October marks the annual "rebirth" of New Orleans—in addition to the music scene cranking up with Jazz Awareness Month, the art season begins simultaneously. In this city, there has always been a a fair amount of overlapping of art and music, and this October offers interesting opportunities to visually explore jazz culture.

The vibrancy of this city's African cultural heritage has long been an inspiration to artists, and in the French Quarter there is a gallery specializing in Black art f...