In pictures: New Orleans' brass bands

Traditional jazz bands are the lifeblood of New Orleans' music. The tradition dates back to the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Jazz musician Uncle Lionel Batiste is a well-known figure in New Orleans. He plays bass drum for the Treme Brass Band, and is an inspiration for many younger musicians.

Street parades are a common sight in New Orleans.

A brass band - the so-called "first line" - leads the way...

...then the "second liners" follow the music, twirling their brightly-coloured parasols and dancing in the street.

Eric "Mr Groove" Calhoun, aged 12, is a regular marcher with New Orleans' bands.

Preservation Hall, on the corner of Bourbon Street and Royal, plays host to some of the city's finest jazz musicians.

... including Glen David Andrews and The Lazy Six - one of the few younger traditional jazz bands on the city's music scene.

The brass band tradition went through a renaissance in the 1970s and 1980s with bands adding elements of funk and hip-hop to their music. The Free Agents play this style of music.

Children such as Hector Campbell, son of New Orleans musician Kid Merv, start learning how to play at a young age.

Ten-year-old Gabby Snyder was displaced by Hurricane Katrina but travels back to New Orleans with her family every weekend so she can perform with local bands.

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