CBS Article on N.O, Bands

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(CBS) Until two years ago, the first thing that came to mind at the mention of New Orleans was music. It was everywhere - pouring from the clubs, and the streets and the schools.

And then came Hurricane Katrina and a flood of water that nearly drowned those unmistakable New Orleans sounds. That first Mardi Gras after the storm, there were parades and the city struggled to regain its rhythm. But something was missing: the marching bands. There was only one New Orleans-based marching band left in the city.

With many of its schools closed and its students dispersed all around the country, New Orleans' high-stepping school bands had fallen silent. In the wake of Katrina, school spirit was as battered as the few band instruments that were left behind.

"The silence really spoke volumes about the situation at that time," Bill Taylor, executive director of the Tipitina's Foundation, told CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston. "Music is inseparable from New Orleans. You take that away and you don’t have New Orleans anymore."

The Tipitina's Foundation decided to use music to make music, enlisting the aid of local musicians like the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and big names like Bonnie Raitt to raise money to buy instruments for the struggling schools.

Since Katrina, the Tipitina's Foundation has raised $1 million, which means hundreds and hundreds of bright new instruments or the school children of New Orleans.

"What if you got your start, instead of a beat-up trombone, you got a brand new one. Think of the difference that makes psychologically in your desire, and motivation to play," Taylor said.

As high school band leader John Summers can tell you, it was those gleaming new band instruments that kept many of his students in school.

"We didn't have to worry about anybody missing practice, I can tell you that much," he said.

For Jasmine Scott, it was the music that kept her going.

"When I march in parades I see all the people cheerin' and little kids sayin' 'Oh, I wanna play that instrument,' and it makes me want to perform and not give up, even when I'm tired," she said.

Without Tipitina's, the Sophie B. Wright Middle School wouldn't have a music program at all.

"We had no band instruments to speak of. One, two, three instruments I was able to get from donations and what-have-you is not enough," the school's music director Paul Batiste said.

This year, Batiste says students are clamoring to be in the marching band.

"I have as much music as I want," Batiste said. "And the music keeps coming. Children are knocking down our doors every day to join the program. We're growing."

But it's not just about the music. It's about belonging, and discipline, and pride. Many students say the band is helping them improve their grades.

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