Before the Civil War in New Orleans, slaves congregated weekly at Congo Square to play and sing the native music of Africa and the islands. Less than a century later, Fats Domino and Little Richard recorded some of the earliest rock n’roll records at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M studio not far from that same square. A few blocks in the other direction, jazz had evolved in the brothels of Storyville and the music halls of South Rampart Street, where Louis Armstrong had listened eagerly as a child.
Read More >>>