All Things New Orleans

Germaine Bazzle is one of New Orleans' most accomplished musicians — a musician whose instrument of choice is her voice. She has also exercised a profound effect on youngsters in Southeast Louisiana as a teacher, through a dozen years in Thibodeaux and an even longer tenure at Xavier Prep in New Orleans.

Germaine Bazzle recently sat down with WWNO's Fred Kasten for the "Talkin' Jazz" interview series at the Old U.S. Mint, and talked about some of her musical influences and the place that teaching has occupied in her life.

Some of the world’s leading scientists and academics are in New Orleans this week to review research under way into the effects of the BP oil spill. It’s the first year of a 10-year review.

Guitarist Steve Masakowski is one of New Orleans' finest instrumentalists, a creative player with virtuoso technique and a sensibility that is both modern and deeply informed by the New Orleans tradition. He's also a first-rate composer; a longtime member of one of the great New Orleans bands, Astral Project; and an outstanding educator with a two-decade-plus tenure on the faculty at UNO.

The New Orleans Hornets racked up the franchise's most points in a single game this season on their way to a 114-105 victory over the Sacramento Kings Monday afternoon in the New Orleans Arena.

The Hornets blew the game open early, heading into the half up 64-39, and leading by 27 at one point in the third. The Kings staged a third quarter comeback, crawling back to within seven late in the fourth, but were unable to surmount the Hornets’ strong defensive effort.

Five New Orleans leaders are the recipients of this year’s Martin Luther King Jazz Awards handed out at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse. The founder of the Project Prodigy music program, Joe Saulsbury, is honored separately for his work. The honorees at the 4th annual event represent a wide variety of professions.

WWNO, in collaboration with Nolavie.com, brings you Take Five: an inside look into the growing local film industry with the people shaping it. On this week's edition, Brian Friedmann reports how the mayor's office of cultural economy continues to incentivize our city.

The New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors battled it out at the New Orleans Arena Saturday night in a game that featured nine ties and 18 lead changes, but the Hornets couldn’t stay with the Warriors in the final minutes, losing 116-112.

With only 22 seconds left to play, and trailing 112-110, the Hornets fouled former Hornet Jarrett Jack in a desperation move to get the ball back. Jack made just one of his two free-throws, leaving New Orleans trailing by three.

Mardi Gras season is upon us, which means there are more days that our children are not in school. Between Mardi Gras, Christmas, summer, fall and spring breaks, in-services and professional development days as well as inevitable storms, when are kids in school? Hard rain on the first day of school — cancel it. Have a winning football season — we’ll take off for that too. Absences due to New Orleans’ traditions combined with the archaic custom of an agrarian school calendar are self-imposed barriers to educational progress.

Read the entire text of the indictment issued today against former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Download the file (.pdf).