Well, if you have access to iTunes, the best thing to do is type in "New Orleans" and then click under "iTunes Essentials."

Basically, these are mixes based around themes and you can get a good combo going. They've got a great mix called "Mardi Gras" that mixes it up and one calle "Cajun Cookout" although that one looks as if it might be heavy on the zydeco. If all else fails, Beausoleil is wicked good and of course, you can't have N'awlins without Dr. John, although a little of the good Doctor goes a long way. In the wake of Katrina, Harry Connick did a lovely CD called Oh, My NOLA that's a fabulous tribute to the city.

Anything Marsalis family or Neville Brothers.

And for my perverse tastes, I love, love, love the live recording of "The Saints Are Comin'/House of the Rising Sun" that Green Day and U2 did when the reopened the Superdome for the first game of the football season post-Katrina.

Oh... and Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

I'll stop now.

::slinks off after babbling::

thanks! (babble some more!)

I was actually afraid to do that iTunes keyword search, because I didn't want to just end up with songs that had "NEW ORLEANS" stamped all over them.

off to check them all out!

As far as what zydeco is, it's essentially the folk/roots music of southern/southwest Louisiana that began in the mid-1800s in the Creole French speaking blacks and multiracial communities. It was the social party music in these communities and then eventually moved into the nightclubs and began blending with other social music of the time, integrating everything from waltzes to ragtime, etc. It's a constantly evolving style with the main markers being the use of the accordion and washboard.

It's fun outdoor party music, especially when mudbugs, oysters, and lots of liquor are involved.

And I assume you mean Wynton, or Branford as well?

Wynton, Branford, and their dad, Ellis. They're all insanely talented. IIRC, Wynton might have done a recording with his dad.

ETA-- He DID and I totally forgot that it was a cover of Peanuts music, all jazzed up completely different from the West Coast jazz stylings of Vince Guaraldi.

Which I may have to now buy. *g*

Oh poo, that U2/Greenday song is Album Only, and I'm not spending twelve bucks for one song (I already have pretty much everything else on that album, grrr). Sounds nice, though. Snagged the live version!

Rhino had two excellent New Orleans comps.

Go To The Mardi Gras Professor Longhair
Don't You Just Know It Huey 'Piano' Smith & The Clowns
Jambalaya (On The Bayou) Fats Domino
Whirlaway Allen Toussaint
Mardi Gras Mambo The Hawkettes
Carnival Time Al Johnson
I Got Loaded Lil' Bob & the Lollipops
Sea Cruise Frankie Ford
Peanut Vendor Tyler & Alvin Red & The Gyros
Who Shot The LaLa? Oliver Morgan
Big Chief (Part 1) Professor Longhair
Meet De Boys On The Battlefront Wild Tchoupitoulas
Hey Pocky Way Neville Brothers
Li'l Liza Jane The Dirty Dozen Band
Dancin' Jones Neville Brothers
Second Line Stop Inc.
Do Watcha Wanna - Pt. 3 Rebirth Brass Band

...and

Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu Huey "Piano" Smith & The Clowns
Land Of 1000 Dances Chris Kenner
Down Homegirl Alvin Robinson
Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Part II) Jessie Hill
Ride Your Pony Lee Dorsey
Cabbage Alley The Meters
Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta Ernie K-Doe
We Got A Party Partyboys
New Suit Wild Magnolias
Tipitina Bo Dollis & The Rebirth Brass Band
Jock-A-Mo Sugar Boy Crawford & His Cane Cutters
Roberta Frankie Ford
The Joke Reggie Hall
Flatfoot Sam Slim, T.V.
But I Do Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
All Night Long (Part I) Robert Parker
When The Saints Go Marching In Fats Domino

I also love the Wild Tchoupitoulas album (which features the Nevilles and gives you a good taste of funky "Indian" music from NOLA).

Also a big fan of James Booker, the pianist.

I've got some hot Zydeco, which is actually more cajun dance/party music than New Orleans creole

Whee music!

Sophia, now I think you definitely have to see The Hush Sound! Not because Connick isn't good, but because you have to go to more than one concert!

t /pusher

I remember learning a lot about the Marsalis family (not just the official stuff, a lot of which I already knew) through listening to Harry Connick Jr talk about them post-Katrina.

And actually, I never held the guy (Connick Jr) in much esteem until Katrina. I was very impressed by everything he did and said when the floods hit. And the way he talks about Ellis Marsalis...well, made me wish I coulda been taught by the guy too.

So much music!

I actually came to know Branford through Sting and Bring on the Night, which led to a brief foray into Wynton but never quite dug him, nor Branford sans Sting.

Okay, I think I'll stop now before I break the bank.

Thanks y'all!