♪♪ Ruffins: Drop me off in New Orleans!

♪ Have you ever been to New Orleans?

♪ ♪ It's the hottest city you've ever seen ♪ ♪ Gotta love them red beans ♪ ♪ You gotta love them buttered greens ♪ ♪ In this city called New Orleans ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: My name is Jacob Edgar.

I'm an explorer, but I don't search for lost cities or ancient ruins.

I'm on the quest for a different kind of treasure -- music.

[ Man singing in native language ] ♪♪ As an ethnomusicologist and world-music record producer, I travel the globe hunting for the best songs the world has to offer and I suffer through some of the worst so you don't have to.

♪♪ I've got a backstage pass to the world's music and I won't stop until I've heard it all.

♪♪ ♪♪ There are some places in the world where music plays a central role in daily life, where getting together to the rhythms of the drums, the raising your voices in song is as important to the community as food, air, and water.

Woman: ♪ I'mma tell you what it means to love New Orleans ♪ ♪ When you got to have your jazz and Monday red beans ♪ ♪ Mardi Gras day on Claiborne in New Orleans ♪ ♪ And if you're from here, then you know what that means ♪ Edgar: If I made a list of the world's most musical cities, I'd have to include New Orleans, the city where jazz was born.

Woman: ♪ We got Fourth Ward, Sixth Ward, Seventh Ward, Eighth Ward ♪ ♪ Claiborne, Rampart, Orleans, Saint-Bernard ♪ ♪ Iberville, French Quarter, Canal Street, endlessly ♪ ♪ Mardi Gras, downtown ♪ ♪ We got Armstrong Park in the heart of Tremé ♪ ♪ Congo Square, where the slaves would celebrate and sing ♪ ♪ People come to check us out from a long, long way ♪ ♪ And I'm proud to call it home, yeah, that's where I stay ♪ Edgar: I've been exploring the music of Louisiana, and after getting a taste of the French Creole swing of Cajun country and the blues of Shreveport, I'm ending my journey in the Crescent City, where the local music and cuisine have a lot in common.

They're both spicy, they're both based on a multicultural mix of ingredients, and once you've had a taste, all you want is more.

Woman: ♪ So now you know what I mean what I say ♪ ♪ A-Jock-o-mo fee-na nay, oh, hey!

♪♪ Hey!

♪ Love that woman ♪ Hey!

Everybody.

Edgar: As it always has, in times of trouble, music has helped the community rise above its struggles.

The floodwaters after Katrina hadn't even receded in New Orleans before the brass bands started ringing out.

And musicians who'd been displaced from the city served as ambassadors to the world, reminding people everywhere of the important cultural legacy that needs to be cherished, preserved, nurtured, and, most of all, enjoyed.

♪ Don't like my peaches ♪ ♪ Baby, shake my tree ♪ Everybody, everybody!

Come on, now.

New Orleans is a great music town because of the mix of cultures that you find here, and that's really the result of its location as one of the port cities to the Americas.

Musicians came from Cuba, from Haiti, from all over Latin America, and they met up here with the Creole immigrants, with French-speaking people, and they all created an amazing mix of music that had African flavors, Latin flavors, Caribbean flavors.

And that element still exists in the city's music today.

♪♪ By the early 1900s, the music we now call jazz was in full swing in New Orleans, and greats like Buddy Bolden, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, and countless others helped refine and popularize the style.

♪ Hey, I hate to see that evening sun go down ♪ Edgar: You can still get a taste of the early New Orleans jazz sound at Preservation Hall in the French Quarter.

Charlie Gabriel.

Hey, hey!

♪♪ Almost every night of the year, crowds line up in front of Preservation Hall to transport themselves back in time and enjoy the classic sound of the house band, which features a line up of witty and gifted elder statesmen from the New Orleans music scene.

♪♪ ♪♪ It just so happens that the director of Preservation Hall is my old friend Ben Jaffe, whose parents founded the iconic institution back in the '60s.

Ben and I actually used to play in a band together back in college, but while I was clearly a talentless flop at the trumpet, Ben was a monster bass and tuba player who has gone on to have a great career overseeing and playing in one of the city's most hallowed musical institutions.

♪♪ ♪♪ Their mission was to create a performance space for the aging African-American musicians of New Orleans.

These were musicians who had seen the turn of the century, had been there when jazz was being born.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I look at the word "preservation" and I think of the definition to protect.

And I really think that's what we're here to do is to protect this incredibly noble and generous tradition.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ These guys have been practicing 80 years to get into the Preservation Hall Band, honestly.

They've been a part of our community for years, contributing to the traditions, to the funeral traditions, to the church traditions, to the music traditions, to life in our community.

Yeah.

You evolve into a member of the Preservation Hall Band.

You never audition.

♪♪ ♪♪ An old musician said, "If it's too slow to walk to and too fast to dance to, it's not New Orleans jazz."

It's got to be right there, you know, because this music is about moving down the street.

Yeah.

And it's about dancing.

Yeah.

It's about movement.

And it's about being entertained.

♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Edgar: Trumpeter Irvin Mayfield is the founder of Irvin Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse, a club just around the corner from Preservation Hall that opened in 2009, in the Royal Sonesta Hotel.

The goal of the venue is to bring the sound of classic New Orleans jazz back to Bourbon Street, an epicenter of the city's tourist industry that long ago rang out with local music.

This city was missing really kind of a jazz experience like this, really at the heart of the French Quarter, on Bourbon Street, that really had a lot of the benefits of a hotel, but a lot of the benefits of the local community.

So we looked at it as an opportunity to bring the two together and make an awesome live-music experience seven days a week.

♪ Here lies James ♪ Edgar: Mayfield is clearly a man on a mission, and in his case, there's a very deep personal reason for his commitment to helping New Orleans' musical culture reach new audiences.

Mayfield's father perished in the floods that followed Hurricane Katrina, and that is surely a constant reminder of everything that was lost during that tragic disaster.

Gradually, the Ninth Ward, which was severely damaged by Katrina, is being rebuilt.

Man: ♪ Yeah, I like that ♪ Edgar: One redevelopment project that's garnered a lot of attention is Musicians' Village, a community specifically built for the city's musicians, conceived by New Orleans musical icons Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis.

Musicians' Village provides a home for both the artists who have defined the city's culture and the sounds that have so deeply impacted the world.

♪♪ ♪♪ It would be crazy to come to New Orleans and not enjoy its world-famous cuisine.

While I'd normally head for the nearest down-home barbecue stand or some hole-in-the-wall jambalaya joint, I've been invited for a behind-the-scenes look at two of the city's most critically acclaimed restaurants.

Well, that's an offer I can't refuse.

So, my first stop is Domenica, a stylish restaurant located in downtown's Roosevelt Hotel that brings an Italian twist to local ingredients.

New Orleans, for a long time, had the highest Italian population in the entire country.

Really?

Yeah.

More than New York or anything.

So the fritto misto, or the fried seafood platter, I thought would be perfect.

Okay, great.

That sounds wonderful.

Man #1: ♪ Me, I like the red beans and rice ♪ ♪ Give me that firewater, ain't nothin' nice ♪ Man #2: ♪ Got them girls on my mind ♪ Here, you see a combination of all of our great local seafood that we have in New Orleans.

And then that, along with the different sauces and the different textures and the batter, you know, it creates something for me that's special and interesting and something that I want to keep eating and keep exploring.

And that's what a great song is to me -- something that you don't hear it all the first time you listen to it.

It takes a few more times to really kind of capture it.

Well, Alon, you're a great conductor, clearly, because this is a compositional masterpiece here.

Thank you so much.

But enough talking.

Yeah.

Let's try it.

Let's try it.

Let's start eating.

♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: While many of the old-timers who have carried the torch of New Orleans musical legacy have passed on or were forced to leave the city after Hurricane Katrina, there are a number of younger musicians who are helping connect New Orleans' past with its future.

♪♪ Troy Andrews has been known as "Trombone Shorty" since he first picked up the instrument as a child.

He's one of the brightest hopes for the future of New Orleans music.

♪♪ Besides playing regularly around town, Shorty has been a member of Lenny Kravitz's touring band, and one of his career highlights includes performing with U2 and Green Day live on Monday Night Football.

I met up with Shorty the day before Mardi Gras, and he took me to the plaza in the French Quarter, where, as a pre-teen, he would play classic Big Easy songs for passing tourists.

♪♪ We'd come out every weekend and play.

I mean, we were like 10 and 12 years old at this time and we're making like $400 apiece in one -- No!

Really?

Our pockets weren't even big enough for that.

♪♪ We learned a bunch of songs.

We were playing all type of music by Louis Armstrong and different things at that young age.

And this is where it was.

And we had great teachers, such as Tuba Fats, the late Tuba Fats, different people.

It was a great, great time.

♪♪ I'm the last person out of Tremé to be able to get what New Orleans was about before the storm, with the older musicians passing it on and different things.

And I just want to be able to get the younger kids after me and show them that even though you play a horn, you know, you don't have to be afraid to approach hip-hop music or different things.

You know, just do whatever you want.

Take what's been given to you in the city and soak it up and make it your own.

♪♪ How would you describe what you're doing now?

Well, we call it super funk rock.

Super funk rock.

Super funk rock.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ Edgar: Just as the music of New Orleans has traveled the world, musicians from all corners of the globe have come to the city to participate in its vibrant scene.

One such musician is Jeremy Davenport, a singer and trumpet player who's originally from St. Louis.

♪♪ Davenport: I think this is my home.

You have to understand something from my perspective, you know, to be regarded as a New Orleans trumpeter -- When I was born in St. Louis, which is just up the river, obviously, but to me, that's the biggest compliment this city can pay me.

♪♪ The fact that this community has embraced me is -- is -- is special for me.

♪♪ Next song we're gonna do for a dear friend, Mr. Kermit Ruffins.

[ Cheers and applause ] Unfortunately, Kermit missed his flight, got snowed in.

Tremé snow of 2010.

[ Laughter ] So with your permission, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to sing both Kermit's part and my part.

♪♪ ♪ Hey, there, Mr. New Orleans ♪ ♪ When you play your trumpet ♪ ♪ We say, "Ooh, ooh, whee" ♪ ♪ Hey, there, Mr. St. Louis ♪ ♪ When you croon a tune... ♪ Edgar: Since he moved here 10 years ago, Davenport has become a local fixture, performing three nights a week at the elegant Davenport Lounge in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown New Orleans.

♪ How about you?

♪ ♪ At the top of Canal Street ♪ ♪ When we sing together, we say, "La da da de" ♪ I've always enjoyed working with other people, so on my latest CD, I actually wrote a song specifically for one of my favorite New Orleans trumpeters.

The song is called "Mr. New Orleans," and the dialog, it's he and I singing back and forth to each other.

It's kind of a really lighthearted tune and it really, really captures, I feel, the essence of New Orleans and Kermit specifically.

He's a New Orleans trumpeter.

I'm just -- I'm just living in his world.

♪ You make the little ladies' hearts go pitter-pat ♪ ♪ Oh, look at you, Mr.

Fancy Pants ♪ ♪ Let's sing together ♪ ♪ Make the people dance ♪ ♪ Let's sing together ♪ ♪ Make the people dance ♪ ♪♪ Kermit Ruffins, ladies and gentlemen.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪ When I took you by the hand ♪ Hey, boy.

How are you today?

Doing all right?

Doing well.

Nice day today.

Yeah, it's beautiful.

Been running around?

Yeah.

I'm showing these guys around town and showing them my -- my neighborhood.

I'm never more than a 5- or 10-minute walk from anything that I have to do.

And to me, that's, you know -- that's what makes a place like New Orleans special, is 'cause you can still live downtown and live without -- without getting in your car.

Davenport: Jazz Fest is coming up.

And, you know, do you have anything light and white and -- Show me that -- I have a great -- I have a great... ♪ Listen, you can hear two hearts beating over the band ♪ I like that kind of look with the -- with the V-neck undershirt on the -- the Don Johnson.

Yeah.

The "Miami Vice."

♪♪ What you think?

It's good.

I like it.

You know, the only way I'm gonna be able to tell if this jacket's gonna work for Jazz Fest is to -- is to play a -- play a little ditty.

♪♪ That'll work.

[ Man scatting ] Edgar: When it comes to food, I am totally insatiable.

Seems like no matter how much you feed me, I could still eat more.

So I head over to Cochon, another revered restaurant that The New York Times recently called "head-shakingly good."

What are you gonna show me today?

Wood-fired oyster roast.

Traditional wood-burning oven-roasted oysters with a little update with some anchovies and chilies.

Oh, nice.

I don't think I've ever had roasted oysters.

Cochon, which means "pig" in French, specializes in rustic Cajun food with a high-end twist.

All right.

Oh, man, that is so good.

Delicious.

♪ You don't know what I know ♪ Edgar: Later that night, I head back to Tipitina's for a Lundi Gras concert starring funk rock jam band Galactic.

♪ But you didn't hear ♪ ♪ Oh, no ♪ ♪ I tell you what ♪ Edgar: Lundi Gras is the night before Fat Tuesday, and the music is scheduled to go on until dawn.

♪ But I believe that... ♪ Edgar: Tonight Galactic's special guest is an all-time favorite of mine -- singer and percussionist Cyril Neville, a member of one of New Orleans most influential musical families.

♪ You don't know what I know ♪ ♪ And you ain't been where I'm going ♪ ♪ I thought you heard what you didn't hear ♪ ♪ Nobody knows what I'm going through ♪ [ Vocalizing ] ♪ You don't go what I know now ♪ Edgar: Before I know it, Mardi Gras morning has arrived.

After they finish their show at Tipitina's at dawn, Galactic is joined in the streets by members of the Hot 8 Brass Band for their annual second-line parade.

The second line ends up in the French Quarter, where the party just keeps on going.

I am definitely the most underdressed person at this event, but I guess -- I guess you could say I'm dressed as a well-known television personality.

♪♪ By this time, the Mardi Gras parades are in full force.

It's crazy to walk around on Mardi Gras day because all the streets are blocked off.

You have to know all the secret routes and the little passageways to go down.

Otherwise you'll be stuck where you are all day long.

But, you know, you can wander around.

You never know what you're gonna see.

I've ended up right on the train tracks in downtown New Orleans and in the midst of all the craziness of the Zulu parade, all the Zulu guys throwing beads off.

♪♪ Mardi Gras dates back to French Colonial rule and has roots in Catholic traditions.

The weeks leading up to Lent, a period of 40 days of fasting and prayer, offer one last chance to get all your yayas out.

♪♪ While the downtown Mardi Gras scene is an overwhelming feast for the senses, I've been invited to Tremé, where every year trumpet player Kermit Ruffins backs a U-Haul truck up to the side of the parade route and invites friends, family, and neighbors to join him for a Mardi Gras barbecue party.

Ruffins: ♪ If you want to get your boy on Mardi Gras day ♪ ♪ On Basin Street and Robinson, the heart of Tremé ♪ ♪ With the U-Haul truck parked up the one way ♪ ♪ With my trumpet in my hand watching Zulu parade ♪ Edgar: It's clear I'm not from the neighborhood, but I'm welcomed with open arms and a hefty supply of barbecued chicken.

Ruffins: ♪ The Tremé Mardi Gras will blow you away ♪ ♪ Mardi Gras in the Tremé ♪ Edgar: Kermit's good natured charm and devotion to his native city and its music have made him a local favorite, and his fame has only grown through his recurring role on the TV series "Tremé."

Ruffins: ♪ Tremé Mardi Gras ♪ Edgar: I managed to pull Kermit Ruffins aside from the revelry to get a few words.

This is your neighborhood, right?

Yeah, Tremé neighborhood.

And what's the story with this neighborhood?

This neighborhood is one of the oldest black neighborhoods in America.

And this neighborhood just happened to be one of the neighborhoods where you have a bar, a funeral home, a bar, a funeral home, a bar.

I mean, all over the place, restaurants.

I mean, bookoo bars and restaurants and funeral homes.

And it's so vibrant with musicians.

And so many musicians come out of this neighborhood.

It is ridiculous, from Danny Barker to Jessie Hill, I mean, Allen Toussaint, and the list goes on and on.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] [ "Oh, When the Saints" plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: My journey through Louisiana has finally come to an end here on Mardi Gras day.

It's been an unforgettable journey filled with incredible music and fascinating personalities.

I'm sure I'll reflect on everything I've experienced in this captivating part of America, but for now, I'm just gonna get me one more piece of that chicken.

As they say down here in Nawlins, "Laissez les bon temps rouler" -- Let the good times roll.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Man: ♪ When the saints go marchin' in ♪ ♪ When the saints go marchin' in ♪ ♪ Yes, I want to be... ♪