New Orleans Official Visitors Guide 2009 - (Page 17) continued from page 15 sound and introduced it to the world. Many of New Orleans’ R&B greats— including Allen Toussaint, Deacon John, Irma Thomas, the Neville Brothers and Dr. John—are all still heating things up on the local scene and beyond. Gospel New Orleans is also the crossroads where the gospel, Cajun and zydeco music of the surrounding bayous and countryside converge and meet the world. On any given Sunday you can hear the unified voice of this soulful music rising from churches in the city and the surrounding parishes. Gospel informs the music of blues vocalist Marva Wright, the renowned Zion Harmonizers and the 60-member Gospel Soul Children. The gospel tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival continues to be one of the festival’s main draws. Cajun & Zydeco The Cajun music of South Louisiana stems from the 18th-century songs of the Acadians. Expelled by the British from Nova Scotia and welcomed to Louisiana, they developed a distinct sound that reflected the influence of their neighbors—Native Americans, British, Germans, French and Creoles. Listen for it and dance along to it at local festivals or year-round at restaurants like Mulate’s. Zydeco is a lively blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, blues and Cajun music, developed by South Louisiana Creoles of Afro-Caribbean and French descent. Its name comes from the Creole-French pronunciation of “les haricots” (snap beans), part of an expression heard in one of the earliest recorded zydeco songs. Music is New Orleans’ loudest, proudest export. And it’s inexhaustible. The more we share it, the richer it becomes. V i s i t O u r W e b s i t e at W W W. n e W O r l e a n s i n f O. c O m http://WWW.neWOrleansinfO.cOm
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.