Origins of New Orleans Jazz and South Rampart Street

Bobby McIntyre is president and CEO of the New Orleans Jazz Restoration Society. In this podcast, McIntyre describes the organization's plans to restore the 400 block of South Rampart Street on the edge of the French Quarter in downtown New Orleans. He notes, "The 400 block of South Rampart Street is the birth place of jazz." Several buildings on the block have historical significance in New Orleans' rich musical history; one building was once the oldest black vaudeville theatre in the country. For dedicated jazz lovers, this strip of real estate is hallowed ground. Bobby recounts how Louis Armstrong first got started playing jazz music and explains how the vaudeville theatre on Rampart Street helped change the course of music history forever. For anyone who loves and appreciates New Orleans jazz, McIntyre goes back to the days when it all began. Listen to the podcast here.