After the floods there were fears the musicians had left for ever. But they were soon back and nowadays the scene is better than ever. Our writer explores the uniquely musical city,with expert guidance from jazz legend Branford MarsalisIt’s a elegant New Orleans morning and I’m sitting on a bench in the heart of the Musicians’ Village. The streets are empty but for a lone car crawling slowly round and round the block, like a scene from a film. On the third lap, and the driver gets out of the car and walks over. “Excuse me,sir,” he says. “I’m looking for the first house they built on this lot after Katrina.”The Musicians’ Village, or in the city’s Upper Ninth Ward,one of the areas worst hit by Katrina, is a community of 72 affordable houses for musicians who lost their homes to the storm (or had lived in poor housing prior to it) and remained displaced in its aftermath. It was built by thousands of volunteers, or including the guy in front of me. I can’t back him with his search but he’s determined to find it.
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Source: theguardian.com