Xavier University is presenting a free concert and discussion Sunday about the musical roots and styles that have made New Orleans an important musical and cultural center.
Xavier clarinetist and music historian Dr. Michael White will host the program, called "Tricentennial Soul: 300 Years Of Black Music In New Orleans." Performers will include White; blues, R&B, and rock musician Deacon John Moore; Opera Creole; and the Hot 8 Brass Band.
Musical forms discussed will include antebellum slave drumming and singing at Congo Square, street vendors' songs and nineteenth-century Creole classical music. Other forms that will be discussed include early jazz, jazz funerals, modern brass bands, Mardi Gras Indians, rhythm & blues, gospel, funk and rap. It will be at 3 p.m. Sunday, in the Xavier University Center's McCaffrey Ballroom.