The music of New Orleans includes different types of music that have used elements from older styles. New Orleans is widely known as the birthplace of jazz, a music genre that began there. The earliest form of jazz in New Orleans was called dixieland, which is also referred to as traditional jazz, "New Orleans" jazz, or "New Orleans" style. Over time, the tradition of jazz in New Orleans has developed into different styles that either evolved from dixieland or created new paths entirely. New Orleans was also an important place for funk music, being the home of some of the first funk bands, such as the Meters.
Background
The African influence on New Orleans music began at least as early as 1835 in Congo Square, where enslaved people gathered to play music and dance on Sundays. African music was played along with local music, including adapted work songs, African American spirituals, and field hollers. Musical styles from African, Indigenous American, Cuban, and European traditions were popular in the city. These included the growing brass band tradition, which helped create the musical styles that would develop later.
By 1838, the local newspaper, the daily Picayune, published a critical article about the increasing number of brass bands in the city, noting that they could be found on every corner.
Jazz
The word "jazz" (sometimes spelled "jass" at first) became popular in the 1910s when New Orleans musicians gained fame in other parts of the United States. At that time, the New Orleans style of music needed a new name to separate it from the popular ragtime music. Before this, the New Orleans style was often called "ragtime" or other local terms like "hot music" and "ratty music."
The New Orleans dance music style was already different in the 19th century. When this style became known as "jazz" is still debated, but most historians believe it developed through a series of changes between the 1890s and the mid-1910s.
By the 1890s, a man named Poree hired a band led by cornetist Buddy Bolden, who many people and historians consider the first important jazz musician. At that time, the music was not called jazz. It included marching band music with brass instruments and dancing. Some say Bolden was the first to play The Blues on a brass instrument. The term "jazz" first appeared as "jass," but its origin is unclear. The word had a sexual meaning, as early performers often played in rough working-class venues. The Storyville district, known for prostitution, was not more important to jazz's development than other neighborhoods, but it helped some visitors outside New Orleans learn about the music. Many instruments used in early jazz were bought second-hand from pawn shops, including old military band instruments.
The Creole people of New Orleans also helped shape jazz, though their music was influenced by Bolden's work. Musicians like Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and Jelly Roll Morton remembered Bolden's influence on New Orleans music and jazz itself.
Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, many people from Sicily, Italy, moved to New Orleans. The Sicilian city of Palermo had long traded cotton and citrus fruit with New Orleans, leading to a shipping line that brought many Sicilians to the city and other parts of the United States. This migration influenced New Orleans jazz. For example, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, which included members with Sicilian heritage, recorded the first jazz record, "Livery Stable Blues."
African American music began using Afro-Cuban rhythms in the 19th century when the habanera (a Cuban dance rhythm) became popular. The habanera was the first written music based on African rhythms. This rhythm, also called congo, tango-congo, or tango, combines tresillo and the backbeat.
Musicians from Havana, Cuba, and New Orleans traveled between the two cities on ferries, and the habanera quickly became part of New Orleans music. A composer named Louis Moreau Gottschalk, who was born in New Orleans, studied in Cuba and used the tresillo rhythm in his music. This shows how Afro-Caribbean rhythms influenced American music. The habanera rhythm was a common part of African American music for many years, even as ragtime and early jazz developed. Whether tresillo rhythms came directly from Cuba or were already present in New Orleans music is unclear. However, it is likely that African slaves in New Orleans used similar rhythms in places like Congo Square. Examples of these rhythms can be found in African American folk music, such as ring shout patterns and post-Civil War drum and fife music. Tresillo is also heard in New Orleans second line music.
Early New Orleans jazz bands included songs with habanera rhythms, and the tresillo/habanera pattern was a key rhythm in jazz at the start of the 20th century. Wynton Marsalis, a famous jazz musician, said that tresillo is the "clave" (a rhythmic guide) of New Orleans music. Jelly Roll Morton, a New Orleans musician, called the tresillo/habanera rhythm the "Spanish tinge" and said it was essential to jazz. He used this rhythm in his music, including the song "The Crave."
Although the exact origins of jazz's syncopated rhythms are unknown, evidence suggests the habanera/tresillo rhythm was present from the beginning. Buddy Bolden, the first known jazz musician, is credited with creating the "big four," a syncopated drum pattern that differed from traditional marching band rhythms. The second half of this pattern matches the habanera rhythm.
In Early Jazz: Its Roots and Musical Development, Gunther Schuller wrote that early brass bands played mostly written music, but over time, musicians began improvising more. Brass marching bands existed long before jazz, as they were used in the military. In New Orleans, many famous musicians started in brass bands that played music for funerals and celebrations. This tradition continued with musicians like Louis Armstrong, Henry "Red" Allen, and King Oliver. Today, brass bands remain an important part of New Orleans culture, with groups like the Marsalis family starting their careers in these bands.
Much of New Orleans music today is influenced by early brass bands, even those that existed before jazz. In the late 1800s, brass bands marched through the streets in second line parades. Some of the earliest bands came from neighborhoods like Treme and Algiers, and the city produced famous bands such as the Excelsior, Algiers Brass Band, Onward, and Olympia. Some of these bands, like Onward and Olympia, still perform today. Modern brass bands, such as the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the Rebirth Brass Band, continue this tradition.
Rhythm & blues and rock & roll
After World War II, a new music style developed in New Orleans. Important musicians like Fats Domino helped create a style first called "Rhythm and Blues," which became an early form of rock and roll. Many musicians from other places also recorded songs in New Orleans, often working with local musicians.
In 1949, Dave Bartholomew, a New Orleans jazz musician and producer for Fats Domino, introduced the tresillo rhythm from Cuban music into early R&B. In a 1988 interview with Robert Palmer, Bartholomew explained that he placed the tresillo over a swing rhythm. Bartholomew called the Cuban son by the incorrect name "rumba," a common mistake at the time. On Bartholomew's 1949 song "Oh Cubanas," we can clearly hear an effort to mix African American and Afro-Cuban musical traditions.
Hip-hop
New Orleans became an important part of the hip hop world because of record companies like No Limit Records (now New No Limit Records) and Cash Money Records. These companies helped many young rappers from New Orleans create music starting in the mid-1990s. Some well-known artists from No Limit Records include Mia X, Mystikal, Master P, Soulja Slim, C-Murder, and Silkk the Shocker. Cash Money Records also signed and released music by artists such as BG, Juvenile, Turk, Big Tymers, and Lil' Wayne.
New Orleans is also the birthplace of a music style called bounce music, which is becoming more popular. A former producer for Cash Money Records named Mannie Fresh is often credited with helping bounce music gain attention outside of New Orleans. Drake, who is signed to Cash Money Records, recently worked with a bounce music producer named Blaqnmild on his songs "Nice For What" and "In My Feelings." Jay Electronica, who is signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label, has become a notable figure in hip hop.
Rapper Currensy, who is from the Eastside of New Orleans, lives in the city. Other rappers from New Orleans include Corner Boy P, Young Roddy, Trademark da Skydiver, and Fiend. Most members of the Jet Life music group are from New Orleans or nearby areas.
New Orleans is also known for a hip hop duo called the $UICIDEBOY$. This group mixes Memphis-style hip hop beats with intense lyrics about drug use and depression. Their style is similar to sludge metal, another music genre that is popular in the city.
Heavy metal
New Orleans has a strong metal music scene that started to become more organized in the late 1980s. Bands such as Eyehategod, Down, Exhorder, Crowbar, Acid Bath, Soilent Green, Goatwhore, Kingdom of Sorrow, Graveyard Rodeo, and Superjoint Ritual are either based in the city or have most of their members from the area. Musicians like Mike Williams, Jimmy Bower, Brian Patton, Phil Anselmo, Kirk Windstein, Pepper Keenan, Pat Bruders, Stanton Moore, and Kyle Thomas live in New Orleans.
The city is known for the "Louisiana sound," which was first developed by Exhorder. This band combined groove metal with fast-paced thrash metal. Many of these metal groups take inspiration from Black Sabbath, Melvins, hardcore punk, and Southern rock. However, there are still differences in the styles of the scene. For example, Eyehategod uses very harsh vocals and loud guitar sounds. Down’s music is closer to classic rock. Crowbar plays music with slow tempos and low-tuned guitars. Soilent Green’s sound is similar to grindcore.
Many musicians in New Orleans' heavy metal bands are also part of other bands from New Orleans or Louisiana. It is common for members of different bands to work together. For example, Jimmy Bower is a founding member of Eyehategod, a member of Down, a member of Superjoint Ritual, and has worked with Crowbar. Pepper Keenan, who is part of Corrosion of Conformity (a band from North Carolina), is a member of Down and has worked on Eyehategod’s album Dopesick. Kirk Windstein is a founding member of Crowbar, a member of Kingdom of Sorrow, and a member of Down. Phil Anselmo is a member of Down, Superjoint Ritual, and other New Orleans-based metal bands. He also has a hardcore punk side project called Arson Anthem, which includes Mike Williams of Eyehategod and Hank Williams III. Brian Patton was a former member of Eyehategod and is now a member of Soilent Green. L. Ben Falgoust II is the singer for Goatwhore and Soilent Green.