Burgundy Street Blues

Burgundy Street has its own permanent place in the recorded jazz canon.

In 1944, clarinetist George Lewis was convalescing at his home on Burgundy Street after a stevedoring accident on the New Orleans docks. His friends came to his bedside - banjoist Lawrence Marrero, string bassist Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau, and recordist Bill Russell, who brought a portable disc recorder. What they captured that day became George Lewis's signature composition: "Burgundy Street Blues." It has been recorded hundreds of times since and remains one of the most beloved pieces in the traditional New Orleans jazz music.

The street that gives this archive its name is in the music itself.