Growing up in New Orleans, Wynton Marsalis [ tickets ] saw firsthand how neighbors and friends leaned on music to help them deal with tragedy and hardship. Recently, when his hometown needed him most, the acclaimed trumpeter put that lesson to great use.

Marsalis, acting in his position as the artistic director for Jazz at Lincoln Center, mounted a major benefit concert on Sept. 17 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at New York's Rose Theater. The fundraiser, which was televised on PBS and broadcast on both NPR and XM Satellite Radio, featured such all-star musicians as Norah Jones [ tickets ], Diana Krall [ tickets ], Bette Midler [ tickets ], Dianne Reeves [ tickets ] and James Taylor.

To further aid the cause, Blue Note Records has released the fundraising-CD "Higher Ground: Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert," which features 77 minutes of highlights culled from the roughly five-hour performance.

The CD kicks off in heavenly fashion as gospel singer Shirley Caesar goes to church on "This Joy" and then proceeds to coast through jazz, funk, folk and other New Orleans-flavored musical styles. Some of the highlights include Diana Krall's laid-back take on the Crescent City classic "Basin Street Blues" and Norah Jones' gentle rendition of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today."

Fittingly, given who organized the event, the very best performances on the CD belong to Fat City trumpeters Terence Blanchard, Irvin Mayfield and, of course, Marsalis himself.