Alan Lomax is well-known among American traditional music fans for his extensive audio field recordings from the 1930s onward, much of which has been released and distributed through the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Folkways label. Lesser known is Lomax's video work, which began in the late 1970s.

Lomax spent a significant amount of his work time in New Orleans and southern Louisiana preserving and recording the musical heritage in this area. Beginning in 1982, he worked with a video crew to capture the New Orleans jazz and brass band musicians of the era, including the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ernie K-Doe, Chester Zardis, Kid Thomas Band, a variety of Second Lines, and more.

Lomax also took his crew beyond the boundaries of the city to capture the music of Cajun Louisiana between 1982 and 1985, including Cajun cowboys, string bands, zydeco groups, fiddlers, and scenes from the Cajun and Creole Mardi Gras celebrations. Performers include Dennis McGee, Dewey Balfa, Canray Fontenot, Bois Sec Ardoin, Michael Doucet & BeauSoleil, Boozoo Chavis.

One of the great qualities of Lomax's recordings is that he never turned off the tape and, as a result, captured a lot of great banter and information that would have otherwise have been lost to the ages. These videos are no exception as many of them also roll through high quality interviews and side comments.

A few of my favorites from these great collections are below, but you can also click through on the links to view the rest of the Louisiana Lomax videos.

Videos from New Orleans (1982): http://www.culturalequity.org/rc/videos/video-guide_no.php
Videos from Cajun Louisiana (1982-1985): http://www.culturalequity.org/rc/videos/video-guide_cajun.php