2017-01-05 01:56:00
DIXIELAND, GYPSY JAZZ, AND SWING Dixieland is the upbeat, clarinet-and-banjo cousin of ragtime, while old-time gypsy jazz features complex melodies played on hollow-body guitars. You’ll hear swing music, popularized by local legends Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima, in dozens of New Orleans clubs. HEAR IT HERE: Preservation Hall, Snug Harbor, Maison Bourbon and the floating music/dinner venues Steamboat Natchez and Paddlewheeler Creole Queen. BRASS BAND Brass band music is the African-influenced jazz music of New Orleans’ streets, featuring all manners of brass instruments and drums often played by marching musicians. HEAR IT HERE: The Maple Leaf Bar, Jackson Square, second line parades, The Maison and literally on Frenchmen Street, where brass bands perform many nights of the week. ZYDECO Louisiana’s Creoles invented this rollicking, bluesy cousin of Cajun music, where the accordion and frottoir (washboard) take center stage. HEAR IT HERE: Mid City Lanes Rock ‘n’ Bowl, the Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival and Mulate’s. BLUES You can hear the wailing, driving sounds of the Mississippi Delta every night of the week in the Crescent City. HEAR IT HERE: The House of Blues, The Spotted Cat Music Club and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (in April). OPERA AND CLASSICAL MUSIC New Orleans honors its long opera and classical music history via the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and New Orleans Opera Association, along with smaller upstart groups and individual performers. HEAR IT HERE: The Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, Tulane University’s Dixon Hall and The Orpheum Theater.
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