New Orleans culture 'drowning'

2005-09-06 15:07

Gretel Johnston

Washington - As the floodwaters recede from New Orleans and the city takes up the sad task of counting the dead, historians are trying to account for musical treasures and contemplating whether New Orleans will regain its place as America's pre-eminent city for jazz.

Museum directors are still struggling to calculate the extent of losses. One of the biggest concerns is the state of the collection that was housed at the Old US Mint in the French Quarter.

The building's roof was torn off when Hurricane Katrina lashed the city on August 29. The collection includes musical instruments, film, posters and photographs, news reports said.

But there also was some good news for New Orleans jazz fans when it was announced on Sunday that the legendary Preservation Hall in the French Quarter was not affected by the flood.

Other historic locations that sustained damage in the storm and the ensuing flood that resulted from levee and floodwall breaks include the Louis Armstrong House, the archives of the Jean Lafitte Museum and the National Cemetery, final resting place for soldiers who served in the Civil War.

'History is literally drowning'

"History is literally drowning," Chris Lee of the rock band Supagroup told the Dallas Morning News. New Orleans has been "a musician's paradise", he said, but he worries that the vibrant scene might be gone if musicians start to leave.

Centuries-old objects belonging to New Orleans' musical culture might have been lost forever in the disaster.

There is some hope, however, that some items can be saved or relocated. Specialists from the museum division of the US National Park Service have been sent to the city equipped with special gear.

They are working as quickly as possible to locate items because the longer items such as instruments, pages of music and furniture remain under the flood waters, the more difficult it will be to restore them.

Also relatively unscathed by the hurricane was the Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University, according to its curator, Bruce Raeburn.

The archive contains a large collection related to the development of jazz.

Jazz singer and pianist Harry Connick Jun said it has been especially difficult to come to terms with the damage done to so many places that played a significant role in his musical upbringing.

"Everything that I have professionally, and so much of what I have personally, is because of this great, fair city," Connick said. "And to see it being drowned like this is almost unbearable."

Another famous musician who made his home in the city is also concerned about its future.

"I'm worried about all the people in New Orleans," said American blues legend Fats Domino, 77, who had to be rescued from his flooded apartment.

Domino, best known for his 1950s hits Ain't That a Shame and Blueberry Hill, lost all his belongings in the storm and as of Friday had no idea where he was going next, he told the Washington Post.

- SAPA