The 400 block of South Rampart Street in New Orleans is widely known as the birthplace of jazz music. It's the area where the Karnofsky tailor shop and the Eagle Saloon are located, two of the most iconic landmarks of the genre. In 1817, the mayor of New Orleans issued a city ordinance that restricted the congregation of enslaved people to the back of the city. This open area outside the city, on Rampart Street, became known as Congo Square. At times, up to 600 free slaves and people of color would gather in Congo Square, something unheard of in other parts of the United States.
Congo Square became famous among visitors to the city for its African dance and music. As the city of New Orleans grew around it, Congo Square, once located in the back of the city, became the center of the French Quarter. Sunday dancing and music were heard throughout the French Quarter from the beginning of the 19th century to 1838, and they influenced generations of musicians who lived in its surroundings. Congo Square was at the heart of New Orleans' musical culture. In the early 1910s, brass bands were playing jazz, and musicians from New Orleans were traveling through the arteries of the Mississippi to cities across the United Kingdom.
In addition, during the 1850s, New Orleans had a world-famous Opera, so New Orleans musicians absorbed opera music into their music. Musicians in every genre, from blues and bluegrass to rock and roll and rap, were nourished by the lifeblood of American music that sprang from New Orleans. Gretna and Westwego are two communities located in Jefferson Parish just outside New Orleans proper. As in other cities with large populations of color, efforts were made in New Orleans to disrupt spaces used by people of color. When Union forces captured New Orleans in 1862, General Butler enforced rights for free people of color.
These families lived in and around Congo Square and contributed their energy and vigour to the heart of the musical tradition that was being formed in New Orleans. Famous jazz musicians such as Edmund Dede and Louis Gottschalk, as well as rap musicians Lil Wayne and Master P are just two examples of artists who have called New Orleans home. These visitors took home with them not only music but also experiences from New Orleans and Congo Square. Free people of color in New Orleans formed social clubs and music clubs in different rooms and meeting places around the city, beyond white authority's scrutiny. Congo Square has been at the literal heart of New Orleans' musical community since its founding three hundred years ago.
