A pretty good piece in the Los Angeles Times looks at New Orleans music, two years after Katrina:
Trombonist Lester Caliste and sax player Ernest “Doc” Watson are among those who are gone; the last two original members of the venerated Olympia Brass Band both moved to Texas. Clarinetist Alvin Batiste, a key figure in New Orleans music performance and education circles, died in May shortly before his scheduled performance at the annual Jazz & Heritage Festival. In some cases, veteran musicians died as a result of the added stress of losing homes and being forced to move so late in life.
That gives old standards new meaning in seemingly dozens of recordings: “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans” and the lament “St. James’ Infirmary,” most commonly, while Randy Newman’s “Louisiana 1927,” in various new versions, is no longer about a flood of 80 years ago.
A couple of years ago I did some research into the song "St. James Infirmary," wrote up what I found, emailed that essay to friends and posted it on my web site (as part of a series of "Letters From New Orleans," as I was living in that city at the time). Based on the feedback, I wrote a second version of the essay, and asked for more feedback. Based on that, I wrote a 
