ABSTRACT

Treme, an hour-long HBO television drama created by David Simon and Eric Overmyer that aired from 2010–13, explores the cultural framework of post-Katrina New Orleans through the city’s unique forms of black aesthetic traditions. In an early review of the show, The New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley stated that “[Treme] uses sound and imagery to suggest that even the worst damage and disruption can’t extinguish the joie de vivre” specific to New Orleans’ musical culture. 1 Named for the historic, traditionally African American neighborhood where the show is situated, Treme posits New Orleans as a city in recovery, with no visible political direction, a corrupt criminal justice system, a failing institutional infrastructure, a public education system beyond repair, and an ecology of poverty and violence. With the absence of any tangible and logical course of action from government officials, the members of the black musical community of New Orleans take it upon themselves to solve problems and attempt restoration through musical expression. Particularly intriguing is Treme’s placement of jazz (and its derivatives) as a living artform, whose historical narrative signifies a unifying presence to the existing cultural sphere. New Orleans has a long tradition of activism within its vast musical matrix, and Treme portrays a robust community in which the mere act of being a musician is political.