It’s considered one of the country’s premier musical events, but many of the hottest acts performing at this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival weren’t wielding microphones and trumpets; rather they were grabbing paintbrushes and swinging hammers in a part of the city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Last night on the news I watched one of my girlhood crushes, Harry Connick Jr., trimming a bedroom window with fresh paint. Meanwhile, another shot showed R&B heartthrob John Legend washing clothes as part of a free mobile laundry service for families still living in federally issued trailers in hard-hit St. Bernard Parish.
Connick and Legend were among the dozens of volunteers who worked on homes Saturday in the Musicians’ Village—-a site hometown hero Connick created with saxophonist (and fellow New Orleans native) Branford Marsalis to help displaced musicians after Katrina ravaged the area.
Connick told news reporters he envisioned a village made up not only of houses but also of “cafes, jazz clubs, mom-and-pop-type businesses and a music center for children – a community where kids can ride their bikes down the streets all the while hearing music.”
One of the most touching pieces of videos aired showed Connick’s young daughters Georgia, 11, and Kate, 9, pushing brooms across the floor of a home littered with construction debris. The award-winning jazz musician and father of three girls has been leading the charge in restoring the New Orleans area since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
Other Jazz Fest musicians lending a hand to help New Orleans residents get back on their feet included Marcia Ball and Ivan Neville who helped raise money for instruments in area schools. And, according to her publicist, tomorrow, singer Joss Stone plans to work with Habitat for Humanity and Travelocity to promote volunteer work in New Orleans.
Speaking of musicians coming to the rescue…
He may not play jazz, but county-rap-rock star Kid Rock recently made headlines for aiding a high school girls’ golf team.
According to news reports, the day after six sets of golf clubs were stolen from the car of a Detroit area high school golf coach, Rock (whose real name is Robert Ritchie and is a native of Detroit) called to offer his help.
According to the coach, Rock said he would get new custom golf clubs to replace those that were stolen. Apparently, Rock talked to pro golfer John Daly, who suggested calling TaylorMade Golf. The company agreed to send the clubs to the high school students free of charge.
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