Five New Orleans Brass-Band Jams

William Claiborne, the first American governor of the Louisiana territory, believed New Orleans was ungovernable due to the citizenry’s preoccupation with dancing. We’re talking pre-jazz here. Later in the 19th century, New Orleans musicians adapted the concept of military regiment marching bands and took them to the streets in a whole new way…

Click to read more and to listen to five NPR-selected songs in their entirety.