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Ida Destroys New Orleans Jazz Shop Where Louis Armstrong Bought His First Cornet

Karnofsky, the city’s first jazz record store, stood on a New Orleans block that included some of its most treasured jazz landmarks.

2021-08-30T134512Z_46725632_RC2PFP9EQJI5_RTRMADP_3_STORM-IDA_nlt4qk

Devika Krishna Kumar/Reuters

By Zoe Richards

An historic New Orleans shop where Louis Armstrong once worked and bought his first cornet has fallen to rubble amid the destruction caused by Hurricane Ida. Little remains of the former Karnofsky Shop, owned by a Jewish family who loaned the young musician money from his salary so that he could purchase his instrument.

The onetime tailor shop, which was later turned into the city’s first jazz record store, stood on a New Orleans block that included some of its most treasured jazz landmarks, which were reportedly being considered for restoration in recent years.

Read it at WWL

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