Reviving New Orleans

Although it has nothing to do specifically with jazz in St. Louis, I'd urge all fans of the music to check out the essay published in the online magazine Salon this week by Larry Blumenfeld, editor of Jazziz magazine. The piece looks at how the disaster on the Gulf Coast has, momentarily, brought jazz back into the popular consciousness; details some musicians' reactions to the events of the last few weeks; and strikes a cautionary note with regard to the rebuilding of the city:

"Jazz has been declared dead many times in the past few decades: It wasn't and isn't. Even out of commercial culture's spotlight, the music thrives -- and mostly in places far from New Orleans, like New York. But we'd best take care in rebuilding New Orleans and in righting Bush's wrongs in general lest we cut out jazz's heart, along with a chunk of our own. The musicians know that. They're speaking up loudly. Will we put down our iPods filled with vintage reissue jazz long enough to listen?"

You can see the whole article here. (If you're not a Salon subscriber, you'll have to click through a brief ad in order to read it, but it's worth the extra few seconds.)