The Sound After the Storm (2009)

With her twenty-fifth year living in Germany, the native New Orleanean Singer Lillian Boutté, has more than earned the title: Jazz Ambassador of New Orleans, an honor held previously only by Louis Armstrong. Boutté packs clubs and stadiums across the US and Europe to share her culture's easy warmth and a message: "The levee problem remains and each August is another hurricane Katrina just waiting to happen!" The spirit of the '20's jazz greats is alive and well in a crowded club filled with the sounds of Dr. Michael White's clarinet. White possessed one of America's most rare collections of jazz artifacts including original sheet music written in the hand of Jelly Roll Morton and a mouth piece blown many a night by Sidney Bechet. This collection now lies in moldy heaps on the floor of White's home, yards from a major levee breach. The energetic Armand "Sheik" Richardson, part photographer, part activist, part whirlwind, shoots thousands of photos of his city, "to preserve what's left of New Orleans for future generations." And a new generation of musicians is born with "The Next Generation Brass Band" a group of young new Orleaneans brought to the music by circumstances of the Hurricane itself. As these native new Orleaneans traverse three uncertain post-Katrina years, their paths cross in The Sound After the Storm, and show that in tough times, the music lives.