Music

Outer Journey

New Orleans is full of music and the people there changed music in a way that only New Orleans could.  Most people think jazz when they think of New Orleans.  Jazz originated from New Orleans’ African American communities. Blues also originated in New Orleans in the 1920s.  R&B, Zydeco, and Bounce also define the musical history of New Orleans.  We learned about Buddy Bolden, Louis Armstrong, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, and Harry Connick Jr.  My favorite song was “Thought I heard Buddy Bolden say,” by Jelly Roll Morton.  Seeing places like Maison Bourbon, where Harry Connick Jr learned about music was cool because I know who he is.  Hearing about funerals having the celebratory music was also neat.  I had no appreciation of this type of music before this trip.  The history behind it makes it more impressive and changes the way I hear it.  Thinking about people playing it years ago, makes me appreciate it more and makes me imagine what the streets looked like years ago.  I can just see the people playing and singing and everyone crowded around singing along.  There seemed to be music all around the city no matter where you went.  We heard people playing on the streets and sidewalks.   We saw people playing in bars.  Music was everywhere.  Milton was amazing at sharing the music with us as he talked about the history of what we were listening to.  The tour with him, was by far my favorite tour.  I had no idea how much New Orleans impacted the music industry.  I loved hearing the people in streets playing the saxophone.  That is one of the sexiest instruments and seeing these people play just fascinated me.  The talent blew me away.  The people playing on the streets were more talented than some people that are famous musicians that make millions of dollars.  The people playing music had so much passion, you could hear it when they played.  We also saw a couple of different groups tap dancing with cans that were smooshed on the bottom of their shoes.  When I first heard it, I thought they had tap shoes.  Both groups that we saw were young boys.  They were just trying to make an honest living and even though it was cold, they were out their working their butts off.  When we went to one of the bars, BMC, Balcony Music Club, the guys were playing blues music.  There was a guy on the saxophone, guitar, drums, and a singer.  It was fun to see local bands playing in the local bars.  My favorite music was when we heard it on the sidewalk from random artists that were just playing because they loved to play.  It was predominately males, for some reason.  The city was just a happy city.  Even though there are a lot of homeless and poor people, they are still happy.  Maybe it’s the music…..or maybe it’s the alcohol.  Either way, the music is incredible and everywhere.  I had no idea what I was going to experience, and I am so glad I got the chance to hear the music.

 Maison Bourbon

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dIgn1p0brpzF0Mg62

Link to street music.

Inner Journey

New Orleans would not be New Orleans without music. It is one of the key defining attributes of NOLA.  You could tell a story through the music of New Orleans.  Listening to the music as we walked from street to street, it was something that you just got used to hearing.  If you didn’t hear music for a short period of time, you noticed and thought “where is the music.”    As I listened to the music, I thought about all the history and all the people that went through so much to survive in the city.  People play music to survive, to tell a story, to entertain, and to express themselves.  I learned so much about the culture through the music.   It’s hard to describe the feeling of walking through the streets of New Orleans and what it makes you feel.  I realized how much I enjoy music.  The city spoke in a beautiful way you can only experience by going to the city.  The passion that you hear in the voices and the tunes of the instruments is unlike any other.  If I am writing about music, I feel like I must mention the music on the train ride home.  We had a fellow passenger that was having his birthday and they brought drinks for everyone and were playing music.  As soon as they started playing music, everyone started dancing and cheering.  The mood of the train changed.  It instantly got happier and livelier.  People that didn’t know each other before all came together and had a good time.  People left with friends made and warmer hearts.  Music brings a sense of community instantly.  It puts people in a good mood and makes people move whether they realize it or not.  That is how I felt the entire time in New Orleans.  The music is a part of the community.  Without the music playing, the city would not be the same.  The music tour made learning the history of New Orleans easier to understand and easier to follow.  I was a little nervous about learning about so much history, because I am not a history person, so I was pleasantly surprised.  It was more powerful to listen to the music to feel the emotion of the singers and feel what they were going through.  There was one group that we saw playing in the street.  They were all young and looked like they had all their belongings with them.  They played, and it blew me away at the talent.  This groups members all played an instrument, and some sang.  It was hard to imagine that these people had this talent, but don’t have enough money to have a nice home and the necessities to live a nice life.  That is one of the things that touched my heart the most.  Seeing people pour their heart into their music or art, or whatever their talent is a kind of heartwarming feeling that I have only experienced in this city.  This trip would not be the same without learning about the importance of the music that originated from New Orleans. 

The birthday boy, Jon, on the train ride home.