WATCHING New Orleans descend into a morass of death, muck, sewage and looting last week was like witnessing a relative get carjacked, beaten, abandoned and picked apart by vultures. Hurricane Katrina beat the Gulf Coast like it burned its breakfast, plunging the Big Easy under an unrelenting swell that breached levees and buried communities. Thousands are dead, more are missing and rebuilding could take years.
It's been called the worst American natural disaster of the past century. It breaks my heart because I love the city, been there three times, always think about going back. Its blend of African, Native American, Spanish, French-Canadian and Caribbean cultures has given so much to our society.
For funk and jazz fans, New Orleans' storied legacy is no joke. The godhead Louis Armstrong and Dixieland. The Neville and Marsalis dynasties.
The feel-good sound of zydeco, funk innovators the Meters, Allen Toussaint, Eddie Bo, Irma Thomas, Dr. John, Lee Dorsey, Prof. Longhair and all the second-line and brass bands.
Of course, bounce music got its start here with the Cash Money clique and DJ Jubilee. My last trip, in 2003, I got lucky. I caught wind of a Tipitina's show starring Leo Nocentelli guitarist of the Meters and the Rebirth Brass Band.
For $10. Please, this is too good to be true. Rebirth rocked it to the rafters, all second-line horns, call and response and disses of rival crews.
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