Ep. 2 – New Orleans, USA
New Orleans, the cultural melting pot where Jazz grew up. Learn more about the city where one of the world's most iconic Jazz musicians started off and the ways Jazz continues to be a major draw for one of America's most interesting cities.
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Transcription:
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Hello and welcome to the second episode of The Friday Take Five. A podcast where we take about five minutes each Friday to step back from the craziness of life and delve into history and adventure. I’m your host, Mark Moran, and with this podcast I’m aiming to scratch an itch for travel bugs and history lovers alike. Every week, we’ll discover a new place with a new story. It’s my hope that you’ll walk away with a renewed appreciation for history and a new travel destination to add to your bucket list. With that, let’s discover.
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Today, we head to the Bayou, in the good ole U.S. of A. More specifically, we’re taking a look at New Orleans, LA. We’re on episode two, and we’ve already gotten to a place I’ve never been, but one that’s definitely on my bucket list. Of the few states I have yet to hit in the US, Louisiana is trending toward the top largely because of the rich and unique historical draw of New Orleans.
Originally Indigenous territory, it was claimed for the French crown in the late 1600s and given the name La Nouvelle-Orleans. Before long, the French handed the territory over to the Spanish to avoid it being taken by the British after their victory in the French and Indian War. By 1800, the territory was given back to the French by the Spanish, only to be sold to the nascent United States in 1803.
Though firmly in the grasp of the United States for more than 200 years now, there thankfully still exists aspects of different cultures that have influenced the unique food, architecture, music, and celebrations of the Bayou.
A friend texted me recently sharing his experience on a trip to New Orleans. Unsurprisingly, it was full of great food, great drinks, and great, Jazz, music. Because I, like Jerry Seinfeld’s character in the Bee movie, like Jazz, my interest in the city was piqued even further.
In preparation for today’s episode, I kept asking myself where to focus in order to build a story around New Orleans. Mardi Gras? Crawfish boils? Hurricane Katrina? I kept coming back to the music - Jazz, more specifically.
Jazz has multiple stories around when and where it originated, but most agree it grew out the New Orleans area. One of the most influential jazz musicians and arguably one of the most talented musicians of all time, Louis Armstrong, was actually born in New Orleans in 1901.
Armstrong dealt with a ton of adversity early on in life. He was born into a neighborhood so lovingly called “The Battlefield” and he dropped out of school with only a fifth grade education in order to start working. To make matters more difficult for him, he ended up in a juvenile detention center before the age of 12. Rather than giving up or giving in, he continued to push himself and push himself to become a professional musician.
Armstrong helped catapult Jazz onto the world stage with classics like “Blueberry Hill” (1949) and “Hello Dolly” (1964), while knocking the Beatles off the top charts. One of my Armstrong all time favorites is his rendition of La Vie en Rose, which, if you haven’t heard, I now give you permission to pause this episode to go take a listen. Those that know much about me know that I love most things French. That includes Edith Piaf’s original La Vie en Rose. In my humble, totally uneducated opinion, Louis Armstrong’s version is the only version that comes close in quality when compared with the original.
Though Louis Armstrong left New Orleans in his early 20s to head to bigger venues in Chicago and New York, he is still fondly remembered to this day in the area with a municipal airport and park both named after him. There’s even a Jazz festival bearing his nickname, called the Satchmo Summerfest, which is a two day music and food festival in New Orleans that coincides with his birthday each year.
But the jazz doesn’t stop with Louis. There are 20+ jazz clubs across downtown New Orleans and jazz festivals multiple times per year that bring people together to take part in the local musical tradition. If you like taking part in great history, great food, and great music, then New Orleans has to be a city that you, like me, are adding to the travel bucket list.
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Hey Friday Fivers, thanks for listening in to this week’s installment of The Friday Take Five. If you’re looking to join the community and keep in the loop, don’t forget to turn on notifications on your favorite podcast platform and remember to follow us on socials @FridayTakeFive. Got feedback or recommendations on places or stories for us to cover? Give us a dm or email at thefridaytakefive@gmail.com. Stay curious, stay adventuring, and have a great weekend!
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