• National Building Museum Honors Musicians' Village Founders
• NOAHH Names New Board Members for 2010
• Disney's Give a Day Get a Day with NOAHH
• 300 Homes Built Post-Katrina By NOAHH
• Entergy Innovation Center Opens in Upper Ninth Ward
• NOAHH and Jazz Fest Celebrate Raisin the Roof
• Shell and NOAHH Raise Walls on Fifth Duplex
• Tru Value Donates 17 Freightliners of Supplies to NOAHH
• Hornets Begin 13th, 14th and 15th Hoops for Homes in New Orleans East
• St. Paul's Class of 1977 Dedicates Habitat Home
• Eleven Homes Dedicated With Baptist Crossroads
• 3,500 Students Volunteer with NOAHH
• NOAHH Appoints New Board Members
• NOAHH Completes 84 Homes in 2008
• Texas Roadhouse and TriMark SS Kemp Dedicate MV Homes  [PDF: 52 KB - Nov 13, 2008]
• New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity Receives
• NOAHH's Third Anniversary Update
• Catholicos Visit Musicians' Village
• NOAHH Continues Through Second Anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
• Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Celebrate 1000th House in New Orleans
• Hornets and NOAHH back at work
• President Bush visits Musicians Village
• 30 Families receive keys to their new homes!!!
• Barack Obama visits Musicians Village
• Musicians Village House dedications
• President Bush letter to NOAHH
• Music is foundation to Rebuild New Orleans
• President Bush Visits the Musicians Village

Music is foundation to Rebuild New Orleans

I am pleased to post this article by Branford Marsalis that appeared on Washington Post on April, 28, 2005

NEW YORK (Billboard) - I am pleased to see that New Orleans is holding its Jazz & Heritage Festival this year on the weekends of April 28-30 and May 5-7, but I'm not really surprised.Although there are a few companies based in New Orleans, the city does not have a substantial business infrastructure. Tourism is the lifeblood of New Orleans, so to my mind there was never a doubt -- despite the heavy losses caused by Hurricane Katrina and displacements suffered by event staff -- that the festival would take place.This will be a special edition of the festival, though more like the way it was when my brothers and friends were kids. That's because the crisis of Katrina has placed the focus more squarely on Louisiana. I suspect that a larger percentage of the performing artists will be local, and a larger percentage of the listeners as well. The crowds may end up being smaller, but they will no doubt be more focused.

New Orleans' condition today depends to a large extent on where you look. If you are a tourist who confines yourself to the Garden District and the French Quarter, little change may be evident; but if you love the whole city, what is going on (or not going on) is unbelievable. In approximately 60 percent of the city there is still no electricity, houses are abandoned, and people have not returned. It is easy to hand out blame for this situation, but the important thing is to take steps to ensure that people in need receive real assistance.

MORE THAN MONEY
People have been comparing Katrina to earlier disasters, like the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1912, or to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Given the property devastation and the massive relocation that Katrina created, however, I think a much better analogy is the condition of Europe after World War II. Back then, millions of people were displaced, and the housing stock and infrastructure of entire countries were destroyed. It took several years and the Marshall Plan to correct the situation, not just a few million dollars thrown at the problem. It is going to take that kind of focus to restore New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. If the government is not prepared to step forward, then concerned people both in the region and around the country will have to respond.Massive amounts of assistance from corporate America will also be required, but I understand that companies are concerned over how funds will be spent.

In this regard, I feel that the music community should take the lead in the rebuilding effort because New Orleans is so central to the entire culture of music in America. New Orleans is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of jazz, but it is also arguably the birthplace of rock 'n' roll. Artists like Lloyd Price, Little Richard and other early pioneers were deeply immersed in the music of the city, and through their impact the city's influence spread throughout the world. A lot of musicians, songwriters and bandleaders understand this and are quick to acknowledge that New Orleans is a primary cultural source.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
This is why Harry Connick Jr. and I have become involved with New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity in the creation of the Musicians' Village in the Upper Ninth Ward. We have acquired five city blocks, and the Musicians' Village will be the site of 75 single-family houses plus 150 additional homes in the surrounding area for musicians and qualifying homeowners.

If you know anything about life in New Orleans pre-Katrina, you must also know that New Orleans musicians have not always received their fair share. Through this catastrophe and the response of NOAHH, many musicians old and young will be able to own homes for the very first time.

The Musicians' Village is not intended to be exclusively for musicians, however, and an important aspect of its design is that musicians will be in a true community, enjoying the kind of person-to-person, neighbor-to-neighbor relationships that have sustained such New Orleans traditions as the marching band. A central aspect of the Musicians' Village will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, which is named after my father and will be a performance, education and recording complex where bands can play and rehearse, students can get lessons and neighbors can hang out. I love the idea that kids will be able to walk a few blocks from their homes and learn about the music.

As opposed to all the hand-wringing that has gone on around Katrina relief, the Musicians' Village is a proactive solution that I am delighted to be part of. You can learn more about it at http://www.habitat-nola.org/ And you should also ask yourself what your part will be in the relief effort because if music is your life, New Orleans is your home.

Courtesy:washingtonpost.com
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