Our New Orleans

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Our New Orleans
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In December 2005, Nonesuch released a benefit album of newly recorded songs featuring artists from the New Orleans music community—across a wide variety of styles—to document the depth, richness, and profound musicality of that unique city. Funds from the sale of the record, titled Our New Orleans, go to Habitat for Humanity to aid those affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster. Several of New Orleans’ best-known musicians  contributed songs that are integral to their lives and that express their feelings about the city and the recent events there. The album was made swiftly and simply, over the course of a month, in several one-day sessions in cities across the country.

Sessions began in New York in late September 2005 with Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Wild Magnolias (Doug Petty and Matt Sakakeeny, producers); Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Joe Henry, producer); and Jon Cleary and Dr. John (Hal Willner and Mark Bingham, producers). Buckwheat Zydeco recorded in Memphis on October 3 (Ry Cooder, producer); Randy Newman and others artists contributed tracks later in the month.

Nonesuch’s parent company—Warner Bros. Records, part of the Warner Music Group—donated all of the production costs for Our New Orleans as part of the Group’s larger efforts on behalf of hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast. Many others involved in creating the album also generously donated their time and services.

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Latest Release

  • January 29, 2021

    This 2021 remastered, expanded edition of the soul-stirring 2005 benefit album Our New Orleans includes five previously unreleased tracks as well as the original performances by Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Irma Thomas, Wild Magnolias, Buckwheat Zydeco, Randy Newman, and others. The album has thus far raised $1.5 million Habitat for Humanity’s post-Katrina rebuilding effort. "Rife with stirring performances," says the Washington Post, "Our New Orleans has the soul of the city."

News

  • January 29, 2021

    A remastered, expanded edition of the 2005 benefit album Our New Orleans is available for the first time on vinyl and digitally now. The new version includes five previously unreleased tracks by Davell Crawford, Buckwheat Zydeco and Ry Cooder, Dr. Michael White, Dr. John, and The Wardell Quezergue Orchestra featuring Donald Harrison. To date, $1.5 million has been raised from the 2005 release to benefit the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village.

  • December 8, 2020

    A remastered, expanded edition of the 2005 benefit album Our New Orleans will be released for the first time on vinyl on January 29, 2021. The two-LP set, also available then digitally, includes five previously unreleased tracks by Davell Crawford, Buckwheat Zydeco and Ry Cooder, Dr. Michael White, Dr. John, and The Wardell Quezergue Orchestra featuring Donald Harrison. A video of the late Dr. John recording the added track “Walking by the River” in 2005 can be seen here. To date, $1.5 million has been raised from the 2005 release to benefit the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village.

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About Our New Orleans

  • In December 2005, Nonesuch released a benefit album of newly recorded songs featuring artists from the New Orleans music community—across a wide variety of styles—to document the depth, richness, and profound musicality of that unique city. Funds from the sale of the record, titled Our New Orleans, go to Habitat for Humanity to aid those affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina disaster. Several of New Orleans’ best-known musicians  contributed songs that are integral to their lives and that express their feelings about the city and the recent events there. The album was made swiftly and simply, over the course of a month, in several one-day sessions in cities across the country.

    Sessions began in New York in late September 2005 with Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Wild Magnolias (Doug Petty and Matt Sakakeeny, producers); Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (Joe Henry, producer); and Jon Cleary and Dr. John (Hal Willner and Mark Bingham, producers). Buckwheat Zydeco recorded in Memphis on October 3 (Ry Cooder, producer); Randy Newman and others artists contributed tracks later in the month.

    Nonesuch’s parent company—Warner Bros. Records, part of the Warner Music Group—donated all of the production costs for Our New Orleans as part of the Group’s larger efforts on behalf of hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast. Many others involved in creating the album also generously donated their time and services.

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