Post-Katrina development gets music center | The Associated Press ...

Nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina, the Musicians' Village is thriving.

There are 72 single-family homes and 10 duplex units in a neighborhood that was razed after the storm swamped New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, and then reborn as a haven for musicians.

The Habitat for Humanity-sponsored housing development was dreamed up during a conversation between two New Orleans-born entertainers, saxophonist Branford Marsalis and singer Harry Connick Jr.

On Thursday, another of their visions comes to fruition at the Village with the dedication of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.

The center, named after Marsalis' pianist father and intended to preserve New Orleans' music culture, includes a performance space, recording and computer facilities and classrooms for instruction in a range of musical arts.

Connick honed his craft under the elder Marsalis' tutelage.

Naming the center after the beloved jazz patriarch who has three other sons ? Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason ? in the entertainment business was inevitable, Connick said.

"It's because he's Ellis," he said matter-of-factly.

Branford Marsalis said the move wasn't his decision but is a fitting one based on the center's mission to help preserve and develop New Orleans' music and culture.

"My father is an educator at his core," he said. "And he's responsible for a lot of great musicians like Donald Harrison, Terence Blanchard, David Torkanowsky. Our house was always full of people and there were constant opportunities to learn. We felt like this was just the next chapter."

Asked whether this type of recognition would help raise his father's stock outside of New Orleans, Marsalis said that was not even a consideration.

"The thing with him is he doesn't even care about that (type of recognition)," he said.

Connick said he believed recognizing Ellis Marsalis acknowledges his accomplishments and influence on the city's musicians and culture.

"He could have left New Orleans and gone to New York and been one of the cats," Connick said. "But he recognized his priorities and he stayed here."

The $7.4 million center is outfitted for helping youngsters develop their talents and as a performance venue.

"I thought when I first saw the building, 'Man, this is exciting.' Every high school in the city has a spring or winter concert recital and they're usually held in the school's gym where you can't hear anything and the sound is horrible. Now, they can come here, in an acoustically, pristine environment and perform."

Connick said the facility has much potential, and he compared it to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a specialized high school he attended.

"If it weren't for that school, I wouldn't be where I am today. This has that same type of potential. It's so cool," he said.

Connick said he could also envision the facility being used as a place for small concerts or sound stages for movies. "There are just too many variables to mention," he said.

Private donations primarily financed the project, which is also getting support through proceeds from sales of the song "A Lot Like Me," written by Connick and sung by his 13-year-old daughter, Kate. The song is tied to the debut of two American Girl dolls ? Cecile Rey and Marie-Grace Gardner, two characters living in 1850s New Orleans.

At Thursday afternoon's dedication, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu were to speak. Performances were planned by Connick, Branford Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis.

Source: http://washingtonexaminer.com/entertainment/2011/08/post-katrina-development-gets-music-center

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