NolaFunk Lagniappe

Louis Armstrong in 2 Minutes, 53 Second

Louis Armstrong, “Dinah,” filmed on a sound stage in Denmark, 1933: a very early item in his filmography. This is a short and efficient answer for why he was and is important. You sense he’s building his brand — the stuff with the handkerchief, getting up in the viewer’s grill, popping his eyes at .55 — but it’s still pretty extreme, and exciting. Look at how he felt music, and moved to it. (Especially .10-.20, that davening kind of thing: James Brown did that too.) Listen to the way he chopped up rhythm, sailing his phrases over the beat. You want to say he’s imitating a trumpet when he sings, but then you want to say vice versa, so neither can be true. He’s continuous, playing or singing something nearly all the way through, making his body part of the performance.

CNN Heroes: New Orleans Kids Plant 'Roots Of Music'

The Roots of Music offers students free instruments, music instruction and tutoring through funding from sponsors and donations. The program runs every weekday from 4 to 7 p.m., year-round, and even feeds students a hot meal before sending them home safely with bus transportation.

Dining & Wine United Tastes: Saving New Orleans Culture, One Sandwich at a Time

At the New Orleans Po-Boy Preservation Festival on Nov. 22, as brass bands play and celebrators hoist drinks, serious-minded panelists will tell tales of long-lost po’ boy shops. They will speak of the import of this city’s signature sandwich, piled with roast beef and gravy or corn-flour-breaded and fried shrimp, slathered with mayonnaise, paved with sliced pickles and sliced tomatoes, strewn with shredded lettuce, wrapped in butcher paper.

Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra

Footage of the Mardi Gras Indian Orchestra practicing on Tuesday in preparation for their two-night stay at the Hi Ho Lounge. The Orchestra, who first performed during Mardi Gras earlier this year, features a long list of many of New Orleans’ best musicians.

Podcast: Four Minutes with the Panorama Brass Band

Colin Jones talks with Ben Schenck of the Panorama Jazz Band after the release of this year’s Keep on Swingin’.

James Booker

Footage of the great James Booker playing “Classified”. The person who posted it to YouTube says it’s live at Montreaux, but one of the respondents thinks it’s from French TV from 1976.

Sonny Landreth On Mountain Stage

Louisiana native and slide-guitar master Sonny Landreth came to prominence playing in the band of Zydeco king Clifton Chenier. As an in-demand session and touring player, Landreth has contributed to the work of John Hiatt, Kenny Loggins and John Mayall, among others. His 2000 album Levee Town has recently been reissued with bonus tracks.

Mirliton Festival Redux

The Bywater Mirliton Festival has been one of my favorites of the little fests that dot this town during the nine-month festival season. It’s hard to believe it’s been going on for twenty years. Yet, they are still tweaking the set up and moving the stage to the far end of the playground really opened up more space to walk around and check out the food and vendors.

Dave Bartholomew inducted into Hall of Fame

Music composer Dave Bartholomew - who collaborated with Fats Domino to produce such hits as "Blueberry Hill," "I'm Walkin'" and "Blue Monday" - has been inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Bartholomew, 88, was honored by friends and colleagues at a surprise private party at the Roosevelt Hotel in downtown New Orleans on Sunday. His career began in the 1940s and has included collaborations with Frankie Ford, Smiley Lewis, Earl King and Roy Brown.

Among those in attendance at Sunday's ceremony were jazz pianists Allen Toussaint, Dr. John and Ellis Marsalis. Marsalis performed Bartholomew's 1947 hit "Stardust" with Leroy Jones, and Dr. John performed his rendition of "Dirty People." Toussaint performed a song he wrote for the occasion called "Here's to You, Dave."

NY Post: 8 reasons to go to New Orleans now