If stranded on a desert island and given but two wishes, most Earthlings would opt for food and water. The Orleanian, without thinking twice, would take the food, skip the water (probably carcinogenic anyway) and request some rousing music. It's a matter of necessity.

Indeed, without the sounds of New Orleans, the planet would be a far more dreary place. During the BBC's live television coverage of Mardi Gras '88, the eminent composer/pianist/producer Allen Toussaint, responding to the que...