At the end of my piece in Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?, written while I was in an uncertain evacuation in Seattle, during that time when no one quite knew how much of our city was still standing — most of you know what I am talking about — I wrote, “The first trumpet to return wins.”

Thinking about that sentence two and a half years later, I wasn’t so sure I liked it. It seemed overstated, maybe, and I thought about editing it out when we reprint the book.

Then, looking around for a good Music Friday for this week, I came across this article about the importance of the trumpet to New Orleans.

It made me change my mind again. Plus, I don’t want to change anything that would alter what I really felt at the time of writing that piece.

This article also made it obvious as to who this week’s musician should be — Mr. Nicholas Payton. He will be playing the first Sunday of Jazz Fest in just a couple of months.

Happily, New Orleans now has many trumpets. Behind the cut is Mr. Payton with "Eye of the Hurricane."