One Note at a Time

An unmanipulative documentary that takes an unusual route into the city of New Orleans post-Katrina, via a clinic for musicians. The music is a joy and the characters extraordinary. What a city.

One Note at a Time captures important moments in New Orleans' cultural landscape right after Hurricane Katrina almost washed it out, never to return again. The film also features the unique story of the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic, an important health care resource for local musicians and their efforts to keep local music alive. Highly recommended. A labor of love 10 years in the making! A documentary for any true cultural historian or jazz fan!

New Orleans music is an embarrassment of riches, but those who make that music are surprisingly little known outside of the city. How do you explain the difference to the uninitiated between "the music business" and those who make music because it's who they are? One Note at a Time does it beautifully in its intimate depiction of the lives, circumstances, and hearts of our national treasures. To know them is to love and care about them, and the more people who are made of aware of them the better chance the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic has to raise the money needed to assist and support the lives of those who give so much to the soulful culture of a great American city.

The film had a profound effect on my husband and me, reigniting our passion for the city and inspiring us to increase our own ongoing support of the extraordinary NOMC. Hopefully that feeling spreads like wildfire as the film reaches ever-larger audiences. The clinic's work is so important and can be a model for other cities and their particular needs.

A decade since its inception and four years in the making, this documentary is both moving and thought provoking at the same time. A beautifully made film with a cast of colourful characters and a real insight into the music scene in New Orleans, it is well worth the watch. Highly recommended.

This film is full of stunning images that set the tone to an inner sadness that underscores this very original take on New Orleans. Though evident throughout this film, Renee's profound love for this great city and its people clearly does not interfere with her acute sense of objectivity. She manages to deal with this soulful subject on so many levels that you are left with a feeling of being in a room surrounded by windows, each with a different view on life. At its core, the film is about the beautiful side of being human and although very little optimism is in play, a warm spirit of hope does quietly emerge. Of course there is an ugly side too, but it is very delicately implied. Just by what you see you can't help thinking about the shocking level of America's indifference for one of its most valuable cultural treasures. Katrina's devastating impact on the featured microcosm is a backdrop that accentuates the resilience of a people with a unique philosophy on life and probably the healthiest approach to mortality. In the end it becomes obvious that Katrina is just another episode on top of countless other trials and tribulations endured by so many generations that created the strength that was so eloquently expressed through music. The endurance showcased in this film allows some hope for the future of New Orleans as a valuable contributor of cultural wealth.