New York (New York), USA - Higher Ground (Blue Note Records ) documents Jazz at Lincoln Center's Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert, a landmark evening of musical offering that was mounted by Jazz at Lincoln Center's Artistic Director and New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis on September 17, less than three weeks after Hurricane Katrina imparted its devastation upon the Gulf Coast.

The concert and auction produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center have already raised over $2 million to date, and all proceeds from sales of the CD will also go directly to the Higher Ground Relief Fund established by Jazz at Lincoln Center and administered through the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, a non-profit community foundation, to benefit the musicians, music industry related enterprises and other individuals and entities from the areas in Greater New Orleans who were affected by Hurricane Katrina and to provide other general hurricane relief.

The concert, which took place at Rose Theater in Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City and was televised nationally in the United States on PBS and broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and NPR member radio stations in the U.S. and worldwide, boasted a remarkable array of talent including Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis, Bette Midler, Art & Aaron Neville, Dianne Reeves, James Taylor, Cassandra Wilson & Buckwheat Zydeco.

Higher Ground collects the highlights of the evening from Shirley Caesar's rousing opener "This Joy" through Cassandra Wilson's prayerful reading of Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday" with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. These 15 tracks pay tribute to the city of New Orleans, one of the greatest musical and cultural centers in all the world, through a multitude of musical moods & styles: Early to Modern Jazz, Gospel, New Orleans Funk, Folk, & Pop.

Other standout moments include New Orleans-born trumpeter Terence Blanchard's emotive and sweeping performance of "Over There," Art & Aaron Neville's funky take on "Go To The Mardi Gras," Diana Krall's laidback rendition of "Basin Street Blues" featuring Cyrus Chestnut on piano, James ^ Taylor's heartfelt "Never Die Young," Norah Jones's sweet solo piano reading of Randy Newman's "I, Think It's Going To Rain Today," and Wynton Marsalis's celebratory tribute to New Orleans icon Louis Armstrong on "Dippermouth Blues."

"New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. The city's diverse population of Spanish, French, British, West Africans and Americans created an original music that embodies the fundamental principals of democracy. Jazz at Lincoln Center was established to celebrate jazz and so we are particularly moved to action by the destruction visited on the Crescent City by Katrina," said Marsalis.

"The focus of the Fund will be to, help those individuals and families evacuated from the greater New Orleans area as they address immediate concerns related to housing, food, education, health care and basic survival necessities. It will also provide resources to assist individuals over time to rebuild their homes and livelihoods," said Derek E. Gordon, President & CEO of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The Higher Ground Relief Fund will be administered and distributed through The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, a non-profit organization that forms partnerships with philanthropists, nonprofit organizations and other community leaders to ensure that its community can exceed any challenge, and that its residents have every opportunity to succeed. It helps Fund Donors create a lasting legacy and fulfill their philanthropic goals.

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation helps nonprofit organizations succeed with thwww.braf.org.

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