Despite what you may have heard, New Orleans in 2009 　　still brims with musicians. Not many are getting rich, and 　　a large number have endured great hardship post-Katrina, 　　but the pool of talent remains deep. And it’s a scene 　　constantly restocked by up-and-coming local talent and 　　people immigrating to get some New Orleans flavor in 　　their diet. 　　“New Orleans Duets” features 21 of the city’s denizens, 　　from pretty well-known to rather obscure (Satchmo and 　　Jelly Roll no longer live here, and are thrown in the mix for 　　my amusement). 　　I’ve worked on this album off-and-on since 2003, and 　　looking at it now, I am surprised by how “jokey” much of 　　it is. I will defend my lack of gravitas by pointing out that 　　humor has always been a big part of New Orleans music: 　　Jelly Roll’s hokum, Satchmo’s mugging, Louis Prima’s 　　antics, the Boswell Sisters’ verbal and musical lunacy, 　　Huey Piano Smith’s nonsense lyrics, and so on. And 　　besides, post-K New Orleans can use more laughs. 　　If this mix of humor and music works at all, I have to thank 　　my collaborators. I am blessed that many of the talents 　　here are good friends; others here are just acquaintances 　　and one-time conspirators whom I thought would work in 　　this format. Given the right conditions I could easily put 　　out two more volumes, and I apologize now to friends 　　whom I vetted but whose duets didn’t work out. 　　With the exception of “Some Satchmo Sampling,” these 　　are strict duets, with no third person involved in creating 　　“live” sounds. Thanks for listening. 　　-Tom McDermott, New Orleans 2009