Music

New Orleans Jazz

Outer:

            Walking through the streets of New Orleans can be compared to turning the dial on your radio station in your car. Great music is always within earshot. Just when you begin to walk away from a street performer, you walk up on another one. Then you turn a corner, and you hear someone else. At first, they might all have the same sound. You pick up on the Jazz sound very quickly. After being there a few days, you begin to pick out each artist’s own style or sound. The trumpet is usually the first sound you can pick out. Once you hear it in New Orleans, it will always be the sound of New Orleans for you. Then, you begin to pick up other instruments. Some performers have a piano in their band. If you stand and watch the pianist play, you begin to notice they move their hands differently than you might be used to. Next, you might notice someone playing the drums. This is the beat of the song. The next thing noticed could be the guitar. This brings life into the music. I still feel like the trumpet brings the soul to the music heard in New Orleans. The final piece to the puzzle is a singer. I have never seen or heard anyone belt out such loud and soulful music. It is truly a musical treat for your ears.

            If you’re a music lover, the best place to hand out by far is Frenchman street. Here, each bar comes to life with the band they have playing that night. In Peoria, we are used to catching a good band on a weekend in the summer if we are lucky. This time of year, going to a bar and listening to a good band is typically not on the list of things to do for the weekend.

            One night when walking down the street, we decided to go into a bar and listen to music. Picking one band to stop and listen to is impossible because every band that you hear sounds so good. Finally, we stopped because we liked a band, and also because we had walked up and down the street a few times so we were tired. The bar we ended up at was your typical bar. There were about 20 stools liking the bar and with one bartender. You could also choose to sit at a table. The bar was light with the neon glow of lights. The biggest difference at this bar compared to bars in Peoria is that about one third of it was filled with a stage. The band that was playing sounded awesome. At first, I thought I was listening to Jazz. Then actually sitting there listening to it, I realized it was actually a Blues band. The music made me want to sway slowly in my seat. It was like the sound was forcing me not to sit still. Then, they started playing songs that I recognized. I thought putting their own twist on this music actually made the songs I knew more enjoyable.

Inner:

            The city spoke to me through music because it showed me how it is used to find life, and how much soul it creates. When I first saw a street performer, I just wanted to sit there and stare at them. I could just tell they were truly enjoying every note they were playing or every word they were singing. It was like they were letting the music fill them up with something that only they could understand. When we were on our music tour, Milton pointed out that those street performers were more than likely direct decedents of the very people who introduced Jazz in the first place. This is sort of hard for me to understand because I don’t have any idea what my family history is like.

            After sitting there listening to the music, you could begin to see that they were telling their own story. Some of them were talking about troubles and heartbreak. This was the first time I picked up on the devastation of hurricane Katrina. The water and destruction can hurt the buildings, but it didn’t hurt the people. Back home, I usually listen to country music. This music talks about heartbreak, how you don’t ever have good luck, and how sad it is that your dog died. I felt like the Jazz music and other music heard on the streets of New Orleans was telling me a different story. It was giving me hope and life.

            I think it’s amazing how music has such a powerful influence on culture. To the people of New Orleans, it’s like they need music as much as I need food and water. Without it, they would shrivel up to nothing and waste away. They truly cannot survive without it. I have not come across many people like this in my life. Growing up, my parents hardly listened to music. When we would drive in the car my dad would always listen to sports and my mom would always listen to Rush Limbaugh. I really didn’t start to listen to music until I got into high school. By that time, it really wasn’t an important part of my life. I moved in with Lane and he is constantly having music playing in our house. Still, I never felt the connection to it like he does.

            After hearing music on the streets, I have seen how impact it is on people. I found myself unpacking my bags and putting on a YouTube playlist to get me motivated. I realized that I actually missed the sound of Jazz being in the background. I hope this desire stays with me and doesn’t get pushed back once my life gets crazy busy with school again. Music can be so relaxing if you let it. It’s still amazing to me how much history is a part of New Orleans and how much music goes right along with it. I hope I will get the opportunity to go back to New Orleans again and hear this amazing sound surround me once more.