Jason Slack, founder of the To Be Continued Brass Band, invited me to attend church services with him today.

Jason’s entire family is involved with the music of this church which is located in the Lower Ninth Ward. He and his brother play keyboards, his mother leads the choir and his sister is a featured soloist.

I have to confess that this was the first time I’ve found myself participating in a church service in a long, long time (twenty-five plus years?), but I found it eye opening.

This church provides counseling to people with substance abuse problems, encouragement to people who are trying to reclaim the Lower Ninth Ward, and damn good music to boot.

When people talk about the roots of New Orleans music, they’re seriously missing the boat if they don’t include the music of the black churches.

Shot with a $95 video camera (PureDigital) and edited with iMovie.

Interestingly, Jonathan Demme had a cameraman there the same day I was there. He’s working on a film about the Lower Ninth.