Jazz and more Jazz

It's been a few days... but I've been quite the busy bee.
Friday: went to Habitat for 1/2 a day. I decided that without Brittany or Pete there, work was not fun (plus I got stuck working with a giant idiot who was probably on the short list for potential Jersey Shore cast members. He ripped off the sleeves of his shirt in front of audience.. need I say more?). That evening I... hmmm... what did I do for dinner? I have no clue.
That night I went to Tipitina's and met up with some Habitat peeps. They have free Friday's and it's a pretty cool venue. On Friday 101 Runners Featuring Big Chief Monk Boudreaux of the Golden Eagles with War Chief Juan and Ike "The Runnin' Drummer" of the Golden Commanches, were playing and they were a lot of fun (video and pics to follow).
Sat: This weekend marked the 10th Annual Satchmo Summerfest, celebrating Louis Armstrong's life and works. IT WAS AN AWESOME WEEKEND. More of Saturday was spent in the French Quarter (beignets and frozen cafe au lait were involved) at the Old US Mint where most of the festivities were taking place. I saw Rebirth Brass Band play, and I HIGHLY recommend listening (and then purchasing) their stuff, it's pretty awesome! Dinner.... hmmm.... oh, dinner didn't happen that night (allergy season kicks in, I lose my appetite). That night I went to the Warehouse District for White Linen Night. It's where all the art galleries open up in the evening, there's food and drink, people dress up in all white and go to the galleries... IT.WAS.BORING. Good people watching, but I clearly had more fun at Summerfest!
Sunday: JAZZ MASS! 10 am mass at St. Augustine Church in Treme. Great story behind the church. When it was constructed, free African Americans began to buy pews. Whites in New Orleans heard this and began to purchase their own. In the end here was the make-up of the church: One middle section- free African Americans, other middle section- whites, two side rows- slaves (the free African Americans had purchased the pews for them). The mass was kind of like church meets an episode of Glee. Even the priest got involved and sang some Louis Armstrong during his homily. The Treme Brass Band performed with the choir along with some Japanese guest musicians (huge interest in jazz in parts of Japan). After mass... SECOND LINE!!! I have LOTS OF VIDEO AND PHOTOS for this that I'll post later. The rest of the day was spent going to seminars on jazz (including one about the role of jazz in the TV show Treme. All of their music performances are recorded during the filming... meaning the don't go back a dub over the music later). The end of the day was the end of Summerfest, with Kermit Ruffins and the BBQ Swingers performing and doing an awesome job (listen to some of Kermit's stuff too if you get a chance!!).
I also did a lot of reading this weekend and finished the last 400 pages of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo... not sure how I feel about it yet.
This morning I visited the new KIPP high school in New Orleans and went on a tour. Interesting concept behind the KIPP model, but the verdict is out on how I feel about it.
Today was Alex's (and Kara leaves tomorrow.. no more Habitat friends:( )last day in NOLA, so we went to Camellia Grill where I had some delicious Pecan Pancakes!!!!
Tonight I went to dinner at Mat & Naddie's and had some corn and fennel stuffed shrimp wrapped in prosciutto.
On the way home from Borders, I think I'll be going to Creole Creamery!!!!