JH: This was the night of the Higher Ground concert. But let me lead you in a little. Two days before [Wynton Marsalis]’s Higher Ground concert, Paul Simon did something at the Sony studios in New York and they asked me to put together a brass band for that. And so we had some students at Julliard that knew the music. There were one or two from New Orleans living in New York were involved.

And that night, looking at the devastation of course, how could you not cry? But when the band played, and they used this brass band to play behind Paul Simon’s “Come and Take Me to the Mardi Gras” and when that music started to play, it was almost uncontrollable tears for me, but it was a little part of healing, you know? Then Higher Ground was two days later, and it was all these New Orleans artists. We were all backstage, and we had all been emailing back and forward, trying to make sure that everyone was all right, because, let me say this, this is a close-knit group of people, we all care about each other, and we love each other, and just to see us all, and even as I talked to them to advance the date, it was just good to hear that this one was all right. And you know, in N ew Orleans, we’ve got our own way of talking; we speak a different language here. So you know, most common to all of us is when we ask about our families it’s about five words which is one syllable, and it all goes together and it’s “Howyamamathen.” And so, asked about how everybody was doing and that was really healing. And so I told you that story to say that even though this music is so much a part of us, it’s a part of our spirit, it’s an expression of who we are, it’s an expression of how we feel, it’s an expression of where we came from, it’s an expression of where we’re going, how we get there, how we sustain ourselves. That is what the music is to us. It’s a way of life. I can’t spend more than a day or two of not hearing some music, some New Orleans music.

VOW: When you’re in New York and you listen to New Orleans music, what does it make you feel like? What does it make you think of?

JH: Let me tell you something, that New Orleans Music will make you, I just want to jump up. You know? When I hear that music, man, I wanna move. Even if you don’t jump up and dance, you pat your feet, you’re bobbin your head, you’re clapping your hands. You’re thinking about joy. That’s what it is. It’s a release. It’s an expression. I think so strongly about the music, someone could ask you a question and you don’t have to say a word you could just play the music and people would get exactly how you feel. I mean, we use this music to celebrate life, we use it to celebrate death, we use it to celebrate good times, bad times, football games, parties, mourning situations. I mean, it’s a necessity of life for us.

VOW: Why is it so much stronger in New Orleans than it is in any other place in the United States?

JH: Now, that’s the thing! You know, and that’s the $64,000 Question. Is it because of our human experience. As a matter of fact they were teasing me yesterday because they were saying “New Orleans is the South, that is really down south!” Maybe it’s because we’re totally surrounded by water and we live very close to the land. Maybe it’s because we’re a gumbo of all of these cultural offerings. Maybe it’s because of the African American experience has been an experience of oppression. Let me say this: Times have changed tremendously for us. But then if you look at the occurrences of Katrina and in the last five months, have they changed that much? Have we just put a pretty dress on something ugly?

VOW: That could have been the question before Katrina too.

JH: Right, that’s what I’m saying. Katrina is actually an occurrence that allowed the masses to really see and question the present condition of the African American experience in the United States. And if you were to look in other cities, some of those people will tell you that they could have experienced the same thing, maybe not from a catastrophic situation with water. But perhaps it could happen. In any city in America. That’s inhabited by predominantly people of color, and I’m talking about African Americans, Hispanic people, Asian people, all kinds of people. I know from having lived most of my life in New Orleans, it’s a racist town. And I’m not sure that the people really understand and have accepted the fact that they are racist because everybody is trying to look to blame somebody else and is not looking within themselves. You know, racism is not calling people racial slurs, but that’s the easy way out.

VOW: Well, to me, it seems like the music, when it was going on, was a way for people, not to pretend there was no racism, but I guess just to get together and forget about it for a while.

JH: Well no, it gave them an opportunity to express themselves, and to find something to feel free. And to give them a feeling of freedom.

JH: Because, let me say this: If you don’t have power, you can’t seize power. And so the only thing these people were in control of was their musical, obviously, their musical expressions.

VOW: It seems to me, most of the people who are dispersed are the poorest people of color. Right?

JH: Right. Well... Not just most of the people who are dispersed are people of color. Some of them are very poor, some of them are not so poor. We’ve got all kinds of people of color dispersed because if you look at the areas of town that are populated down there, uptown, which is St. Charles Avenue and the areas around there, we have very few black people living around there. Then when you look at Eastover, those people are, I guess you could say well-off people of color. They’re not back. You know what I’m saying? It’s not just poor people of color, it’s people of color that are mostly displaced.

VOW: So I guess my question really is, without this element, what is the future of the musical scene seem like at this point in time?

JH: Scary.