Vaughan’s at 4229 Dauphine Street in New Orleans. Photo: NO Easy Travel Guide.
New Orleans. By Paul Goldfinger.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
The fourth and final season of the HBO series Tremé finished last last month. Tremé, about the people of New Orleans post-Katrina, was a wonderful show. The New York Times just reviewed Season 4, and the link is below. The main themes included the music and musicians, food, crime, real estate wheelers and dealers, lawyers, cops and Mardi Gras parades and Indians.
Kermit Ruffins is a real life New Orleans musician who appears in the series. Many of the scenes take place in actual NO bars, restaurants and music venues. Vaughan’s is on Dauphine Street, and our selection below was recorded live by Kermit Ruffins at that restaurant. The vocalist is Kermit’s daughter Misha who is studying classical piano at the Southern University of Baton Rouge.
“Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans” has been recorded by every NO musician imaginable as well as many others from all over the world. It was first heard in a 1947 movie called “New Orleans” and was played by Louis Armstrong and sung by Billy Holiday.
Most recently it was fittingly featured on the last episode of Tremé which was called”…to miss New Orleans.” John Boutté, a Creole born jazz/gospel singer performed it over the final montage.
Combining wonderful music and very corrupt government produced a fabulous series!!! Hurricane Sandy and New Jersey present the perfect scenario for a follow-up series.