Thomas Davis
New Orleans the birthplace of Jazz was also land of many other music genres. Music scenes were quite common from centuries in this city of Louisiana. The culturally-rich New Orleans has a powerful sense of identity where music contributes the maximum. Whoever came to New Orleans or lived there were more closely connected with music and that is why this city saw emergence of many prominent musicians.
Here are the top musicians who made New Orleans a musical destination:
Starting from Buddy Bolden, the first of the jazz musicians who is also known as the inventor of jazz was from New Orleans. He worked with multiple jazz bands and flaunted his talent in such a way that every listener became his fan. He used to perform in hotels, bars and also on streets of New Orleans. It was only the lucky people there who experienced his tunes because Bolden never made any recording, so unfortunately his contribution towards Jazz remained unheard by many then and now.
Another influential Jazz musician from New Orleans, Louis Armstrong was a renowned trumpeter and still an honoured musician. He revolutionised jazz and gave a new feel to it with his mind-blowing improvisation. New Orleans and even the music lovers of that era really enjoyed his style of music as it was different from the traditional one.
If Bolden was known as the ‘King of jazz’ in New Orleans then Irma was known as the ‘Soul Queen of New Orleans’. Whatever she used to sing it sounded good, that was the mystical power of her voice. She continued her splendid music career for almost 50 years. She entertained her audience even in her 70s. She left New Orleans during Hurricane and came back and always remained a lovable local figure out there.
Topping up the charts of Billboard in 1961, ‘ Mother-in-law’ was made by the flamboyant performer Ernie K-Doe from New Orleans. The Afro-American blues singer remained an iconic figure and radio personality of New Orleans. His over the top personality and his outfit also made him talk of the town. It was only New Orleans which made Ernie legendary. He made his comeback in 1998 and announced himself as the ‘Emperor of the Universe.’
Influenced by Armstrong and mastered as trumpeter, Kermit Ruffins was a local favourite performer in New Orleans for years and then got his fame from a HBO series called Treme. Many people also know Kermit as modern day Louis Armstrong. His music reflects the classic feel of New Orleans jazz blended with energetic crescent city sound. He is a notable musical ambassador of New Orleans as almost everybody in the city have seen him performing. Ruffins can still be seen performing in local clubs and big music fests.
If you are a music lover, you surely gonna love New Orleans as it still remains a place of live music and lively entertainment.
