New Orleans Music In Exile

Great DVD from a talented man.

10/23/10 "Where You At" vs "What's Dat" is the central theme of this excellent DVD of "New Orleans, Music In Exile"..Totally excellent in all its info about :its neighborhoods(the "wards"),:its culture(which defined itself ethnically and culturally): its spirit(developed via spirituality), :and explanation of its "When The Saints Come Marching In" Procession ("which is not coincidentally as much about "the requiem", as actually about the "repas") and :the many great talents,some of whom have already returned ,which caused New Orleans' mayor to say to the states ,cities, towns outside of New Orleans after 'hurricane Katrina',:"You only have our musicians on loan until we bring them back home to New Orleans".10/23/10 abj

A great look at post katrina NOLA music. If you are a fan of Treme you will love this.

Great music.

Great!!

Hurricane Katrina destroyed not only large parts of the city of New Orleans but it also came very close to destroying its musical and cultural heritage. Robert Mugge's local documentary New Orleans Music in Exile explores this phenomena.Made up of interviews with many of the musicians who were forced out of their homes and into foreign cities, the documentary showcases the talent that made New Orleans a vibrant place more than a mere brand name. The artists involve make this film feel local. Its a different feeling than one got watching Spike Lee's excellent documentary When the Levees Broke. Possibly because the persons interviewed were known to me it seemed more immediate more tragic. If the City is to live again its up to the powers that be to bring all of the people of New Orleans back home.In the film we get stories from Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Cyril Neville, Kermit Ruffins and others who have been forced to make their lives in different places from Memphis to Austin to New York. The thread that holds all of these stories together is that many of these artists while desperately wanting to come home have begun to build their lives and careers over again in new surroundings.The film also features performances by Marcia Ball, Eddie Bo, Cowboy Mouth and others that are very much worth checking out. Of special interest is a haunting version of Neil Young's Like A Hurricane performed by Theresa Andersson.The disk features a widesceen presentation and Dolby Stereo. It would have been nice to have a 5.1 track to go with the music but the audio stands up on its own.The extras feature an informal history of New Orleans piano by English transplant Jon Cleary and a very good piece on a rescue mission by Dave Spizale the general manager of KRVS of Lafayette that are well worth looking into.This may be a small release but it is one that is worthwhile as a cultural document relating to one of the greatest ongoing disasters in American history.

This documentary captures the heart-break, resurgence, and return-home (and what all went on in between) of various Musicians, Recording Studios, and such that were in New Orleans before Katrina. Video of the storm's wrath is interspersed at the beginning, a bit, to provide just the right amount of context (and to remind us all). Songs written about the affects of the storm by Musicians who lost their houses and all their possessions are shared. It is quite wonderful that all or most of the entire songs are shared on this documentary rather than just excerpts. Truly wonderfully done. It was done in 2006; it would be great to have now an update and to re-do the film to see "Where Ya At" NOW !! It is quite worth seeing, and you will be even more drawn to it and touched by it if you were among those of us who went down afterward and were part of the recovery and rescue work... May the Creative Spirit and Artistry of New Orleans return, recover, and live on. - channahsorah.

I love that they talk with Irma Thomas, the documentary was okay. I'm hard to impress tho.