KING CAKE - SCENE 12 - THE BIRTH OF JAZZ

New Orleans is known as the cradle of Jazz. New Orleans City Councilman James K. Story put forth the idea of consolidating all of the prostitution houses in New Orleans into one neighborhood which made it easier to control this red light district which became known as Storyville. The houses of prostitution hired musicians to play ragtime in the lobby for the Johns so they could relax and have a drink and be entertained before going upstairs with their lady friends whom became known as Jazzabelles. Ragtime morphed into Jazz as Storyville morphed into Treme. Jazz was born in the Big Easy as sure as Seattle was the epicenter of Grunge. This is one of the more lasting legacies of the Crescent City which has had far reaching cultural effects even 100 years later.