New York, NY —

Last night, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis hosted an all-star benefit for Hurricane Katrina relief at New York City’s House of Swing: Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Musicians, actors, comedians, and writers sang praises to New Orleans with an eye toward the city’s future. The sold-out, five-hour concert, which was broadcast nationally, benefited the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the “Higher Ground Relief Fund,” created to benefit the music community of Greater New Orleans.

At times, the event’s tone was decidedly political, with pointed comments by Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Danny Glover, and Lawrence Fishburne, the evening’s emcee. But by and large, the music spoke for itself. Noted New Orleans musicians such as the Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint, the Jordan Family, Irvin Mayfield, Jr., and of course the Marsalis family took turns on the bandstand. Mayfield dedicated his performance of “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” to his father, Irvin Mayfield, Sr., who is still missing in New Orleans.