New Orleans blues, is a subgenre of
blues music and a variation of
Louisiana blues that developed in the 1940s and 1950s in and around the city of
New Orleans, rooted by the rich blues roots of the city going back generations earlier. Strongly influenced by jazz and incorporated Caribbean influences, it is dominated by piano and saxophone but has also produced major guitar bluesmen. Major figures in the genre include
Professor Longhair and
Guitar Slim, who both produced major regional, R&B chart and even mainstream hits.