines with the drums, and where the instruments come in.

We used two pieces we had started developing in our original collaboration. The first is a combination of New Orleans Second Line parade music and the Ga processional Kolomashi, which was created as protest music during Ghana's independence struggle. It follows Wynton's vocal protest about Katrina in "Ring Shout." The second is "Place Congo," where I combined one of my father's medicine rhythms, Bamai, a rhythm of Ga Akong, with a composition Wynton wrote for the orchestra. I mention these because they are examples of adding my tradition to existing jazz pieces and showing how specific and sometimes unexpected traditions go naturally with jazz, if you have the ears to hear it.

We also included a libation, an African-style prayer. Because of the many people who died in Katrina, and the many Africans who performed in Congo Square and also passed so many years ago, it was very important in our tradition that we pour the libation and pray to honor their spirits.

Creating the music was not easy, but when it came together, it was wonderful. I want to thank my brother Wynton for his kindness, respect, hard work, and love. If there was no love between us, we could never have done this project. Wynton is not selfish. I gave him a chance, and he gave me a chance. I learned from him, and he learned from me. I also thank the members of Odadaa! for their patience and perseverance, the members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for their warmth and friendship, all those at Jazz at Lincoln Center who worked extra long hours on the project, and my wife Amina, my collaborator in life and work, for her dedication.

Convergence of Swing
by Wynton Marsalis

I was born in New Orleans in 1961 and grew up in a time of great social change in the United States. Many things that needed changing were changed, while other things of timeless value were lost in the shuffle. As a teenager, I grew disenchanted with the direction of American musical culture and Afro-American culture in general, so I devoted my life to studying and celebrating its richness. In 1979, I moved to New York City to study at The Juilliard School, and perhaps be part of some type of cultural movement. I formed a band in 1981 to reassert the value of real jazz in my generation. It was a quintet that evolved over eight years into a sextet. In 1989, I formed a septet with some of the most soulful and swinging musicians in the world. We were all relatively young men in our 20s and early 30s. We created a style of contemporary jazz that featured our own unique way of playing and that embraced all eras of swing as modern. We traveled the world swinging and teaching in schools, playing late-night jam sessions and bringing the down-home feeling of jazz and the South wherever we went. Through travel, study, and performance, I came to understand our Americanness beyond the context of race.

The creation of Jazz at Lincoln Center in 1991 marked the true beginning of the cultural movement I sought some 12 years earlier. This movement, however, was not initiated by my small group of young musicians, but by the collective effort of a diverse, intergenerational group of citizens dedicated to celebrating the soul and sophistication of jazz as a definitive part of the American experience. In its two decades of existence, Jazz at Lincoln Center has represented this swinging music in so many contexts, all to great effect. We believe in bringing everyone with us-from the ancestors to the little bitty babies. All swing.

My father, Ellis Marsalis, is a great New Orleans musician who played modern jazz during some of the music's most challenging decades. He believed in the value and power of jazz. He used the music with great success as a high school teacher in the 1970s at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. All of his students remain deeply affected by his teachings. My mother, Dolores Ferdinand, believes in the transcendent power of education and of the arts. In the early 70s, she worked in classrooms and in the field for an extension of the U.S. Department of Health that taught nutrition to underserved people. She believes in integrity and in the sacrifice required to maintain it.

While growing up, I played in all kinds of bands: funk bands, concert bands, orchestras, jazz bands...even played the circus once. At most funk gigs, we danced, had afros, and played as loud as we could. Here I began to understand the difference between jazz and the popular music we all loved. Jazz was more than entertainment. This music was rich in information and human value. I felt then that one day I would stand as a representative and use it to teach and heal and communicate.

It was very lonely and unrewarding for a young person trying to play jazz in the early 80s. We were all 19 or 20 years old trying to swing and learn at the same time. People always asked us, "Why are y'all doing this?" We could have answered with one word, "because." A guardian angel descended upon us in the form of Billy Banks. We call him The Masterful Jib. Jibone! He spoke several languages well enough to curse you out in them, had DJ'ed a jazz radio show, and was a connoisseur of many things. He was our road manager, older brother, and mentor. We were so lucky (but didn't know it at the time).

In the early 1990s, Billy called and suggested we check out some great African music, Ga master drummer Yacub Addy and his group Odadaa!. They were beautiful and real and warm. Even though I knew very little about African music and even less about Ga culture, the integrity of Odadaa!'s music lifted me from my seat. I was inspired to learn more. After all, many jazz musicians had been interested in music from the motherland: Max Roach, Coltrane, Duke, Randy Weston, Art Blakey, Yusef Lateef. A lot. And in New Orleans we revel in our African retentions.

A year later, I met Yacub. We fellowshipped and discussed doing something together. I visited Yacub and Amina's home in upstate New York. We filled up on good shrimp stew and listened to and talked about music. We discussed the importance of musical integrity, especially when collaborating across cultures. 'Cub asked me about Congo Square in New Orleans. I said no one has ever heard the music, but I was certain we could evoke that spirit. New Orleans is the only place in the U.S. with an African soul. We dance and play music and give everybody nicknames. We have holistic religions and believe that music is an extension of everyday life. At one time, we even knew that music had meaning connected to consciousness and identity. Some people still know. Throughout our lives, New Orleans musicians maintain this Crescent City way because it feels good, good, good.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Odadaa! collaborated on a concert entitled "Africa Jazz." We tried to come together in a meaningful way. We played compositions by Coltrane, Ellington, and original pieces by both groups. In performance, we discovered things about balance, orchestration, and the beat-our two musics are very different. We realized that a collaboration showing both groups at their best might not be possible. After a period of disappointment, Yacub and I decided that there were several successful pieces from the concert. These were used to construct a foundation for a true collaboration-Congo Square. 'Cub taught me many things: bell patterns, rhythms, and melodies of the Ga people. Most importantly, he taught me that music has meaning in all of our different cultures. And to lose the meaning in a rhythm or in the sound of an instrument is to lose your bearing in the world.

After Katrina hit New Orleans, we knew Congo Square would be special. The piece is about diverse people coming together, about family, about the individual will to freedom. It's about reaching to understand other ways of hearing. My little brothers Carlos Henriquez and Ali Jackson did so much to help me hear and understand the placement of the bell and the rhythms of Odadaa!'s music. Our music improved with their guidance. We spent hours arguing over the placement of the beat and the proper time signature. There was lots of headwork to solve problems of balance, orchestration, and groove. Finally, when our two ensembles came together, it was like a family reunion, festive, fulfilling, and complete.

Yacub is a genius. A man with great depth of feeling. It is one of the highlights of my life to know him and his wife Amina and work with Odadaa!. This recording is a culmination of our 15-year relationship and of a lifetime of keeping the meaning in our musics alive.

I would like to thank all of my brothers in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as well as our staff and Board of Directors at Jazz at Lincoln Center. This is truly a labor of love. Thanks to my brother Delfeayo and Patrick Smith for their late-night hours of work mixing and editing this recording. Hoonyob Skobb (David Robinson). Our supporters and sponsors, thank you. To the members of Odadaa! who bring tireless energy and love to every note of music they play-we came together and continue to be together. I am sure in the spirit of Congo Square we'll forever be together.
DISC 1
1. RING SHOUT "Peace of Mind"
Kee-ya, Kee-ya,
Kee-ya, Kee-ya
Now the brothers done
come from 'round the way
When we play our drums
we say Hu-Na-Nay
I want you, you and you over there
To know we come in peace
and love from Congo Square.

Oh! Peace in the morning.
Response: Peace, Peace,
Peace of mind.
Oh! Peace in the evening.
Oh! Peace all over.
Bless, lord, the Crescent City.
Bless, Lord, this fertile land.
Bless, Lord, the Crescent City.
Bless, Lord, the family of man.
Down on the bayou
where the river flows.
Lake Ponchartrain,
Gulf of Mexico.
Oh Lord, Katrina
and the water spoke.
Folks got to cryin'
when the levee broke.

Oh, the mama and the papa.
Response: Peace of Mind
Oh, the little, bitty babies.
Oh, the grandma and the grandpa.
Oh, the old folks, too.

Oh, the brothers
and the sisters.
Response: Circle round
Oh, the homeless people.
The black and the white folks.
Oh, all the people helping.
Oh, all the people praying.

Oh, bless our people.
Response: All around
All over this land.
What we're hearin'
Oh, so much lyin'
Nothing but lyin'
Have you ever heard so much?
Oh, lies and !yin'.
Shame on FEMA.
Shame on the Red Cross.
Oh, all the greedy people
All over this land,
I said, shame, shame.
I said, Hu-Nah-Nay.

My Sister
Call: My dear, l'm dying.
Sister, girlfriend, I'm dying.
Response: Aye, Aye.
Call: Adwoa Mata, you eat
from someone, but no one eats from you.
My slim thread
(slender young woman),
something's happening to me.
Sister, girlfriend, I'm dying.
Response: Aye, Aye.
Call: Adwoa Mata, you eat
from someone, but no one
eats from you.
I love you to death,
Adwoa Mata eh.
They said Sackey is looking for you.
Adwoa Mata, you eat
from someone, but no one
eats from you.

Come and Get (Rescue) Me
Call: Come and get
(rescue) me Ayi.
Mother, come, come
and get me.
Ayi, do you know that
death is in this world?
Come and get me Ayi.
I'm drowning.

Response: Come and get me Ayi.
Ayi, come and get me.
Ayi, do you know that
death is in this world?
Come and get me Ayi.

Call: Come and get me Ayi.
Come and get me.
Ayi, don't you know our
levee is broken?
Come and get us, we're dying.

The sea is taking us away.
Adje, death exists.

Response: Come and get me Ayi
Call: Ayi, something's happening to me.
Response: Come and get me Ayhi
Call: Mother, death's drowing us.
Response: Come and get me Ayi.
Call: Something's happening to us.

Composer:
Wynton Marsalis & Yacub Addy
Lyrics:
Wynton Marsalis; Traditional
Groove:
Spiritual 2 beat groove;
Okpiyii (Ga social rhythm
from which high life was
developed); New Orleans
Black Indian Clave
Solo Order:
Herlin Riley: Vocals;
Wynton Marsalis: Lead Vocals;
Obuamah Laud Addy: Lead Vocals;
Yacub Addy: Master Drum;
Marcus Printup: Trumpet;
Victor Goines: Clarinet

Response: Hiao!
Call: Hail! May blessings come.
Response: Hiao!
Call: If our voice is one.
Response: Hiao!
Call: Hail! May blessings come.
Response: Hiao!
First Caller: Grandmother
(repeated five times)
Response: Grandmother
Second Caller: All the
male ancestors, all the
female ancestors
Response: Grandmother,
marry abundant rain.

Call: Dig the water,
and swim in it.
Response: We swim in it.
we swim in it.
Yes, yes,
We see, we see!
Blessings, I will drink, ah!
A good harvest!

3. LIBATION
During the performance of the traditional Ga prayer (Nkpai) or libation, the speaker will intermittently pour drink on
the ground as an offering to the ancestors, lesser gods and
Supreme Being. This is a recitation of a portion of the Nkpai performed by Nai Wulomo, one of the Ga people's highest traditional priests.

Call: Attention!
Fathers and mothers,
Grandfathers and
grandmothers.
Response: Open.
Call: What is today?
Response: Today is
Wednesday (or other day
of the week).
Call: Grandfather's
Wednesday,
Grandmother's Wednesday. God Almighty.
God Almighty.
The great God, creator and maintainer of earth & heaven. Father of the great Nile.
Nile! Nile!
You are the greatest.
The champion.
King child of King.
Royal child of Royal.
King's turban
Most high.
You say Amugi
(a great Ga king of old).
You are big (important).
They are crying,
They are crying (for rain).
They get it, they get it
Cutlass cuts Alemele season (November).
Agba (women who control the culture & sing) we call you for Oyeni.
The firewood and decorative leaves are perfect for us. Obo Kwashi-o.
Akele Odeo.
Lawetey Lawete.
Afieye· Okropong.
Mother of the jinn (spi'rits). The ground must be coo!. Bless our land so mushrooms will sprout.
We have to be big (well fed) for him to see us as strangers. Father, give the children life. When a head cloth
(supporting items carried
on the head) falls,
It should fall to the front
(not the rear, so we catch the falling items).
Father says he will cut his head (do anything)
So that strangers who come will bow down to us
(and not rule us).
Coconut cups children.
(Ga infants drink from cups
made of coconut shells during their naming ceremonies), we call you.
We call you from Obutu Afra. To Ada Shura.
To Langma.
I'm just an infant; my mouth still smells of breast milk.
I don't know all of you to call each of you.
But I'm calling you with love. With praise songs.
From birth to death.
Sakuma Klottey.
He destroys it and puts it back together.
If he is among us, everything will be perfect.
Tettey says it; Tetteh says it
(the first born and second born both say it is so).
Abrela Abrala.
Naa Korie Aboyo.
When you say ten, then it is ten. We eat and are full.
Old woman, oldest woman, We call you to come and bless. Everything must be together. Hail, let blessings come to us.
Response: Amen

4. HOME (Family)
Composer:
Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
7/4 Cascara; 6/8 Yeeami
(woman's portion of the traditional Obonu rhythm); 4/4 Swing
Solo Order:
Sherman Irby: Alto Saxophone; Walter Blanding: Tenor Saxophone;
Yacub Addy: Drum Solo; Ryan Kisor: Trumpet

5. TIMIN TIMIN/FIREFLIES (Children)
A Ga children's game, this lyric refers to the flooding of the Sakuma River, reminding the children to travel to speM dfic villages to avoid the flood and assuring them that they will be welcomed there. When we reach higher ground we bow to recognize and honor Ashong and Akwettey. "Vu vu vuvu" is onomatopoeic for the sounds of the wind, "Tl min timin" for footsteps in the mud, and "Tsulon tsulon" for feet moving in the floodwater.

Call: Step, step.
Spread so dirty.
Response: Spread so dirty.
Swampy, swampy.
Sakumo lily pads. We are
Going to Adjenku and Asama.
Then we are free.
Call: One leg is out of the water.
Response: With your one leg
Response: We are going
to Ashong, bowed down.
Akwettey vu vu vuvu.
God's air (storms) always
blows.
This should never happen to
our town ever again, we pray.

Amina is calling you.
Yacub says come and
Wynton Marsalis is calling you.
Odadaa! brothers and
sisters all.
This should never happen to
our town ever again, we pray.

Composers: Yacub Addy & Wynton Marsalis
Lyrics:
Traditional
Groove:
New Orleans 2 Groove; Ga
Social Rhythm, Swing
Solo Order:
Obuamah Laud Addy & Zorkie Nelson: Lead Vocals; Yacub Addy: Master Drum; Ted Nash: Flute; James Zollar: Trumpet; Dan Nimmer: Piano; Victor Goines: Soprano Saxophone; Vincent Gardner: Trombone

6. SUNDAY MARKET (Women)
Composer:
Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
2-3 Traditional Son; 3/4 Waltz; 6/4 Naningo
Solo Order:
Marcus Printup: Trumpet; Sherman Irby: Alto Sax;
Joe Temper!ey: Baritone Saxophone; Carlos Henriquez: Bass;
Otey Thompson: Drum Solo

7. AJESEKE/JOOKIN' "MYSTERY FISH" (Men)
The lead singer and storyteller addresses Ajeseke (actually the slave ship that he perceives as a mysterious fish), a dolphin (called Atio) and fellow fishermen who are witnessing the capture of a sea tortoise, and he speculates on explanations for it. Prior to an African trade economy based on humans, the British who came to the coast of the Gulf of Guinea traded for palm nuts out of which they made and used oil in Manchester and Liverpool.

Call: Ajeseke?
Response: Yea.
Call: Atio?
Response: Yea
Call: Hala (sea tortoise) ay? Have you seen the
sea tortoise?
Response: We have not seen the sea tortoise at all, at all, at all. at all.
Call: Atio?
Response: Yea.
Call: Bortele's father? Ashakuan's father? Response: We have not seen the sea tortoise at all, at all, at all, at all.
Call: Early this morning J went to the beach to look around.
I saw Mr. Sea Tortoise.
He was chained this side, this side, this side and this side. They were dragging him.
Response: Aaaaoh!
Call: So I asked, "What did
sea tortoise do?
What did sea tortoise take?"
Someone whispered to me
That sea tortoise (may have)
Stolen palm nuts.
Response: Aaaaoh!
Call: So I asked, "How did sea tortoise swim down from the [deep] ocean and come and steal palm nuts?" Sea tortoise carries palm nuts. Tortoise carries palm nuts. Mr. Mensah carries palm nuts.
Response: Sea tortoise Carries palm nuts. Sea tortoise carries palm nuts.
Call: tarries palm nuts. Response: Sea tortoise carries palm nuts. Sea tortoise carries palm nuts.
Call: Mr. Mensah carries palm
Response: Obuwe.
Call: Sardines.
Response: Obuwe.
Call: Sardines.
Response: Obuwe.

Composer: Traditional
Lyrics: Traditional
Groove:
Adiko (traditional Ga
fisherman's rhythm); Shuffle Swing
Solo Order:
Obuamah Laud Addy: Lead Vocals; Yacub Addy: Master Drum; Vincent Gardner:trombone,
Walter Blanding: Tenor Saxophone

8. BAMBOULA
Composer:
Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
Son Cha-Cha
Solo Order:
Walter Blanding: Tenor Saxophone (left channel); Victor Goines: Tenor Saxophone (right channel)

9. PLACE CONGO (Old Folks)
Composer:
Yacub Addy; Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
Bamai (rhythm of Ga Akong); 3/4 Swing
Solo Order:
Andre Hayward-Trombone
James Zollar: Trumpet
Sherman Irby: Alto Saxophone;
Yacub Addy: master drum
DISC 2
1. TSOTSOBI "THE MORNING STAR" (Children)
Composer:
Otey Thompson, Yacub Addy & Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
Creative rhythm based in a
Balaphone improvision of the Lobi rhythm, Bawa.
Solo Order:
Otey Thompson: Balaphone
Walter Blanding: Soprano Saxophone, Ted Nash: Flute
Marcus Printup: Trumpet

2. BALBOULA DANCE
Composer:
Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
Tango/March with
New Orleans Feel
Solo Order:
Victor Goines: Clarinet; Marcus Printup: Trumpet

3. LOGO TALK (Men)
Fine fine baby, you no go fine past my mother.
Ayi eggplant soup
(Ayi's nickname).
Ayi eggplant soup. Ayi,
Ayi eggplant soup. Ayl's impregnated an Anago
(Yoruba) woman. Ayi eggplant soup.
Don't talk rubbish. Young girl, don't talk rubbish.
Call: Hemama hemama
Response: Oh hemama.
Call: Sackey push,
Hemama hemama.
Response: Oh hemama.
Call: let's pull and let it come. Hemama hemama.
Response: Oh hemama.

Composer:
Traditional, re-imagined
By Wynton Marsalis, Yacub Addy,
Zorkie Nelson, Okoe Nunoo, Ani Apang. Tawiah Nunoo & Nii Ayaa Tagoe
Lyrics:
Traditional
Groove:
Inventive improvisations of the Kpanlogo rhythm; Fast Swing
Song Order:
Ani Apang: Gome Drum; Ani Apang: Lead Vocals; Walter Blanding: Tenor Saxophone

4. IT NEVER GOES AWAY (Women)
I was waiting
In the shadows
He touched me with his eyes
The dance began.
His hands held high.
And now my soul survives.

So now he's gone.
l carry on.
I'm not crying, but now my mind is blues.

Since the dance,
we danced is through.

No it never.
No it never.
No it never.
No the pain I feel,
It never goes away.

I'd say "I'll tell you when.:
He'd say baby "Amen."
When my soul's taking flight
I think back to that night.
How could one single touch
End up meaning so much?
In the shadows of love.

No it never.
No it never.
No it never.
No the love I feel,
It never goes away.

*5.WAR "Discord" *
''Odododiodio" is an ancient Ga
challenge to fight. "Owaee"
is the response that accepts
the challenge,

Call: Otikwama had a baby
Response: We're going
to see it.
If a boy, we take it.
If a girl, we leave it.

Composer:
Wynton Marsalis & Yacub Addy
Lyrics:
Traditional
Groove:
Odododlodio (1st time Odadaa! plays); Heeami
(2nd and 3rd time Odadaa! plays; mate portion of the traditional Obonu rhythm)
4/4 Swing
Solo Order:
Yacub Addy: Master Drum;
Zorkie Nelson: Lead Vocals;
Okoe Nunoo: Master Drum
James Zollar: Trumpet; Ryan Kisor: Trumpet; Walter Blanding: Tenor Saxophone; Vincent Gardner: Trombone; Delfeayo Marsalis: Trombone; Sean Jones: Trumpet; Okoe Nunoo: Drum; Ted Nash: Alto Saxophone; Ani Apang: Drum; Ali Jackson: Drum Set; Yacub Addy: Drum

6. HEDZOLE BABA (Old Folks)
Call: Peace will come. Peace will come.
Peace will come to us all.
Call: New Orleans,
we are giving you blessings. Blessings must encircle us. New Orleans, we are asking you blessings.
Blessings must encircle us.
Call: We form a circle.
We dig for water.
Call: We ask blessings
Let's be good to each other. Let's unite as one as one. As one we are strong.
Let father
Response: be father.
Call: Let mother
Response: be mother.
Call: Like ripe fruit.
peace will fall.
Response: Like ripe fruit, peace will fall
Call: Peace, peace.
All: Peace for us.
Band: Grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers.
fathers, brothers, sisters.
Peace.
Call: My child, did you hear?
Peace.
Father, did you hear?
My child, did you hear?
Mother, did you hear?
My child, did you hear? Father, did you hear? Peace.

Composer:
Yacub Addy, arranged by Wynton Marsalis
Lyrics:
Yacub Addy
Groove:
Suole 6/8 (Ga social rhythm)
Solo Order:
Obuamah Laud Addy: Lead Vocals; Yacub Addy: Master Drum; Ted Nash: Alto Saxophone

7. SANCTIFIED BLUES (Family)
Composer:
Wynton Marsalis
Groove:
New Orleans Second Line
Street Beat
Solo Order:
Victor Goines: Clarinet; Oelfeayo Marsalis: Trombone

8. KOLOMASHI
Onion trouble symbolizes facing racism or other oppressions. Onions irritate eyes and produce tears. The singer feels like an onion that disturbs those around him, although he has done nothing wrong.
I am onion trouble
I am onion trouble,
I am onion trouble, oh.
I am onion trouble.

Composer:
Traditional
Lyrics:
Traditional
Groove:
Okpiyii (Ga social rhythm from which high life was developed)
Solo Order:
Obuamah Laud Addy: Lead Vocals; Yacub Addy: Master Drum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Congo Square, a ground-breaking new work written by Wynton Marsalis with Ghanaian drum master Yacub Addy, debuted in Katrina-ravaged New Orleans in the spring of 2006 before a wildly enthusiastic audience in Congo Square (inside Louis Armstrong Park).

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If using a smartphone, start the track on Spotify and come back to follow the timeline. YouTube will play on a laptop/desktop. 

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If using a smartphone, start the track on Spotify and come back to follow the timeline. YouTube will play on a laptop/desktop. 

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Recommended to let this play while exploring the timeline on the first listen. Additional may include sound and interrupt.

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"Kee-ya! Kee-ya!" Mardi Gras - Creole Indians

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"Kee-ya! Kee-ya!" Mardi Gras - Creole Indians

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The vocal chants and tambourine playing has ancient roots in the diverse backgrounds of the Black/Indian Creole Traditions of New Orleans. Magnificent costumes and wardrobes. Special thanks to the Louisiana Endowment for the Arts for conducting and recording the interview linked above.

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The tradition of call & response has roots in African music and culture. Thanks to the hard work of the folks at the Association for Cultural Equity, there are excellent ideas and content for learning more about it.

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Selections:
Got On My Travelin' Shoes
Recorded: Central Park, New York City, NY (August 1965)
Performers: Reverend Gary Davis and the Georgia Sea Island Singers (John Davis, Peter Davis, Mable Hillery, Bessie Jones, Emma Ramsay)

"Jonah"
Recorded: Moving Star Hall, Johns Island, SC (August 1983)
Performers: Janie Hunter and the Moving Star Hall Singers

"Eli, Eli (Somebody Call Eli)"
Recorded: Moving Star Hall, Johns Island, SC (August 1983)
Performers: Bertha Smith and the Moving Star Hall Singers
Activity 1: Musical

1. Attentive (listening)

Before starting the recording at the beginning, ask the students to listen for instrumentation and form (or, direct half of the students to listen for instrumentation while the other half listens for form).

Play about a minute (go no further than 1:20) of the recording, then ask the students the following questions:

What sounds did you hear? (Answer: voices, tambourine, hand claps)

What is the form of the piece? (Answer: call-and-response)

Replay a short section of the recording to redirect students' attention to these elements.

2. Engaged (listening)

Play about 30 seconds of the recording from the beginning. Direct half the students to trace the melodic contour of the call and the other half to trace the melodic contour of the response. Model (both) to encourage participation.

Facilitate a class discussion over the following three questions:

Do the calls change? (Answer: Yes)

Do the responses change? (Answer: Yes)

How do they change? (Answer: The calls change almost every time - Rev. Davis varies the lyrics of the call or the melodic contour of the call as he leads the group through the spiritual. The changes are not dramatic; the general shape of the calls remain constant. The responses alternate between two versions: the first response ends with the voices moving melodically up on "shoes", then the second response ends with the voices moving melodically down on "shoes.")

3. Enactive (listening, performing)

Play at least 30 seconds of the recording (go no further than 1:20) from the beginning. Direct the students to sing the response part ("got on my travelin' shoes") with the recording.

Sing along to model; draw attention to the harmonization in the response and encourage students to sing along in harmony.

Repeat this action until students can confidently sing the response part, leading them into performance of this song without the recording.

4. Creative (performing, improvising) **

Perform "Got On My Travelin' Shoes" with the students in the style of Rev. Davis and the Georgia Sea Island Singers. Once the class can confidently sing the response without the recording, designate a caller. The caller can use a constant call - "travelin' shoes, lord" or "travelin' shoes, now" etc. but encourage student callers to vary their calls in the style of Reverend Gary Davis.

Add a tambourine and have responders clap along to enrich the texture.

Rotate assignments so multiple students have an opportunity to call.

**NOTE: This song is best performed after students learn the cultural, historical, and stylistic context of the song. See Activity 2 below. Transcription of the opening of "Got On My Travelin' Shoes" as performed by Reverend Gary Davis and the Georgia Sea Island Singers in Central Park, 1956 Activity 2: Contextual

1. The Spiritual
Lead students through a discussion of the spiritual as a genre of music:

The African-American spiritual tradition originated in the southern United States. With roots both in European-American Christian hymns and African rhythms and aesthetics, spirituals were (and still are) an integral part of African-American musical life.

African-American spirituals are not usually written down or notated like music in the European-American classical tradition. Enslaved African-Americans were almost always forbidden to learn how to read or write because slave owners knew that educated people would be harder to control. African-Americans passed down songs, dances, stories, recipes, and other customs as part of a vibrant oral tradition which continues to this day.

Because spirituals like "Got On My Travelin' Shoes" were not originally written down, the instrumentation, lyrics, rhythms, and melodic contour can vary greatly from one performance to the next. For this reason, musicians well-versed in the spiritual tradition are skilled improvisers.

As a social activity, spirituals emphasize participation, allowing many different modes of expression including movement (dancing, stepping, swaying, clapping, stomping, waving, etc.) and vocals (singing, shouting, chanting, etc.).

African-American spirituals traditionally have close ties to religion and are used in worship, but some spirituals have had other uses. Throughout history,spirituals have been used by AfricanAmericans and their allies to resist systemic oppression as codes, rallying cries, and protest. Spirituals have also influenced many other genres of music, including blues, gospel, and soul music.

Exercise 1: Movement and Performance in "Jonah"

After students have learned the background history of the African American spiritual, have them watch the short video excerpt of "Jonah" as performed by Janie Hunter and the Moving Star Hall Singers, directing their attention to the movement and participation style of the performers, here.

Ask students the following questions:

What do you see/hear the performers doing while they sing "Jonah" in this excerpt? (Answer: feet tapping, clapping, swaying/rocking, fanning)

Watch the excerpt a second time. What rhythms do you hear in the foot-tapping and the clapping? (Answer: in the beginning of the recording, the performers are tapping their feet on each strong beat: 1, 2, 3, 4. When they begin clapping, they clap on beats 2 and 4. This is a common pattern in African-American spiritual music called backbeat.)

How do they change? (Answer: The clapping changes towards the end of the recording with two distinct rhythms that interlock, creating a polyrhythmic texture.)

What signals the change? (Answer: The woman in the back row leads the shift to the second clapping pattern by introducing a new rhythmic pattern.)

After the discussion on clapping and movement in "Jonah," lead students through a rendition of the performance. Sing and clap along with the recording. Notation for the clapping patterns is provided below:
Transcription of the clapping parts to "Jonah" as performed by the Moving Star Hall Singers, 1983

2. Call-and-response

Call-and-response is a musical form that is common in African-American spirituals, such as "Got On My Travelin' Shoes."

Call-and-response can be thought of as a musical conversation between multiple participants. The caller or leader acts as a guide for the musicians, starting the song and facilitating its development. The caller sets the tone throughout the performance, pushing and pulling on the energy of the participants. The responders follow the leader with set lyrics. This form allows for maximum participation, emphasizing inclusivity and community.

When used in worship in the African-American spiritual tradition, the caller is usually a preacher or other community leader while the congregation acts as the responders.

Exercise 2: Call-and-response in "Eli, Eli"

Have students watch the short video of "Eli, Eli" as performed by Bertha Smith and the Moving Star Hall Singers. Instruct the students to raise their hand when the call is being sounded (on "Eli, Eli) and to place their hand on their chest when the response is sounded (on "somebody call Eli"). Repeat this activity as necessary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jZwleyOcpU

Ask the students the following questions:

Is the call always the same? What about the response? (Answer: Like the earlier examples - "Got On My Travelin' Shoes" and "Jonah" - both the calls and the responses vary slightly during the performance of the piece as it progresses.)

What do you notice about the clapping and the movement for "Eli, Eli"? (Answer: Like in "Jonah," the clapping patterns begin with a backbeat and move into a polyrhythmic texture. The performers are also tapping their feet on the beat, and swaying as they sing.)

Next, have students sing "Eli, Eli" with students taking turns being the caller ("Eli, Eli") and the responders ("somebody call Eli"). Incorporate the clapping patterns notated in Exercise 1 ("Jonah").

Activity 2 Extension: Further information about the performers of "Got On My Travelin' Shoes":

3. Reverend Gary Davis

Reverend Gary Davis was an African-American guitarist, composer, and ordained Southern Baptist minister. Born in South Carolina in 1896, Davis was completely blind by the age of ten. He achieved fame through his renowned skills as a gospel blues-style guitarist and was a noted influence on many popular American musicians, including Bob Dylan. Students of Davis include folk musician Dave Van Ronk and Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead.

Davis toured the United States and Great Britain in the mid 1900s. His music (much of it original) was a lively combination of African-American spirituals, square dance music, and American marches.

In 1956, Davis performed at the Central Park Music Festival in New York City, where his performance of "Got On My Travelin' Shoes" with the Georgia Sea Island Singers was recorded by Alan Lomax.

Further information can be found here.

4. The Georgia Sea Island Singers

The Georgia Sea Island Singers are an African-American folk music group from Sea Island, Georgia. The Singers maintain a strong connection to the Gullah culture of coastal Georgia and the Carolinas.
Native to the coastal islands of Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas, the Gullah people are African-Americans with close ties to their West African roots. During the Civil War, the enslaved people of the Sea Islands area were freed from their bondage relatively early compared to other Southern blacks and were largely left alone in the sixty years following the war. The Sea Islands also became a refuge for former slaves from the nearby Bahamas. As a result, the Gullah people cultivated a rich and unique tradition. Their music features aspects of West African traditions, including call and response form.

Of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, Bessie Jones is the most famous. Born on mainland Georgia, Jones moved to the Sea Islands as a young girl. She helped found the Georgia Sea Island Singers in the mid-1900s, a folk group that featured traditional songs and musical games of the Gullah people. Many of their performances were recorded by Alan Lomax.

In 1956, Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers performed at the Central Park Music Festival alongside Reverend Gary Davis.

Further information can be found here.

Lesson plan designed by J. Mike Kohfeld, transcriptions by J. Mike Kohfeld

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Selections: Got On My Travelin' Shoes Recorded: Central Park, New York City, NY (August 1965) Performers: Reverend Gary Davis and the Georgia Sea Island Singers (John Davis, Peter Davis, Mable Hillery, Bessie Jones, Emma Ramsay) "Jonah" Recorded: Moving Star Hall, Johns Island, SC (August 1983) Performers: Janie Hunter and the

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One of the nicknames for New Orleans is "The Crescent City" because of the shape of the city as it developed outward from the original French Quarter (Vieux Calle) which hugs the sharp curve of the Mississippi River.

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New Orleans is a city that occupies the spaces between the many waterways of Southern Louisiana. The Mississippi River cuts straight through the middle of the city, but visitors may not be aware that a large lake sits to the north of the city, as well. Lake Pontchartrain is an estuary (connected to the ocean through straits and passes) that's roughly 40 miles from East to West and 24 miles from North to South.

A body of water that size needed lighthouses to keep fishermen and travelers from running aground in days gone by, and we still have the chance to apprecate these glimpses of history.

Lighthouses on New Orleans South Shore

Milneburg Lighthouse (old Pontchartrain Beach light)

Probably the second most recognizable lighthouse in New Orleans is the old Milneburg Lighthouse, better known (to those thirty years or older) as the Pontchartrain Beach Lighthouse. It marked the western end of the Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park, and was a popular rendezvous for locals, who would say, "Lets meet at the lighthouse."

Built in the late 1830's, it still stands, though in disrepair, on what is now part of the University of New Orleans campus, the UNO Research and Technology Park, at the lake and Elysian Fields Avenue. Plans are to restore the lighthouse, and incorporate it into the design for a new hotel, which will be included in the Research Park facilities.

It isn't a very tall structure, mostly obscured by surrounding trees, and is now dwarfed by the new buildings being added to that part of the campus. You really have to know what you are looking for in order to find it, even in its prominent location.

Though useful and functional at one time, from the 1930's through the 1960's it was used as office space for the amusement park. Now, it appears, its remaining life will be for purely decorative purposes, though preserved as a landmark.

New Basin Canal Lighthouse

The New Canal Lighthouse, at the Coast Guard Station at West End, is probably the most recognizable to residents of New Orleans. The light, atop a square light keeper's house, is still functioning, and sits at the entrance to the Municipal Yacht Harbor, next to a number of seafood restaurants, and what remains of the entrance to the New Basin Canal. It is a landmark fixture, and has been the subject of numerous paintings and photographs.

It was originally built to mark the entrance to the New Basin Canal. The canal extended from Lake Pontchartrain along present day West End Blvd., Pontchartrain Blvd., turning toward the business district along what is now part of the I-10 (Pontchartrain Expressway), and ending in a turning basin approximately where the Superdome is today.

The New Basin Canal was built to replace the smaller, obsolete Old Basin Canal. It extended along Orleans Avenue, from Bayou St. John to just north of the French Quarter, where there was a turn-around basin at St. Peter and Rampart St. The New Basin Canal was filled in during the late 1940's and early 1950's.

The Coast Guard Station moved to the lighthouse area in the early 1960's, and it is a base for rescue and marine safety operations. Prior, the USCG Station was located at the Lake Pontchartrain entrance to Bayou St. John, near Spanish Fort (Ft. St. John).

Rigolets Lighthouse

Known to local fishermen, but to hardly anyone else, is the West Rigolets Lighthouse, just opposite of Fort Pike, along U.S. Highway 90, at the Rigolets. It was built prior to the Civil War, as a small wooden building, on piers, with the light on the roof. Today, if you look west across the Rigolets, as you cross over the bridge, you can see it if you know what you are looking for. It is easy to mistake it for one of the many fishing camps along the shore of the lake.

It is accessible only by boat, and although the average depth of Lake Pontchartrain is about twelve feet, the water in the Rigolets off of the lighthouse reaches nearly one hundred feet. (The Rigolets is the pass between Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Borgne.)

Technically, it would be accessible by land, if you have some hip boots, and if you know the right person (and watch for snakes). The road leading towards the lighthouse (through the area once occupied by the old Fort Pike hospital) is fenced off, with a locked gate. It has been abandoned for over half a century.

Lighthouse on New Orleans North Shore

Tchefuncte River Lighthouse

A delightful little visual surprise is the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse, which sits at the mouth of the Tchefuncte River, on Lake Pontchartrain, in Madisonville. This lighthouse was also built prior to the Civil War, and had also been destroyed and rebuilt, like so many others. Though it is supposedly still functional, it is not in use at the present time. It stands 43 ft. high, of brick and stucco construction, and was fitted with a fifth order fresnel lens.

It is also accessible mostly by boat, unless you care to wade through high marsh grasses, wearing boots and watching for snakes. The lighthouse was turned over to the town of Madisonville by the U.S. Coast Guard, and is intended to be one of the area tourist attractions in a proposed recreational area. The original light keeper's house has been moved upriver into the town of Madisonville.

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New Orleans is a city that occupies the spaces between the many waterways of Southern Louisiana. The Mississippi River cuts straight through the middle of the city, but visitors may not be aware that a large lake sits to the north of the city, as well.

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Much of the culture surrounding New Orleans is the waterways and ecosystems that are intrinsically tied to the commerce and community.

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Long before 'The New World' was 'discovered' Lake Pontchartrain's southern
shoreline was a vibrant and vital area. Below is a brief summary of the history
of the New Orleans lakeshore.

Native Americans were the first residents along the lake
Native American tribes (Bayougoula, Mougoulacha, Chitimacha, Oumas, Tangipahoa, Colapissa, and Quinipissalive) lived in the area we now know as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. Today evidence of their villages exist in the form of piles of discarded clam shells or 'middens'. Source:

The photograph shows workers duting the 1940's finding evidence of Tchefuncta period Native Americans near the lake, two miles from the Lakefront Airport (then called 'Shushan Airport)'

Okwa-ta, which means 'Wide Water,' is the name the Choctaws used for the lake.

As an ancient precedent of an Indian portage, there has always been a movement directed to the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. In modern times the first drive towards its navigational advantages and eventually its refreshment and recreation was punctuated in the 1830's by the Pontchartrain Railway to the resort village of Milneburg (along the present Elysian Fields
Avenue), and the New Basin Canal with its accompanying shell road (replaced by Pontchartrain Expressway). Beginning about 1871 and fully developed by 1880 the man-made land of West End near the entrance to the Basin, with its park and pathways, bandstand, pavillions and various fun-making features, rivaled the similar recreations of Spanish Fort at the mouth of Bayou St. John.

The entire eastward stretch of the Lake was bordered by clusters
of fishing shacks on pilings, until the initiation in 1926 of the 51/2
mile, 2000 acre land fill called Lakefront Improvement Project. This
ultimately provided not only the boulevard and ample strip of landscaped park but also the residential developments of Lake Vista (1936,
modeled after the famous cu/-de-sac scheme of Radburn, New Jersey),
Lakeshore (1951), Lake Terrace (1953), Lake Oaks (1964), plus New Orleans Airport (1929-34) and the University of New Orleans campus.

Source: New Oleans Online-Culture
1699 French explorer Pierre LeMoyne Sieur d'Iberville (March 26 - 30) enters the waterway, which his men name the d'Iberville River (later to be renamed Bayou Manchac). With rough portages and log jams to encountered, the small group eventually reaches a lake which d'Iberville names 'Lake Maurapas' and then on to a large lake which d'Iberville names 'Lake Pontchartrain' after the current French Minister of Marine, Louis Pontchartrain. Source:

1718--Bienville founds the City of New Orleans

Bienville founded the City of New Orleans at present site because of easy access to the Mississippi River through Lake Pontchartrain and Bayou St. John. The city was 'owned' by France.

Shortly afterward, enslaved Africans arrive, adding to the mix of cultures in the Lake Pontchartrian Basin.
Source:

1763-1810--New Orleans is Owned by Spain

After a short revolution, in 1763, the Spanish government took control of the New Orleans area.

1779- Fort St. John/Spanish Fort is established

At Bayou St. John and Lake Pontchartrain, the Spanish erected a fort (San Juan del Bayou)to protect the city from invasion via the lake. Much later it became a thriving amusement and resort area. For a complete history click the link below.

The beginning of the Gumbo

People from other parts of the world began to arrive and settle in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin. All groups contributed to the culture. For example, the 'shotgun' house design which originated in Africa, was imported from the West Indies. Gumbo and other dishes were developed as a result of a mixing of cultural cuisine. The word 'gumbo' is derived from an African word for 'okra,' a staple ingredient of gumbo. Fil? (sassafras leaves) came from Native Americans who added this herb to thicken their dishes, and the 'roux' was contributed by the French.

1812--New Orleans becomes part of the United States after the Louisiana
Purchase

The wealthy spend their leisure time on the lake shore at several exclusive resorts, eating at the famous restaurants, gambling and enjoying the lake breezes. The first resort to open is at Spanish Fort at the mouth of Bayou St. John.

Several important ports flourish on Lake Pontchartrain's shores. Sailboats carry cargo and people between the Gulf of Mexico and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin ports.

Commerce grows on the south and north shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Exported products include: lumber, charcoal, bricks, shells, cotton, and oysters. Imported products include: raw materials and food unavailable locally.

1815:Travel by steamboat begins in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, replacing many of the sailboats.

1831: The Pontchartrain Railroad connecting the city of New Orleans with the lakeshore is completed. Because of the railroad, a large resort area develops on the lakeshore at Milneburg. This resort boasts the beautiful Washington Hotel, a park, and a bath building. The Washington Hotel becomes a popular stopping point for travelers while the well-to-do of New Orleans spend pleasant weekends there.

1831-1838: The New Basin Canal is built using Irish immigrant labor, claiming the lives of many men who work on its construction. The canal serves as a transport route between downtown New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain. Pleasure seekers take a mule-drawn barge, complete with musical entertainment, along the New Basin Canal to the resort at New Lake End (now known as West End).

The Civil War (1861 and Afterwards)

Now it is not only the wealthy who get to enjoy the lakeshore resorts. Families spend their holidays by taking 'Smoky Mary,' the train to Milneberg where they fish and swim. They can also rent small lakeshore camps for the weekend.

------------------
During the Civil War New Orleans is occupied by Union troops.

Beginning around 1850, after many years of steamboat travel in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, railroads are built. Many people now find it quicker and cheaper to travel by train. Several towns, including Slidell are built on the new railroads.

1849: the Southern Yacht Club opens at West End.

Immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Germany, and other European countries added to the cultural melting pot which makes New Orleans so unique.

Buddy Bolden, considered the 'father of jazz,' was born in New Orleans in 1877 and died in 1931. The peak of his career was from 1890 to 1920. He played music at Milneburg and other lakeshore resorts. Louis Armstrong, who popularized jazz on an international level, was born in New Orleans in 1900 and died in 1971. He began his career around 1915 as a teenager. 'West End Blues' was one of Armstrong's songs which featured the local scene.

1928: Pontchartrain Beach amusement park opens where Lake Vista is today. It later moves to Milneburg, at Elysian Fields Avenue.

1924: The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, or the Industrial Canal is opened, linking the Mississippi River with the lake, aiding shipping commerce.

1956-1964:

Lincoln Beach Amusement Park was opened in 1956 and was a popular attraction for African Americans in New Orleans. It closed in 1964.

On the stage at Lincoln Beach many extraordinary musicians performed, including Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, and Little Richard.

Early 1950's: The hurricane protection levees are built along the southshore of Lake Pontchartrain, protecting the whole of metropolitan Orleans and Jefferson parishes from lake storm surges.

1956: The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is completed.

1963: The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) is opened to provide a short cut for shipping from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. It allows saltwater from the gulf to enter the St. Bernard marshes and Lake Pontchartrain, causing the loss of freshwater marshes and the conversion to water of much of the St. Bernard wetlands.

1965: Hurricane Betsy hits the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, causing flooding and other destruction in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes.

A large number on Hispanic people made New Orlean their home during the 60's--again enriching and adding to the local culture.

1972: Pontchartrain Beach swimming area closes due to unacceptable levels of pollution which threaten the health of bathers.

1979: 'No swimming' advisories are posted along the lake's southshore in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes.

1983: Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park closes. Today some remnants of the famous Zephyr ride and other memorabilia are on display outside City Hall on Williams Boulevard in Kenner.

1989: The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation is established to restore the health of the lake and its rivers and to otect the natural habitat of the basin. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation addresses environmental quality issues throughout the Lake Pontchartrain Basin and educates the public about their role in solving the problems. 'Save Our Lake' becomes a popular slogan

The 90's

September, 1998:

Hurricane Georges wipes out all but five Hayne Boulevard camps.

2000: Parts of Lake Pontchartrain are declared safe for swimming

2005: During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, breaks in canal walls allowed wind driven Gulf of Mexico waters into the lake to devastate the greater New Orleans area. All but one camp along the New Orleans lakeshore was destroyed. The New Canal (West End) Light(house) was toppled. Yacht harbors and boat slips were badly damaged. The Southern Yacht club burned.

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Long before 'The New World' was 'discovered' Lake Pontchartrain's southern shoreline was a vibrant and vital area. Below is a brief summary of the history of the New Orleans lakeshore. Native Americans were the first residents along the lake Native American tribes (Bayougoula, Mougoulacha, Chitimacha, Oumas, Tangipahoa, Colapissa, and Quinipissalive) lived in the area we now know as the Lake Pontchartrain Basin.

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Harsh criticism fell upon the government for its failure to reinforce and improve the levee systems, particularly those around the lower income, struggling neighborhoods of New Orleans.

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- The United States government must pay for some of the devastating Hurricane Katrina flooding damages in New Orleans caused by a faulty canal system hastily installed decades ago, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Judge Susan Braden, of the United States Court of Federal Claims, ruled the Army Corps of Engineers is liable for flooding in the New Orleans area, including the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish, after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Braden focused on an Army Corp navigation project known as the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, or MR-GO, which essentially funneled flood waters into the parish areas. The canal has since been closed.

In her ruling, Braden admonished the Justice Department for pursuing "a litigation strategy of contesting each and every issue-whether evidentiary or substantive."

Braden referred to the 76-mile canal as a "ticking time bomb," adding that it had "substantially expanded and eroded." It was built in the late 1960s, but quickly determined as a danger to the local ecology.

"Certainly by 2004, the Army Corps no longer had any choice but to recognize that a hurricane inevitably would provide the meteorological conditions to trigger the ticking time bomb created by a substantially expanded and eroded MR-GO and the resulting destruction of wetlands that had shielded the St. Bernard Polder for centuries," Braden wrote.

"In August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck the St. Bernard Polder, the Army Corps was still discussing whether to close the MR-GO and whether Congress would fund the closure. Neither Congress nor the Army Corps had the opportunity to correct the situation before the MR-GO induced substantially increased storm surge that caused catastrophic flooding on private property-as well as the loss of human life," she wrote.

Joe Bruno, an attorney in several Katrina lawsuits, said the ruling was not a surprise

"Yet another federal judge has found that the corps of engineers was negligent and caused the flooding of this community," Bruno told WWLTV."How many times do we have to hear that?"

Braden did not set an amount for the government to pay. A hearing is set for Wednesday with a mediator.

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U.S. found liable for Hurricane Katrina flooding

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WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- The United States government must pay for some of the devastating Hurricane Katrina flooding damages in New Orleans caused by a faulty canal system hastily installed decades ago, a federal judge ruled Friday.

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Along with the tragic loss of life, countless families were relocated, separated, and forever impacted by Hurricane Katrina and the poor response from federal and state agencies. Death and displacement impacted communities of color at a much larger percentage than affluent neighborhoods.

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A Decade Ago, Katrina Deprived Thousands of Children of Their Education

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And New Orleans’ youth are still struggling to make up for the schooling the devastating hurricane took away.

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The lyrics are critical call to the poor response from FEMA and The Red Cross who lagged behind in getting help and resources to the most needy during Hurricane Katrina.

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Hurricane Katrina, and the subsequent flooding that devastated New Orleans in August 2005, has posed the greatest challenge and evoked some of the harshest criticism the agency has ever faced.

Created by President Carter in 1979, elevated to Cabinet level in 1993, and incorporated into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, FEMA is charged with guiding the federal response to the nation's disasters - both natural and man-made.

The agency manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration as well as helps prepare state and local emergency managers by providing first responder and emergency preparedness training. The Department of Homeland Security channels funding to federal operations and provides grants to state and local agencies.

FEMA defers to state and local emergency teams to handle disasters at their level. If a city cannot respond, the county or the state provides help. If the state lacks the resources, the federal government responds, but only at the request of the governor and on the recommendation of the region's FEMA director.

In order to tap into FEMA resources, the state's governor must submit a letter to the president requesting to formally invoke the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. In the letter, the governor estimates what resources would be necessary to assist state and local crews responding to the situation.

The governor's request doesn't go directly to the president; instead, the regional FEMA director makes recommendations to the undersecretary of emergency preparedness and response, also known as the director of FEMA. The undersecretary then makes recommendations to the head of the Department of Homeland Security, who then briefs the president on the situation.

"It's always the state's call. The state tells what kind of help they need. We don't come in and take over," said Philip Clark, spokesman for FEMA's Region III which includes Washington, D.C., Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. "The Congress assumes responsibility begins at the local level and moves up. Congress didn't mean for FEMA to come in to every disaster."

If the president approves a federal response, he has the power to provide the resources requested from the state but the federal government is not meant to completely take over the situation. The president can, however, authorize executive orders that allow the federal government to assume control of transportation, communication, food resources, and all airports and aircraft.

In the case of a catastrophic disaster, FEMA coordinates emergency food and water, medical supplies and services, search and rescue operations and transportation assistance with the help of 28 federal partners, the Red Cross and local emergency management crews.

"Our role is more of coordination, not dictation," said Clark. "We put together the people that have help to offer with those who need it."

FEMA employs around 2,600 people as part of its permanent staff and has reservists who can be deployed in case of emergency. First responders at the local level, including fireman, policemen and emergency managers, are not employed directly by FEMA but do conduct ongoing exercises with regional FEMA offices.

President Carter created FEMA in 1979 by merging different disaster-related agencies. FEMA's importance grew as it coordinated response to major natural disasters like the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. By 1993, the agency had become such an important one that President Clinton elevated the organization to Cabinet-level status when he appointed James Lee Witt as the FEMA director. Witt, who had managed emergency response in President Clinton's home state of Arkansas, focused the agency on natural disaster preparedness and mitigation.

The Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks prompted President Bush to form the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, and in March 2003, FEMA became part of DHS within the Emergency Planning and Response Directorate.

Merging with DHS relegated FEMA from an independent agency to part of the much larger DHS but gave access to a wider range of resources. Under Homeland Security, FEMA would continue to "lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident," according to its Web site.

FEMA is also part of the National Response Plan created in December 2004 by DHS. The plan established a framework for coordination among agencies that respond to domestic incidents, such as major terrorist attacks and natural events.

The delayed federal response to Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast has led many officials, including President Bush, who called the initial response "not acceptable," to question FEMA's preparedness for a natural disaster.

"The obvious fact is that Hurricane Katrina was an enormously powerful and destructive act of nature. It certainly wasn't caused by any government," said Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. "But government failures preparing for and responding to Hurricane Katrina allowed much more human suffering and property destruction to occur than should have. That is the sad and stunning fact."

As Katrina threatened the Gulf Coast, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco issued a state of emergency on Aug. 26 and on Aug. 28 sent a letter to President Bush requesting a disaster declaration for the state in order to release federal assistance.

"I have determined that this incident will be of such severity and magnitude that effective response will be beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments and that supplementary federal assistance will be necessary," Blanco wrote in her letter.

The letter had to travel through points in FEMA before the federal government could respond. FEMA deployed regional responders before Katrina made landfall, but a major federal response wasn't evident until days later. The hurricane crippled many state and local emergency agencies in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama leaving them unable to respond without federal help.

"What happened was that essentially, the demolishment of that state and local infrastructure, and I think that really caused the cascading series of breakdown," said DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff in a New York Times interview.

From the local level, officials complained of communication breakdowns and the lack of leadership from the federal government, particularly from FEMA Director Michael Brown. Reports of FEMA turning down personnel and supplies offered by police forces and emergency crews further drew fire from Congress and others who said the agency failed to respond adequately.

On Sept. 9, 2005, Chertoff pulled Brown from the role of managing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Blanco's office blamed bureaucracy and layers of red tape for blocking an effective emergency effort.

"We wanted helicopters, food and water. They wanted to negotiate an organizational chart," Blanco's press secretary Denise Bottcher told the New York Times.

The delayed federal response prompted politicians to question FEMA's organization and leadership.

One critique was that the "all hazards" preparation focused too much on terrorism. The Government Accountability Office found in July 2005 that 31 of 39 first responder departments agreed that training was adequate for terrorist attacks but not natural disasters. The report also found that almost 75 percent of grant dollars awarded by DHS for first responders in 2005 focused predominantly on terrorism training.

Despite the criticism, Brown said no one could have prepared for the extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing flooding of New Orleans.

"What we cannot do, and what we did not do immediately after the storm passed and as the levees were breaking, was to be able to bring in rescue workers and urban search-and-rescue teams and the medical teams because they themselves would have then become disaster victims. So we had to come in very carefully and very methodically. And it frustrated me, too because I would rather just have charged in there and done everything we could have," he told the NewsHour on Sept. 1, 2005.

Top congressional Democrats Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California issued statements that FEMA failed miserably and its leadership should be fired. Brown's background is in law, finance, public service and does not have experience with emergency management, they said.

Sens. Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said FEMA should be restored as an independent agency at the Cabinet level to remove one layer of bureaucracy.

Both Congress and President Bush have announced they will launch inquiries into the federal government's response and the future of FEMA.

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Hurricane Katrina, and the subsequent flooding that devastated New Orleans in August 2005, has posed the greatest challenge and evoked some of the harshest criticism the agency has ever faced. Created by President Carter in 1979, elevated to Cabinet level in 1993, and incorporated into the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, FEMA is charged with guiding the federal response to the nation's disasters - both natural and man-made.

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Many parts of New Orleans music are connected to African and Creole calls and chants. Just after the fourth shout of "Hu-Na-Nay", a sharp, striking sound of a metal bell or plate is heard (many variations exist from the Gonkagui to the Frikywa bells from Ghana). It elevates and excites the mood and brings in the brass band and drum line.

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Two things have surrounded saxophonist Donald Harrison, Jr. throughout his life-jazz and the Mardi Gras Indian tradition. The son of the Guardians of the Flames ' Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr., who was also a knowledgeable jazz fan, he grew up with jazz music and Black Indian rhythms in the air.

Harrison reigns supreme in both of these worlds. The saxophonist stands as a world-renowned jazz musician, recording artist and the "King of Nouveau Swing." In New Orleans' Black Indian Nation, he's the Big Chief of the Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group.

"They inform each other," says Harrison, who adds that the feeling he gets when he steps out onto streets in his beautiful feathered and beaded suit on Carnival Day is comparable to when he blows his horn.

"It's a metamorphosis into a transcendental state," he explains of masking and being involved in the culture. "It's the same thing when you're playing jazz-it's transcendental; it takes you away."

It's important to note that Harrison doesn't use the common terms Mardi Gras Indian or Black Indian when referring to his organization.

"I have a lot of respect for the guys who consider themselves to be Mardi Gras Indians, but I moved into describing what I do culturally in New Orleans to be Afro-New Orleans music from traveling all over the world," he explains. "Going to places like Cuba and Brazil, they always put Afro in front of things that are from their country but are a derivative of African culture. For instance, [keyboard great] Eddie Palmieri always says Afro-Caribbean when describing his music."

"From understanding our history and coming from inside the culture, I decided that Congo Square needed to be represented in the culture," Harrison continues. "And, of course, there were African people who were in Congo Square. [The Black Indian culture] isn't straight African but a new entity that was born wholly here in America."

Similarly, he doesn't use the word gang but rather cultural group when speaking of the Congo Square Nation.

"I'm not happy about the term gang, not because of the word but because of the implications," he explains. "When you put the term on certain people, everything becomes negative in the eyes of certain segments of the world. I have a problem putting myself in an area where I know someone will think of me negatively. So I'm trying to help them along," he adds with a laugh.

Harrison successfully marries old-school traditions with forward-thinking creativity in both his approach to jazz and in his position as the chief of the Congo Square Nation. That vision certainly can be traced to his greatest mentors: his father and drum legend Art Blakey, with whom Harrison performed and recorded in the early '80s. Throughout any conversation with the saxophonist, he quotes them both. A lot.

"Art Blakey was one of the most logical people in terms of life. My father was very logical. My mother is very logical. My father called me a pragmatist but maybe he didn't realize I got this way from him," says Harrison, again with a laugh.

Harrison, 53, first masked Indian when he was two years old. He held the position of Little Chief of the Creole Wild West, the tribe that, in 1963, was led by his father, Chief Donald Harrison, Sr.

"It's a cloudy memory in the back of my head but I can definitely see it," Harrison recalls as he sits in the museum on North Johnson Street that is dedicated to his father and located next to the family home. "I certainly remember guys moving fast and feathers and singing."

Harrison's aim in building his suits and creating the look, feel and sound of the Congo Square Nation is to incorporate some of the style and innovations that his father brought forth and to add, with the help of collaborator Nelson Thompson, new elements of his own.

"My father was groomed by Robbe [Robert "Big Chief Robbe" Lee] and [Big Chief Lawrence] Fletcher and Robbe came through the tutelage of [Big Chief] Brother Tillman," says Harrison. "That's the line of chiefs that I come from and they have a specific way of enunciating the words and a specific meaning of the words that are not like the other groups. I only know the way that they taught me but I know it well. So I can tell right away if you came from that line by the way you pronounce words and the way you move."

Harrison, like his father and the aforementioned chiefs, continues to sing the classic version of "Two-Way-Pocky-Way" rather than the popular adaptation, "Hey Pockaway," as made famous by the Neville Brothers. Likewise, according to these chiefs, the old-school pronunciation to another standard was "Hu-Ta-Nay" that is now most often sung, "Un Na Nay." Big Chief Donald Jr. also pays homage to the past by including in his repertoire "Chong Chong" which is considered, by some, to be the oldest song on the streets. "I have heard [Big Chief] Tootie Montana speak of it also," says Harrison.

Several of these songs, as well as one of Donald Sr.'s favorites, "Shallow Water"-"he was called the Shallow Water man," says his son-are heard on the saxophonist's, innovative album, 1991's Indian Blues, that features Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr. on vocals and his tribe, the Guardians of the Flame.

One day, he says, the connection between jazz and the Indians just came to him. He suddenly heard Art Blakey swinging the beats of the song "Shallow Water." He describes the combination, one that he never planned, as swinging on one side of the beat while echoing the rhythms of Congo Square on the other.

Having graduated from the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), Harrison headed to the East Coast to attend the Berklee School of Music and pursue his career on a path that included years with Blakey, teaming up with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and stepping out as leader. Desiring to be more engaged to his roots, the saxophonist started coming back to his hometown in 1989 and masked for the first time as an adult with his father and the Guardians of the Flame. The culmination was Indian Blues, which linked Harrison's two passions together and he continues the journey performing with his stage group, Donald Harrison & the Congo Square Nation. Currently, this ensemble is in particular demand among Harrison's many projects-a popularity that the saxophonist believes could be due to the depiction of the Black Indians in the HBO series "I think it peaked the interest [in the culture] of people and maybe because of Treme people caught on," says Harrison, who acted, performed and was a consultant for the series. "We played in Europe recently and it was like a spiritual revival. I've never seen that at a jazz concert. They wouldn't let us off the stage."

Musically, Chief Donald, Jr. also paid attention to his father's innovations when envisioning the style of the Congo Square Nation Cultural Group. He credits his father for being one of the first men to add African percussion to an Indian tribe. Drummer Luther Gray, leader of the group Bamboula 2000 and a Congo Square preservationist, regularly paraded with the Guardians of the Flame.

"My father didn't like the bass drum [in the Black Indian sound] but loved African percussion. He brought African percussion to the forefront. I'd say that he brought it back into the mix if you relate it to Congo Square, where, of course they had African drums. It depends on how you relate it back. One thing about culture and art is that everyone has the right to do it from their own perspective. It's not totalitarian."

Thus, Donald, Jr. follows in his father's footsteps by the Congo Square Nation's use of tambourines, cowbells, and a Brazilian drum and by adding a bamboula drum for Carnival 2014. The percussionists will include jazz musicians Joe Dyson and Max Moran, the drummer and bass player in the Donald Harrison Quintet, plus Darin James. Unusual for a tribe's rhythm section, they will wear beaded attire all of the same color.

For his suits, Harrison incorporates some of the stylistic decorations that his father used such as the grouping of feathers on the back called a "cabbage." He also often chooses some multi-faceted Swarovski crystals-"they shine like diamonds"-and high-grade Czechoslovakian stones. "I was the first guy that started using them again after he brought them back."

"My innovation was to put 20 to 30 different kinds of feathers on my suits," Harrison adds while pointing to a spectacular outfit displayed in the museum that he wore several years ago. The extravagant suit, with its leopard print body with fox fur trim and pheasant feathers, includes a beading portrait of Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr. that was sewn by his widow, Herreast Harrison. The crown also included a Masai-type mask. "That was to honor my father, who moved back to a lot of African work in his suits," he explains. "I'm good at making big, gigantic suits that don't come apart-which is key. Nelson and I did it together. He's been around, once masked with [Big Chief] Bo Dollis and does a lot of stuff with the second-line clubs. He's an integral part of New Orleans culture because he helps so many people. He's a guy behind the scenes and you might see a parade and he made everything in the parade."

Often on the road heading one of his many jazz groups-the Acoustic Quintet, Donald Harrison & the Congo Square Nation, the Donald Harrison Electric Group-as well as performing with Palmieri, the Headhunters, organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and all-star ensemble the Cookers, Harrison says he does a lot of his sewing in hotel rooms. "It's quieter and I can moderate what's going on all by myself," he says, adding that he does sew at home too.

Harrison very well might have ended up being a drummer except at age 10 his father bought him a saxophone. "I always loved drumming," says Harrison, who has on occasion been heard behind a drum set and plays congas with some of his bands. "My mother said I played drums on my crib and I always drummed on the wall. I think they should have bought me a drum." The sax lived in the closet for several years before Harrison finally warmed up to the instrument at age 16.

The saxophonist is a bebopper to the bone who is ultimately progressive and throughout his career has sometimes challenged folks as to what jazz is and who he is. While Harrison's Indian Blues was well-received, he took some flack for '94's Power of Cool from both jazz purists and the smooth-jazz world. It was labeled smooth jazz, though Harrison stated, "This is not jazz, and I come from jazz so I think I know." He prefers the definition "contemporary instrumental music" that New Orleans' electric violinist Michael Ward offers.

"I play music that people can relate to," defends Harrison, who has also delved, with the help of his friend, Notorious B.I.G., into the hip-hop world. "Even if you don't like jazz, a lot of time you can [still] feel what I'm doing. Maybe it's because I have a respect because I came from a people-oriented culture. You can be ostracized when you have your own ideas about what you should be playing. Art Blakey said that in his generation when someone found something musically they would let them have it and push them forward. Some critics jumped on the nouveau swing thing too. I was just adding the sounds that were natural to me. I think I'm getting better at doing it and I believe it's created a quiet movement.

Harrison particularly credits the young musicians who have been a part of his band or bands for many years now-Dyson, Moran and pianist Conun Pappas-for the wider acceptance of nouveau swing. They also support the new sound in their own group, the Bridge Trio. All three are also heard on the saxophonist's extraordinary 2012 release Quantum Leap, which has unanimously been heralded as a brilliant piece of work. It finds the saxophonist in top form, expressing the range of his knowledge as he soars on super speed runs before he jumps back into a beboppin' swing.

"I met Joe Dyson when he was eight years old at the Tipitina's Foundation program. He had a natural affinity for the drums and a natural technical ability. All he needed was the experience. All the old school drummers in New York, they call him "the one" and he's getting calls. If the older guys aren't calling you, then maybe you better go and find out why. Because if you get it, they're looking for you. They're looking for guys for the continuum. I always say if the older musicians don't like you then there's a disconnect."

The musician who has enjoyed the longest stay in Harrison's quintet, some 10 years, is pianist Zaccai Curtis, a talented player who resides in New York. On first meeting, Harrison encouraged him to check out some bebop from the likes of Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. "Everything I do is rooted in bebop," declares Harrison, whose advice was heeded by Curtis. "He had to understand that music to be in a band with me."

New Orleans pianist Conun Pappas often plays Harrison's local dates as well as being on call for other gigs. "He understands different types of music," he says of Pappas, who is also a member of the Bridge Trio. Of bassist Max Moran, who is the cousin of highly regarded pianist Jason Moran, Harrison says, "He's just a solid and steady guy-diligent. When you put a challenge in front of him, he's going to be effective."

Like Blakey, Harrison primarily surrounds himself with young guys-Dyson, Moran, Pappas and Curtis are all in their 20s and 30s. The exception is guitarist/banjoist Detroit Brooks, a veteran on the scene who the saxophonist hooked up with while both musicians were in Baton Rouge following Katrina. "I noticed that he had a soulful attitude in his guitar and it lent to the sound of the music," Harrison says. "All of us are always pushing each other. I send them music and videos and we discuss them. We talk about how to learn from what other people do and make it your own."

As Harrison quotes Blakey, it's highly probable that the saxophonist's own words of wisdom are being played back by his students and young bandmates. Harrison, who is presently an artist in residency at Tulane University where he also helps out with the Trombone Shorty Academy, and the Artistic Director of Tipitina's Internship Program, got his first taste of teaching at the New School of Music in New York City. He was encouraged to take on the task by Blakey and bassist Reggie Workman. "They said try your hand at this and see what happens. I was too young, in my early 20s, and the students didn't want to listen to me," Harrison admits. "Later, they wanted lessons."

His next venture into the educational field occurred when Bill Taylor approached Harrison to say that Tipitina's was establishing a foundation and asked him to be involved.

"I said I'd like to share with young people the information I got playing with a lot of different musicians and give them a heads up," Harrison recalls. Every Monday night, Harrison heads to the Foundation's studio on Tulane Avenue in the former Fountainbleu Hotel to offer instruction and professional training to students ages 13 to 21. "It makes me happy to think when I see students out there in the music business that maybe I had a little part of it. Art Blakey said that he learned as much from us as we learned from him. The students keep me abreast of the latest developments of these times. I never had a plan [to teach]-whatever's happened to me comes naturally. When I told my father I wanted to play music, he simply asked, 'Do you love it?' He could cut to the chase."

Harrison also taught at a summer program at Newman School, where his nephew, trumpeter Christian Scott, who played in the saxophonist's band for some 10 years, acted as assistant director. Dyson also taught there, particularly when Harrison was working out of town.

The saxophonist is enthused about the invitation to join the Cookers, a jazz supergroup that boasts notable veterans including drummer Billy Hart, pianist George Cables, bassist Cecil McBee, saxophonist Billy Harper and trumpeter David Weiss.

"For me, it's necessary to play with great musicians like that," Harrison says. "These are the guys that truly picked up on the legacy of people like John Coltrane and Miles Davis and some of them played in their bands. They play at such a high level."

Though Donald Harrison, Sr. didn't mask Indian for some 20 years until establishing the Guardians of the Flame, he was continually involved in the culture. "I was always around it-we would go to the Creole Wild West practices and he would always go up and sing with them. He came back [to masking] to make sure people knew about the old-time ways. He made sure I got an understanding of a lot of the old-time ways-the words, movements. I was one of the ones who listened to him, who thought it was important to listen to him, naturally because he was my father. Two things my father always said was to start early in the morning and never take your crown off-make it so you never have to take it off."

Heeding his father's words, Big Chief Donald Harrison, Jr., wearing a suit of an undisclosed color, and the Congo Square Nation will leave his home at 4427 Walmsey Avenue at 7 a.m. on Mardi Gras Day. After roaming around Uptown for an hour or so, the group will head by vehicle to Treme and, as history dictates, eventually head to the corner of Orleans and North Claiborne avenues.

"Anything that can take you away from some of the bad things that happen every day and put you into a beautiful state, it's a great thing to me," Harrison declares with heartfelt emotion.

For Donald Harrison, Jr. those great things are jazz and the Afro-New Orleans culture.

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Two-Way-Pocky-Way: Big Chief Donald Harrison, Jr.

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Two things have surrounded saxophonist Donald Harrison, Jr. throughout his life-jazz and the Mardi Gras Indian tradition. The son of the Guardians of the Flames ' Big Chief Donald Harrison, Sr., who was also a knowledgeable jazz fan, he grew up with jazz music and Black Indian rhythms in the air.

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One of New Orleans' most famous features is the lively, creative, and brilliant sounds of its brass bands and drum lines. This piece culminates in both joining the ensemble much in the fashion of New Orleans parade, bringing everyone into the celebration.

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Courtesy of Louisiana State Museum

Images of brass bands marching through the streets, particularly in conjunction with jazz funerals and second line parades, have come to represent the distinctiveness of New Orleans.Typically the brass band is made up of a tuba, trombones, trumpets, clarinet and/or saxophone, snare drum, and bass drum. The portability of the ensemble has allowed the bands to travel beyond the streets and onto the stages of neighborhood barrooms, concert halls, and international festivals. In each context, the role of the brass band is to bring people together in an expression of collective pleasure.
Early History
Brass bands have a long history in New Orleans, drawing upon both European and African performance traditions. European military bands and Sousa-type marching bands were ubiquitous in New Orleans, as elsewhere, throughout the nineteenth century. Simultaneously, there were African traditions of playing music and dancing the ring shout during the Sunday gatherings of slaves in Congo Square. As There were also mixed-race Creoles and free people of color who were professional instrumentalists during the time of slavery. In the decades after Emancipation in 1865, the first black brass bands began performing in public events such as funerals, baseball games, and business openings. By the twentieth century, brass bands such as Excelsior and Onward had become an integral part of a black community made up of Creoles, urban blacks, and freed slaves who were now classified together under the segregationist laws of Jim Crow.

The development of the New Orleans brass band was entwined with a new musical form that emerged around 1900. Jazz synthesized ragtime, blues, spirituals, marches, European dances, Latin American rhythms, and American popular songs into a specifically African American musical style. It emphasized collective improvisation, audience participation, rhythmic syncopation and repetition, and the use of pentatonic scales and "blue notes." The brass band was a formative influence on early jazz; Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and virtually every other early jazz musician performed in brass bands. In addition, most jazz bands, including those of Buddy Bolden and Kid Ory, doubled as brass bands with minor modifications (typically substituting the rhythm section of piano, bass, and banjo for tuba and drums). In turn, jazz performance styles influenced the New Orleans brass band, allowing it to develop as the most significant black brass band tradition in the United States.

While jazz developed into an American art form, brass band music remained closely tied to the rhythms of everyday life in New Orleans. The jazz funeral, the city's most emblematic sacred tradition, revolves around the beat of the brass band, beginning with slow dirges and ending with up-tempo dance songs as the spirit was "cut loose." In second line parades, community organizations called Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs hire brass bands and parade through their neighborhoods for miles each Sunday afternoon. Over the years, the music and dancing at funerals and parades have been continuously updated in terms of tempo, style, and repertoire, allowing these traditions to remain vital to each new generation of New Orleanians.
Early Discography
In 1945, trumpeter Bunk Johnson assembled a brass band of "pickup" musicians to make a record for Bill Russell's American Music label. The album New Orleans Parade was the first thorough audio documentation of a New Orleans brass band and was followed by landmark recordings by the Eureka Brass Band in 1951 and the Young Tuxedo Brass Band in 1957. These and other records attempted to faithfully capture the most traditional ensembles playing established repertoire, such as the dirge "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" and the upbeat spiritual "Sing On," but the Eureka's performance of the jazz standard "Lady Be Good" demonstrates that brass band music had always been a form of popular music that accommodated emerging songs and styles. By the early 1960s, rhythm & blues songs had become commonplace in brass band performances. During the 1960s and 1970s, Olympia Brass Band was renowned for its enormous range and flexibility. Saxophonist Harold Dejan and trumpeter Milton Batiste would lead the band in a modest style for traditional funerals and concerts for tourists while adding the more progressive sound of Fats Domino and Professor Longhair for second line parades in the community.
Brass Band Renaissance
By the late 1960s, worry arose among musicians about the future of the brass band tradition. Many young instrumentalists attuned to the politics and aesthetics of the black power movement were playing funk and soul music exclusively. As result, musician and scholar Danny Barker formed the Fairview Baptist Church Christian Marching Band specifically to recruit young players and indoctrinate them into the tradition. The Fairview band (and its later incarnation as the Hurricane Brass Band) sparked a revival of traditional brass band music and became a training ground for numerous musicians. Clarinetist Michael White's Liberty Jazz Band and trumpeter Gregg Stafford's Original Tuxedo Brass Band are but two examples of Fairview alumni maintaining successful careers as traditionalists.

Also out of the Fairview band came new musical approaches that redefined the brass band tradition and greatly expanded its audience. Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen helped establish the tuba as the defining instrument, performing for tips in Jackson Square and in community parades with the Chosen Few Brass Band. Most significantly, four musicians who had played in the Fairview and Hurricane bands-Gregory Davis, Charles Joseph, Kirk Joseph, and Kevin Harris-joined with Roger Lewis, Ephram Townes, Benny Jones, and others to form the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Beginning on the streets and in local nightclubs such as the Glass House in the early 1980s, and eventually on record and on tour, the Dirty Dozen blazed a trail that the majority of younger bands have followed. The Dirty Dozen made the "back row" (tuba and drums) more prominent, especially with Kirk Joseph's virtuosic tuba parts, and also revamped the "front line" (trumpets, trombones, and saxophone), modeling their style after modern bebop jazz. The music was funkier and faster than that of their predecessors, as heard on the landmark 1984 recording My Feet Can't Fail Me Now, which brought the group international acclaim and sparked what became known as the brass band renaissance.

While dozens of popular bands have followed in the footsteps of the Dirty Dozen, none have been as effective as the Rebirth Brass Band in building a dedicated audience by making tradition their own. Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, tuba player Philip Frazier, and bass drummer Keith Frazier founded the band in the early 1980s while students at Clark High School and eventually established themselves as the leaders of the local scene. The primary innovator of the brass band tradition at the turn of the twenty-first century, Rebirth composed signature songs such as "Do What'cha Wanna" and "Feel Like Funkin' It Up," both built around Philip Frazier's memorable tuba melodies. Their performance schedule balances second line parades, weekly shows at the Maple Leaf Bar, and frequent performances throughout the United States.

Beginning in the 1990s, hip-hop has shaped the sound of contemporary brass bands, most notably in the original songs of the Soul Rebels. Beginning as the Young Olympians, a traditional band mentored by the mighty Olympia Brass Band, the members broke off to form the Soul Rebels and made waves with their debut album Let Your Mind Be Free in 1994. The title track is a showpiece of the modern sound, flowing in and out of spoken-word raps, group chants, and Calypso-inflected horn parts. Like the most popular songs of Rebirth, "Let Your Mind Be Free" has become a local standard that every brass band must be able to perform. The 2005 CD Rebelution took the brass band even further into hip-hop territory, matching horns with drum machines and digital samplers.

Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the New Orleans brass band has only grown in stature. In the space of a few years, the Hot 8 Brass Band has gone from playing strictly parties, parades, and club gigs to performing regularly in Europe and across America. New bands made up of students, such as the Baby Boyz Brass Band, whose members attend McDonogh 35 High School, now point to Rebirth and the Hot 8 as their mentors. The tradition has thrived, in part, because it continues to express the experiences of new generations without ever losing its identity as a distinctive and durable form of local music.

Author
Matt Sakakeeny
Cite this entry

Chicago Manual of Style
Sakakeeny, Matt "Brass Bands of New Orleans." In https://64parishes.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana, edited by David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 2010-. Article published May 19, 2011. https://64parishes.org/entry/brass-bands-of-new-orleans.

MLA Style
Sakakeeny, Matt "Brass Bands of New Orleans" https://64parishes.org Encyclopedia of Louisiana. Ed. David Johnson. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, 19 May 2011. 12 Sep 2019

Suggested Reading

Berry, Jason. "Brass Forward." New Orleans Magazine 34.7 (April 2000): 58-59.

Burns, Mick. Keeping the Beat on the Street: The New Orleans Brass Band Renaissance. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.

Schafer, William J. Brass Bands and New Orleans Jazz. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1977.

White, Michael. "The New Orleans Brass Band: A Cultural Tradition." In The Triumph of the Soul: Cultural and Psychological Aspects of African American Music, edited by Ferdinand Jones and Arthur C. Jones, 69-96. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001.

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Brass Bands of New Orleans - Know Louisiana

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Images of brass bands marching through the streets, particularly in conjunction with jazz funerals and second line parades, have come to represent the distinctiveness of New Orleans.Typically the brass band is made up of a tuba, trombones, trumpets, clarinet and/or saxophone, snare drum, and bass drum.

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After the brass band and drum line kicks in, we hear the ancient Ga procession known as "Kolomashi", a song used to march in protest of oppression. It lends itself well to the right for those affected not just by Hurricane Katrina but the negligence from a government system meant to help them at their time of most urgent need. Yet, in true form, the response to pain and suffering is to create a joyful, musical catharsis. Yacub Addy was an essential part of the Congo Square project, helping to fuse Ghanian music with New Orleans Jazz.

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Yacub Addy's Odadaa! lights the stage with genuinely traditional Ghanaian classics and traditionally grounded newworks.Combining hot polyrhythmic percussion, rich vocals, bamboo flutes, balaphon, guitar, base, and dynamic dance that moves "like a river", they offer sophisticated and virtuosic performance, yet retain a casual spontaneity that's irresistable.

Formed in 1982, Odadaa! grew out of a succession of groups created by Yacub Addy since 1957 - first based in Ghana, then in Europe and now the United States. Addy named Odadaa! for an annual celebration of the Ga people held in Ghana's capital of Accra that breaks a seasonal ban on drumming. The sound of the Odadaa rhythm signals, "The way is open! Let the music begin!".

Odadaa!'s traditional instruments serve specific purposes. Each drum, each bell has a name, a voice, a function, a history. A variety of drums, from tall to short, cylindrical and rectangular, upright and hand-held, are played in various sets and combinations using ambidextrous hands, straight or curved sticks, sticks and hands, even hands and feet. A bell usually provides the critical basic beat, and interlocking drums, shakers, additional bells, bamboo flutes, guitar, bass, balaphons, and voices elaborate.

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Yacub Addy's Odadaa! lights the stage with genuinely traditional Ghanaian classics and traditionally grounded newworks.Combining hot polyrhythmic percussion, rich vocals, bamboo flutes, balaphon, guitar, base, and dynamic dance that moves "like a river", they offer sophisticated and virtuosic performance, yet retain a casual spontaneity that's irresistable. Formed in 1982, Odadaa!

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If you haven't been, one thing that should absolutely be on your bucket list is a trip to New Orleans for the food, music, and culture that is the heart of the city.

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A number of New Orleans based brass bands tour the country and the world sharing the magic of the music they make. The Rebirth Brass Band as well as Trombone Shorty are two shows well worth the price of admission.

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Rebirth Brass Band | HOME | New Orleans' Funky Brass