Music
Musicians fear New Orleans jazz will die
By Russell McCulley
Nov 22, 2005, 15:58

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Philip Frazier, who leads the New Orleans jazz group ReBirth Brass, was one of the lucky ones. His house and tuba survived Hurricane Katrina mostly intact.

But hundreds of his fellow musicians were not so fortunate. The floodwaters that swept through this city nearly three months ago destroyed not only homes but also the instruments local musicians use to make a living, and cast doubt on the future of New Orleans' vivid musical traditions.

"We were very blessed," Frazier said of ReBirth's revival after its members had relocated as far as Houston and Baltimore. "We were fortunate that we were able to regroup and go out and continue to make a living for ourselves."

Katrina scattered musicians across the country, and shuttered many clubs and concert venues. More critically, perhaps, it halted the convention and tourism industries that supplied much of the audience.

Like others who want to return to the once-vibrant city, And exiled musicians face obstacles including a lack of housing, schools and jobs.

"Ninety percent of them want to come back, but it's like all the service workers. There's no homes, no schools," said Kim Foreman, from the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians.

Foreman and others were gathered at Tipitina's, an Uptown club, to swap information about services available for New Orleans musicians. Clutching plates of red beans and rice, they stood in line for cholesterol screenings, pored over apartment listings and checked in under a sign for "jobs & gigs."

PLAYING FOR CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

Guitarist Gary Hirstius, who spent Saturday night "playing at a little dump for a bunch of construction workers," had lined up an appointment for free dental work and eyeglasses. "And I've only been here 15 minutes," he said.

Charities were on hand to take applications for aid. Foreman said the union's Gulf Coast Relief Fund had raised more than $200,000 and distributed checks to musicians for instruments and equipment.

Ben Jaffe, director of the French Quarter's famed Preservation Hall jazz club, has raised some $600,000 for a relief fund for musicians. But he is uncertain when his club will reopen as his musicians are homeless and customers rare.

"After 45 years in business, we're reevaluating how we can stay open. And for Preservation Hall to say that, I think, is devastating. That place is perhaps one of the most successful music venues in the city," he said.

There are hopeful signs. The mammoth New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival says its 2006 event will take place on schedule, and some music clubs have reopened to enthusiastic crowds of mostly local fans.

Tipitina's is hosting its first post-Katrina "fais-do-do," a Sunday afternoon ritual for Cajun dance aficionados, followed by a practice session for Mardi Gras Indians, the bead-and-feather bedecked troupes who parade during New Orleans' huge and famously decadent pre-Lenten festival.

But even as the city reassembles its cultural products, the greater challenge will be reviving the culture itself.

"We can put together a New Orleans jazz band, but we're worried about the next generation of musicians," Jaffe said. "What if no kids come back to New Orleans? The thing about New Orleans is that it always passes its traditions down to the next generation."



© Copyright 2004 by YourSITE.com